Tag Archives: Authentic Andhra
Ugadi Pachadi
Ugadi is the first day of telugu new year. On this festival we prepare different food items like pachadi, bakshalu and pulihora. One thing which is done only on this day in every house is Ugadi Pachadi, which consists of shadruchulu – 6 tastes Sweet ( Jaggery/ banana/ grapes/ sugar cane juice), Sour ( Tamarind), Bitter ( Neem petal), Tart ( Mango/Jeera) , Hot ( Chillies/Black pepper), Salty (Salt). These different tastes signifies different facets of our life in the year ahead and in a way prepares us to face all of the challenges equally. Ugadi is also supposed to be starting of Spring.
Sesame Rice ~ Nuvvula Pongali ~ Nuvvula pulgam
Sankranthi is a harvest festival celebrated by Hindus all over India with different names. Sankranthi festival dishes vary upon region but Sesame seeds and jaggery are the most commonly used ingredients in these dishes. In Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh most of the people celebrate just first 2 days which are Bhogi and Sankrathi. First day dishes contain Sesame rice and second day dishes contain meat. Ariselu ( jaggery, rice flour snack) and sesame-jaggery balls are other most commonly prepared snacks during this festival.
Milk Coconut Burfi ~ Kobbari Pala Kova
Coconut is offered to GOD in Hindu rituals. Whenever we have pooja ceremony at home we are left with ample coconuts, and my mother used to make this sweet with fresh grated coconut, milk and sugar. Coconut mixed with milk and sugar cooks until it forms a lump, which gives coconut-kova taste and soft chewy texture. I used to take this sweet to college and my friends empty and enjoy them in no time. If you are a coconut fan, you will love this burfi.
Beetroot chutney with Sesame seeds
Beetroot is a cardiovascular friendly vegetable with rich antioxidants and Vitamin C. Adding iron rich sesame seeds and other spices with this highly nutritious vegetable gives you a sweet, tangy chutney. My moms recipe for preparing chutney’s is to add more sesame seeds and very less amount of peanuts. Instead of peanuts I added walnuts. The taste is equally good and this chutney is a good combination with rice or pesarattu. Today I made it with Mixed lentils/ whole dal dosa. My little one enjoyed it saying red chutney. Hope you will enjoy this recipe.
Okra Barley Dal stew ~ Barley Pappu Charu
Pappu charu, made with toor dal, tamarind juice and little seasoning is very commonly prepared stew in Andhra homes . It is a lighter version of sambar, takes less time to cook and is good with steamed rice. Many Variations like Benadakaya(Okra) pappu charu, Vankaya(Brinjal) pappu charu, Munnakkaya(Drumstick) pappu charu and Mullangi(Radish) pappu charu are famous. It can be cooked without vegetables too.
Chicken Shorva
Shorva is gravy made out of chicken or mutton curry and normally has a medium consistency.I always believe in that for any Indian dishes, usage of fresh ingredients, cooking at the right temperatures with perfect timing is the essence for getting a great taste. This is the trick or lesson I learnt by observing when my mother or mother in law is cooking. If you are in a hurry for faster cooking, I am sure that you would lose the taste. Adopt a slower cooking in making of this Shorva. Please ensure that you make this with whole chicken rather than using boneless chicken. Bones release juices which makes the Shorva all the tastier.
Brown Rice Pudding ~ Brown Rice Payasam
Payasam made with rice and jaggery is very common in India. After making whole grain prasadam for saddula bathukamma, I was still in a mood to do whole grain payasam on Dasara. So I wanted to make this quick and simple recipe. One of my aunt’s follows similar recipe with white rice, milk and sugar which is called pala padiyam (milk kheer) accompanied with makka garelu (corn vada). I got this idea from my aunt recipe.
In this recipe, I used brown rice instead of refined white rice, which is coarsely grinded and cooked in milk and combined with jaggery syrup.
Quinoa Pulihora
Quinoa (pronounced as keen-wah) is a pseudo-cereal which is not technically grain or cereal, but in general we consider it as a wholegrain. When compared with white rice, quinoa has very good amount of protein and less carbohydrates. The protein in quinoa is considered good protein since it has all nine amino acids. Quinoa is a very good source of protein and is gluten free and so it is a healthy option to consider for people who are intolerant of gluten.
Bulgar Wheat Sweet Pongal ~ Goduma Rava Chakkara Pongali
When I considered Bulgar wheat as one of the options in 5 whole grains prasadam for Saddula Bathukamma, I immediately thought of doing sweet dish with it. But rather than making it regular Kesari with wheat rava, I wanted to use mung dal in this recipe similar to rice sweet pongal recipe. I was not sure about the outcome but when I tasted it, I decided to make this sweet pongal instead of rava kesari from now on. Adding Mung dal gave different flavor and taste and it was so Yummmm!!! It is FAT FREE as no ghee or oil are added in this recipe.
Barley Pongal ~ Barley Katte Pongali
When I was thinking of 5 whole grain prasadam , I remembered that I bought hulled barley recently. I made barley, sprouted moongdal soup couple of times, it goes well with beans/ dal’s in soups. From there I got the idea of semi solid savory pongal with mung dal.
After making this dish, I searched in web for Indian barley recipes and got few more interesting ideas . I will try those ideas and hopefully will come out with some interesting and healthy recipes with this high fiber ingredient.