Ingredients:

Slit open the bottom portion of eggplants like "X" until 1/2 inch left near stem. Do not take out the top portion. Stuff the eggplants with the ground paste. Heat oil in a fry pan and shallow fry the eggplants on low flame until done. Cook the eggplants evenly on all sides. Set aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add onions and curry leaves and cook until onion turns light brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute until raw smell goes. Add tomatoes and cook until it becomes soft. Add tamarind juice, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt and bring it to a boil. Add the Stuffed eggplants and any remaining ground paste. Cook until oil separates. Finish off with jaggery (in case, if the dish is too hot). Add chopped cilantro. Serve hot with rotis and rice.

Beet bunch (Beet root with greens) is always a must buy item in my shopping list, whenever I visit the Farm Market. My farm market has them always fresh, that I buy beet root as a bunch and not loose. Apart from making curries and gravies using beet root, I also use the Beet greens in my dishes. I usually add beet greens with spinach in most of my cooking. This time I tried making this curry and believe me it was so good. Especially, adding black pepper to the curry gave a very good taste!

Coming to the recipe,

Ingredients:

Wash and chop beet greens. Chop carrots into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and when it splutters, add urad dal. Add carrots and cook until carrots are half done. Add the chopped beet greens, asafoetida and salt. Cook for 2 mins. Sprinkle some water if required. Add the ground powder and mix well.

I wish all the visitors of Chandrabhaga, A VERY COLORFUL, JOYFUL AND WONDERFUL DIWALI. May the year ahead be as "Sweet" as the Sweets, as "Bright" as the Lights and as "Cheerful" as the Crispy snacks. Have a wonderful celebration!

Coming to the recipes, this year I made Badusha and Boondi laddu for Sweets, and Murukku and Thattai for Snacks.


Badusha

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour - 2 cups
• Butter - 1 stick (8 tbsp), softened
• Baking Soda - A pinch
• Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
• Cardamom - 2 or 3 crushed
• Saffron - A pinch
• Oil- for frying

How to make it:

Sieve the flour. Add the baking soda and mix well. Add the softened butter and knead for about 7-10 minutes, into a firm dough. Keep Covered for about 10 minutes. Mean while, make sugar syrup with little water to one-thread consistency. Add cardamom powder and saffron. Now, make small balls out of the dough. Press slightly to make a round shape. Make a small impression in the center and deep fry few at a time in hot oil on low flame. Cook on both sides evenly until it turns light brown. Drain oil and dip in sugar syrup for about 2-3 minutes. Let it cool on a wax paper.

Boondi Laddu

Ingredients:

• Besan Flour - 1 cup
• Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
• Sugar - 2 cups
• Cloves - about 6, crushed
• Cashews - Few, broken
• Diamond Kalkandu ( white rock sugar)- 2 tbsp
• Pachai karpooram (Raw Camphor) - a pinch
• Oil - for frying
  

How to make it:

Mix besan and rice flour with water and make into a pourable consistency. Heat oil in a pan, hold the ladle with small holes over the oil, pour the batter one ladle at a time. Fry boondi until done and take on to a paper towel and drain excess oil. Make sugar syrup to one-thread consistency. In a pan, fry cashews in little ghee. Pour the sugar syrup over the boondi in a big bowl and mix well. Add the crushed cloves, fried cashews and mix well. When it is slightly warm add the raw camphor and white rock sugar. Mix well. Grease hand with ghee and make balls out of it.


Thattai

Ingredients:

• Rice flour - 2 cups
• Moong dal - 1/4 cup
• Green chillies - 5
• Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Oil- for frying

How to make it:

Soak moong dal in water for about 15 minutes. Drain. Grind green chillies into a paste. Mix rice flour, moong dal, Green chilli paste, red chilli powder, salt and asafoetida together. Add water little by little and make into a dough. Grease a plastic cover with oil, Take small balls of dough and press to make a round shape. Drop on to hot oil and fry until golden brown. Drain excess oil. Let it cool and store in an air tight container.

Check out my other recipes for thattai here and here


Murukku

Ingredients:

• Rice flour - 1 1/2 cups
• Urad flour - 1 tbsp
• Green chilli paste - 1 tbsp
• Red chilli powder -1 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Ajwain seeds - 1 tsp
• Oil - for frying

How to make it:

Mix all the above together with water and make a soft dough. Heat oil in a broad pan, using a murukku press make 4 or 5 murukku at a time over the oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain excess oil and store in an air tight container.