Devi Avatar Alakarana for Navaratri ~ at Sri Meenakshi Temple, Houston

Bommala Koluvu for Navaratri ~ at Sri Meenakshi Temple, Houston

Maa Durge, Maa Ambe, Maa Jagdambe, Maa Bhawani, Maa Sheetla, Maa Vaishnao,
Maa Chandi, Mata Devi. Jai Mata Di.
Shubha Dasara, dear family and friends.

Homemade Ganesh with Clay

I made bala Ganapati with clay today for Vinayaka Chaviti festival tomorrow. The decorations are with kumkum, turmeric and rice powder. Eyes are whole urad dal (minapa pappu) and the laddu is dotted with skinless, split mustard seeds. It’s a simple vigraham, still looks divine to my eyes.

Vinayaka Chavithi shubhakamnaye! May Bhagavan Ganesha bless us all with peace, happiness and health!

Bala Ganesha with Kumkum and Pasupu Decorations

Sachin and Family’s Clay Ganesha

Vaijayanthi & Arvind Family’s Play-doh Ganesha

Rashmi and Family’s Clay Ganesha

Vinayaka Chaviti Celebrations at Rashmi’s Home From UAE

Narayan Swamy and Family’s Clay Ganesha

Sireesha and Family’s Play-doh Ganesha

Chaitanya and Family’s Rice Flour and Sugar Ganesha

Thank you Sachin, Vaijayanthi, Rashmi, Narayan Swamy, Sireesha and Chaitanya for sharing your Ganesha with us.
-Indira

Bigger isn’t better always. You always know that for making delicious dishes, what is needed is not a big house, even bigger multiple kitchens. Sometimes, bigger things bring bitter results. All you’d need is a tender heart that responds to love and affection to make food that touches the other hearts. I have come to know that this applies to brinjal harvest as well. When you grow your own brinjals, pick as soon as they are just big enough to eat, when their skin still has high gloss finish and inside is tender. When you slice open and find brown flesh and dark seeds, you have waited too long. Bitterness claimed the brinjal soul, and it isn’t a culinary friend any more. The younger ones with angelic pulp and barely developed seeds taste better than bigger and bulky brinjals.

Here is traditional brinjal recipe with sesame I made last weekend for Janmastami with my brinjal harvest. Brinjal and sesame are a good combination and it is just not Bharath, many other world’s cuisines favor this endearing combination. The soul is the same, the dress-up and names are different from country to country. If you have never tried brinjal sesame combination before, try it once. It’s good and tasty, worthy of festival feast.

Homegrown Brinjal
Brinjal Sesame Kura
(for 2 or 4, for 2 to 1 meals)

Brinjals: Pick 8 to 10 small, fresh looking brinjals. Wash and remove the end. Take water in a bowl. Add a teaspoon of salt. Cut brinjal into bite sized pieces and drop the pieces into salted water.
Slice one red onion or shallot thinly lengthwise.

Sesame: Place a stainless steel pot on stovetop and heat. When the pot is hot, add 6 dried red chilli, a tablespoon of coriander seeds, half teaspoon black peppercorn, quarter teaspoon cumin, 6 cloves, one-inch piece of cinnamon stick in listed order and at the end 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds. Constantly stirring, roast the spices to fragrance. Remove them to a plate and cool. Take them in a blender. Add a garlic clove, a tablespoon each – , chopped fresh ginger, tamarind pulp and jaggery pieces, and half cup of water. Blend the ingredients to superfine paste.

Brinjal Sesame Kura: Heat the stainless steel pot again. This time, add a tablespoon of sesame or peanut oil and when oil is hot, do the curry leaf tadka. Add and saute onions to soft. Remove the brinjal pieces from water and add them in the pot. Sprinkle half teaspoon of salt and pinch of turmeric. Cover and cook on medium heat until the brinjal pieces are tender, for about five to eight minutes. Stir in the sesame-spice paste and half cup of water. Adjust salt, sour(tamarind) and sweet(jaggery) levels according to your taste. Mix well and simmer for about 15 minutes on low heat.

Serve immediately and politely accept the applause from your guests. Sesame brinjal kura tastes great with Pongal rice and sorghum roti with some ghee and pickle on the side.

Brinjal Sesame Kura with Pongal and Red Chilli Pickle ~ Good Meal for a Hungry Soul

The badam-beerakaaya combination is a new recipe that I have come up with the beerakaaaya harvest. This recipe really concentrates the flavor and brings out the sweetness of both beerakaaya and badam. Dice the beerakaaya, saute and add ground badam paste. Simple vegetable curry with some protein profile, badam-beerakaaya makes a delicious filler for chapatis or pav-wiches on low appetite days.

