Nellikai Sadam, Paruppu Poli, Paruppu Vadai
In a traditional vegetarian Tamil household, a type of ‘sadam’, vadai (lentil fritters without onions and garlic) and a dessert are always made. This traditional platter includes the healthy nellikai sadam/gooseberry rice, paruppu vadai and the paruppu poli, a complete festive meal.
VIEW INDIVIDUAL RECIPES
Paruppu Vadai
- Duration:1 hour 20 minutes
- Serves:4 people
Authenticity Slice
You can get the traditional taste and texture by adding a tablespoon of soaked chana dal to the ground batter.
Ingredients
- Bengal gram (chana dal) (1 cup)
- Pigeon peas (arhar dal) (1/4 cup)
- Dry red chillies (sukhi lal mirch) (5)
- Curry leaves (kadi patta) (10–15)
- Asafoetida (hing) (pinch)
- Salt (to taste)
- Oil (for frying)
Method
- Soak the dals for an hour, drain and grind them along with other ingredients to a coarse batter.
- Grease foil/banana leaf with oil.
- Heat oil in a deep kadhai.
- Shape round or cylindrical vadais.
- Now, fry them till golden brown.
- Serve the fritters hot and crispy along with some chutney on the side.
Paruppu Poli
- Duration:4 hours
- Serves:6 people
Authenticity Slice
Kneading the dough till it is soft and resting it is essential to get thin, soft and flaky polis.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour (maida) (2 cups)
- MTR Haldi/Turmeric Powder (1/4 tsp)
- Salt (a pinch)
- Oil (1/4 cup)
- Water (1 cup)
- Ghee (1 tbsp)
- Oil (1 tbsp)
- label (For the dal stuffing:)
- Bengal gram (chana dal) (1 cup)
- Jaggery (gud) (powdered) (1/4 cup)
- Cardamom (elaichi)x (2, powdered)
- Clarified butter (ghee) (1 tsp)
Method
Method
- In a large bowl, add flour, MTR Haldi/Turmeric Powder, salt and mix well.
- Pour oil and blend it with the flour.
- Add water little by little and knead it into smooth dough.
- Grease a bowl with oil, transfer the dough and cover it with a lid or cling film for at least an hour.
For the dal stuffing:
- Dry roast chana dal till fragrant.
- Wash and soak in water (about one inch above the dal) for an hour.
- Pressure-cook the dal on medium flame for up to 3 whistles.
- Remove excess water, mash with a masher or ladle.
- Heat a pan with a teaspoon of ghee. Add dal and powdered jaggery.
- Cook on low flame until the jaggery melts and mixes well with dal and the excess moisture is absorbed.
- Add cardamom powder and switch off.
- When the mixture cools, shape the entire batch into lemon-sized balls.
- Take a small portion of the dough and make a peda (ball) with the help of your palms.
- Keep it on a butter paper, place a cling film or a polythene cover on top and roll it out with a rolling pin to make a small circle.
- Now place a lemon-sized filling in the centre of the circle and seal the edges with the dough.
- Pinch the dough on the top to seal the filling completely.
- Now press gently with your palm and place it on the butter paper.
- Place a cling film and start rolling to make a thin chapatti (circle).
- Spread some ghee or oil on a heated tawa (gridle) and place the poli on it.
- Let it brown a little on one side. Turn and spread ghee/oil on the front side as well as around the corners of the poli.
- After repeating it on both sides, remove from the pan.
- Serve paruppu poli while it is hot, for a mouth-watering experience.
Nellikai Sadam
- Duration:30 minutes
- Serves:2 people
Authenticity Slice
While cooking rice for nellikai sadam, add a teaspoon of sesame oil to get the authentic non-sticky fluffy rice. Also, use grated gooseberry (amla/nellikai) instead of chopped ones, to give the rice a uniform flavour.
Ingredients
- Cooked rice (2 cups)
- Gooseberry (amla/nellikai) (2 large, grated)
- Fresh coconut (nariyal) (grated) (1 tbsp)
- MTR Haldi/Turmeric Powder (1/2 tsp)
- MTR Lal Mirch/Red Chilli Powder (1/4 tsp)
- Salt (to taste)
- label (For tempering:)
- Sesame oil (til ka tel) (2 tsp)
- Mustard seeds (sarson) (1/2 tsp)
- Bengal gram (chana dal) (1/2 tsp)
- Split black gram (urad dal) (1/2 tsp)
- Green chillies (halved) (2)
- Curry leaves (1 sprig)
Method
- Heat oil in a pan and temper with the ingredients given under ‘tempering’.
- Mix grated gooseberry, MTR Haldi/Turmeric Powder, MTR Lal Mirch/Red Chilli Powder, salt and cook over low flame for 5 mins.
- Add the cooked rice and grated coconut, stir well to mix.
- Serve the healthy and delicious nellikai sadam piping hot.