Badam-Beerakaaya Kura
(for 2 or 4, for 2 to 1 meal)

3 beerakaaya – fresh and firm, about arm length each
3 tablespoons - badam butter paste (ground almonds)
4 green chillies – finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon – turmeric
1/2 teaspoon -salt or to taste
For curry leaf talimpu:
1 tablespoon, peanut oil, 1 sprig of fresh cury leaves, pinch each-cumin and mustard seeds

Peel the beerakaaya ridges. Wash and dice beerakaya to bite-sized pieces.

In a big pan over medium heat, heat peanut oil until hot and do the curry leaf talimpu. Add curry leaves, cumin and mustard seeds. Saute to fragrance, stirring frequently.

Add beerakaaya and chilli pieces. Cover and cook on medium heat. After about ten minutes, remove the lid and stir in ground almonds, turmeric and salt. Mix well and cook for another five minutes or until the beerakaya juices have reduced and sweetened with almond paste.

Serve badam-beerakaaya kura warm with chapati, bread or rice and dal for a tasty meal.

Badam-Beerakaaya Kura with Chapati ~ For Meal Today

For Homemade almond paste:
Soak 8 almonds in water for about an hour. Drain the water and peel the almond skins. In a mixer or mortar, take almonds, add a pinch of salt and grind to smooth paste.

Garden dreams – When they come true, it’s a glorious feeling.

One of my lifelong garden dreams has been growing turai at home. This summer, beautiful turai vines smiled with pretty yellow flowers and it has been turai tanmayam ever since. Total number of turai harvested so far was around 60 from four turai vines. Garden goddess is in good mood, it’s the only reason I could think of for this blessing.

Turai is such a lovable vegetable with succulent, white flesh and delicate, sweet flavor. Tender turai doesn’t take much time to cook and digests easily, nourishing the spirit. We love our turai and we have been cooking many great turai recipes to our hearts content for the past one month.

The following turai recipe is Vijay’s creation. Tasty turai, little bit tomato and some chana dal, cooked together, it was a good meal and a simple solution to overwhelmed brain with excessive turai.

Homegrown Turai

Turai with Chana Dal
(for 2 or 4, for 1 or 2 meals)

3 fresh and tender turai, arm length each
1/4 cup chana dal, soaked in water for about two hours
2 semi ripe tomatoes
4 green chillies, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon, turmeric
1/2 teaspoon, salt or to taste
For cumin tadka: 1 tablespoon peanut oil,
pinch each-cumin and mustard seeds and few fresh curry leaves

Peel turai ridges. Rinse the vegetable well. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
In a heavy pan, heat peanut oil. Add and toast cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves to fragrance.
Add the rehydrated chana dal to the skillet. Saute the dal to pale red.
Add tomato and cook to soft.
Add turai pieces. Sprinkle turmeric. Mix well. Cover and cook the turai for about five minutes or until the pieces become soft.
Stir in salt. Sprinkle a tablespoon of grated coconut if you wish. Cook another couple of minutes and turn off the heat.
Serve the turai with chana dal warm with rice, chapati or bread for a light and tasty meal.

Turai with Chana Dal ~ for Meal Today

This is a video of the beerakaaya plant from my garden. Filled with pretty, yellow flowers and long, ribbed vegetables, beautiful beerakaaya vine is a sight to behold during peak summer time.

Beerakaaya Harvest for this Week

I grew up in a household where every festival was and still is religiously celebrated with great bhakthi and bhukthi. I’ve been trying to recreate those traditions here at my home. Each festival has its own set of pooja procedures. I am writing what I remember here at Mahanandi. This pleasure of festival series is for me and for those of you who would like a reference point. The pooja traditions I follow are from my birthplace, Nandyala in India. You are most welcome to contribute what you know and follow.

The Pleasures of Festivals ~ Nagula Chavithi

About:
Nagula Chavithi is a festival where serpents are worshipped with great devotion. Nagula Chavithi is celebrated during the months of “Sravanam”(August) and/or in “Karthikam” (November). “Nagu” means the snake and “Chavithi” is the fourth day after every newmoon day. On this day, devotees observe fast and worship Nagamayya, the supreme snake- the Seven hooded cobra. Fresh flowers, milk, vadapappu, chalimidi, nuvvula-mudda and fresh coconut are offered as neivedyam. Thoranam is also placed infront of Nagamayya. Devotees offer milk to Naga Vigraham beneath the bodhi tree in temples and some complete the pooja at home placing an idol of a snake just for that day.

The Legend:
Legend behind Nagula Chavithi is that during the churning of the ocean by gods and demons in search of “Amrutham” (the nectar of immortality), a snake was used as rope and in the process, a terrible poison (“garalam”) emerged. The poison would have engulfed the whole world, but for Bhagavan Shiva, who swallowed it and retained it in His throat. His throat turned blue – hence, Bhagavan Shiva is called “Neelakantha”. However, a few drops spilled and to ward off the evil effects, people worship the Cobra, the king of snakes, to pacify the brood and protect themselves from any ill effects.

Pooja Preparation:
The day before:
Clean the home. Clean the bhagavan mandir.
Shopping list: Yellow moong dal, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, jaggery, cardamom, ghee, fresh milk, dry coconut and fresh coconut for pooja, cotton thread for thoranam. Fresh flowers and fruits.
Ingredients preparation: Crush or grate the jaggery to fine. Grate the dry coconut. Crush the cardamom seeds and prepare cardamom powder. Store them in clean jars.

On Nagula Chavithi Day:
Purify with a head bath. Decorate the mandir with fresh flowers.
Prepare neivedyam: Vadapappu, chalimidi, sesame laddu.

Vadapappu: Soak half cup of yellow moong dal in two cups of water for about an hour. At pooja time, drain the water and add the rehydrated moong dal to neivedyam platter. For detailed vadapappu recipe and photo -click here.

Chalimidi: soak 3/4 cup of rice grains in water for about half an hour. Drain the water and spread the rice on a clean cloth to air-dry for about 15 minutes under the sun or fan. Take the semi-dried rice in a food processor or mortar. Grind or pound to fine powder. It comes about one cup of rice powder. You could also use readymade rice powder for chalimidi for convenience. The taste won’t be the same though.
To this rice powder, add quarter cup of dry coconut powder, one cup of finely crushed jaggery, a tablespoon of white poppy seeds and a teaspoon of cardamom powder. Blend the ingredients without adding any water until well combined. Take this sweet rice mix in a bowl. Take about three tablespoons of this mixture into your hand. Press gently into round shape and some into cylindrical shape. Usually the moisture from rice and jaggery is enough to shape the mixture into rounds. If necessary, sprinkle few drops of water or melted ghee for easy shaping. This is chalimidi. Place few chalimidi on neivedyam platter.

Nuvvula Mudda (Sesame Laddu): Crush or grate jaggery to superfine mix. Take a cup of sesame seeds in a food processor or stone mortar. Add a cup of jaggery, quarter cup of rice powder, quarter cup of dry coconut powder and a teaspoon of cardamom powder. Grind or pound the ingredients well without adding any water. Sesame seeds have to reach from powder to oily mix stage. When you see the oil from sesame seeds starts separating, remove the mix to a bowl. Mix in a tablespoon of poppy seeds. Take two to three tablespoons of mixture into your hand. Press gently into round shape and some into cylindrical shape. These are nuvvula mudda. Place few nuvvula mudda on neivedyam platter.

Now the neivedyam is ready. On to the pooja.

For Nagula Chavithi Pooja:

Prepare Nagamayya: I do not have Nagamayya statue at home, so I make Nagamayya with wheat flour. Take quarter cup of wheat flour in a bowl. Sprinkle few tablespoons of water, knead and make tight dough. Roll the dough into a long, round coil. Shape the coil into a snake form and press the coil end into snake head(padaga/ hood) form. Cover the snake in turmeric and kumkum mixture. This is Nagamayya and the deity of the day is ready now. Place the Nagamayya in bhagavan mandir. Decorate with fresh oleanders and other flowers. Place a small glass of fresh milk and a spoon on the side.

Prepare the thoranam: Take a cotton thread in three rows. Apply turmeric to the thread. This is thoranam. Place it in front of Nagamayya.

Pooja Vidhanam:
Place the neivedyam platter with Vadapappu, chalimidi and nuvvula mudda in front of Nagamayya. Place fresh fruits (bananas).
Light the deepam and agarbatti.
Offer milk to Nagamayya. Take a teaspoon of milk and gently pour onto Nagamayya head.
Recite Sri Subramanya Swamy Astothharam for Nagamayya. Meditate.
Break the coconut. Offer coconut water and then mangala arathi to Nagamayya.
Take the thoranam and tie it to your right wrist. Do the same for your family members. While tying the knot, make a wish.

The pooja is finished. Leave the home and spend few minutes in front or back door. This is a tradition so that the Nagamayya can have some privacy to enjoy the neivedyam.

After few minutes outside, come inside and have neivedyam prasadam with family and friends. Usually we fast on Nagula Chavithi and have only neivedyam, milk and fruits. The next day on Naga Panchami, we prepare the feast with payasam, pulihora and vada or bajji, along with rice, dal, curry and dahi. After offering the neivedyam to bhagavan on banana leaf, the festival feast is shared with family and friends.

Mothers gift their married daughters new clothes, bangles, sesame laddus and dry whole coconuts. Elder sisters also share the gifts with younger sisters.

After evening mangala arathi, sendoff Nagamayya into woods. Place the deity on a plant or tree and leave it there for the nature.

This completes the Nagula Chavithi celebrations.

I had the pleasure of celebrating the Nagula Chavithi and Panchami last Friday and on Saturday (August 13th and 14th). I wish I had taken some photos of neivedyam for this article. Even without photos, I hope the pooja procedure is clear and easy to follow. May Nagamayya bless us all.

Sing Jana Gana Mana. Salute, Jai Hind. Enjoy chocolate or biscuit with friends.

We fondly remember the days when we were kids attending the Independence Day celebration at school. Though it was small and just a single piece, receiving that simple sweet for us young minds was a sure cause of celebration.

At our school, Swami Vivekananda Vidyalaya at Nandyala, children are getting a chance to enjoy some of the traditional sweets like jhangri and laddu on special occasions. This Independence Day children enjoyed jhangri.

Happy Independence Day to Beautiful Bharath!

One of the cute young girls enjoying Jhangri on this 15th August ~ from Swami School, Nandyala.

One of the first recipes from my beginner cooking days I was confident to cook was the utterly delicious semiya upma. Like Maggi noodles for this generation, comfort and quick college food was semiya upma for us in those days. Fry the onion, boil water and add the roasted semiya. A one dish meal with minimum utensils and effort, and a tasty end result, it’s very easy to latch on semiya upma for comfort.

Semiya is Indian vermicelli. Made with durum wheat and free of egg, it’s available very thin, broken and in packets in Indian grocery stores.

I have been craving semiya upma for some time and made it on Ekadashi. Semiya upma, aavakaaya and avocado – it was a blessed meal.

Roasted Semiya

Semiya Upma
(for 2 to 4, for 2 to 1 meal)

2 cups, semiya (Indian vermicelli)
1 medium sized red onion or shallot, finely chopped
2 fresh chillies, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh peas, shelled
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup roasted, cashew pieces
1/4 teaspoon, salt or to taste
1 tablespoon, peanut oil
from masala dabba, for curry leaf tadka: 10 curry leaves, and
1/4 teaspoon each- urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds and cumin

1. Heat a wide pan over medium heat. Add semiya. With a slotted spoon, turn the semiya over and over again and roast until the semiya is uniformly pale red. Transfer the roasted semiya to a plate. The roasting process prevents the semiya becoming a gooey mudda in the end and increases the ruchi very much.

2. In the same pan, heat peanut oil. When oil is hot, add curry leaves, urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds and cumin. Saute the tadka ingredients to fragrance, constantly stirring. Add onion and chilli pieces. Saute to soft. Add peas and 3 cups of water. Sprinkle salt. Mix well and cover the pan with a lid. Increase the heat to high.

3. When the water comes to a rolling boil, remove the lid and constantly stirring, add the roasted semiya to water. Reduce the heat to medium. Partially cover the pan and cook the semiya till the water is all absorbed. Turn off the heat.

4.Garnish with cilantro and cashew pieces. Gently mix and leave the semiya upma for ten minutes for flavors to mingle well. Then serve the semiya upma hot with pickle, chutney or podi. Kids love it with some sugar sprinkled on the top. Tasty semiya upma can be had for breakfast, evening snack, or for meal.

Semiya Upma with Mango Aavakaaya and Avocado ~ for Meal on Ekadashi

Kitchen Notes:
for 1 cup of semiya – add one and half cups of water

Bottlenose Dolphins in the Galveston Bay

Last weekend, we went to Galveston, a small island in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s about an hour drive from my home. We spent time watching bottlenose dolphins and on the sea on a free ferry ride. The weather was balmy and the beaches were crowded. Still it was fun, thanks to brief rain and cooling breeze. I packed some boiled peanuts to snack. Shell and eat, within minutes they were gone. Salty and succulent, they were the perfect snack for a beach day. Being from the India, I think we are destined to crave boiled peanuts.:) They are very addictive.

Boiled Peanuts ~ for a Beach Day

For those of you, who would like to engage your tastebuds in a salty succulence with delicious boiled peanuts, here is the recipe.

2 pounds, raw, fresh peanuts
2 tablespoons, sea salt
Big pot or pressure cooker and a colander

Wash peanuts in plenty of water. Take them in a pressure cooker. Add salt and enough water to cover them.
Close the lid and on medium-low heat, pressure-cook the peanuts to tender. Slow cooking produces excellent results with soft and salty peanuts.
Pour the cooked peanuts in a colander and drain the water. Cool for few minutes.
Break open and enjoy the tasty boiled peanuts. Yum!

4 oz jar of red chilli pickle

Red Chilli Pickle:

Last week I prepared an Andhra style, red chilli pickle with ripe, red Serrano chillies. The pickle is all natural ingredients, stone-ground, and extremely hot. It tastes great when applied in small quantity on breakfast items, to spread on sandwiches, or to spike up the sauces. The detailed recipe is here. I am offering 5 jars of pickle for those of you interested chilli fans who would like to try.

4 oz jar for $ 9.99 (includes shipping).
Update: Soldout. Thank you!