Ingredients:

Coconut – 1 full(grated)

Jaggery – 2 cups

Cardamom – 1/2 tsp

Maida – 1 cup

Turmeric – a pinch

Salt – a pinch

Water – little

Oil – as required

Thengai Poli

Method:

1. Add little salt, turmeric to maida and add sufficient oil, water and prepare soft dough. keep this prepared 1 hour before.

2. Grind coconut and jaggery and fry them in ghee to thicken. And stuffing is ready.

All other steps remain the same like dhal Poli.

Paruppu Poli

Channa dhal – 1 cup

Jaggery – 3/4 cup

Grated coconut – 2 tsp

cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp

Maida – 1 cup

turmeric powder – a pinch

Salt – a pinch

water – little

Oil – as required

Method:

1. Add little salt, turmeric to maida and add sufficient oil, water and prepare soft dough. keep this prepared 1 hour before.

2. Cook the channa dhal and remove off the excess water.

3. Grind cooked channa dhal, jaggery, coconut and cardamom. Do not add water while grinding.

4. Add 1 tsp ghee to frying pan and add the ground paste and allow it to thicken.

5. Prepare medium sized balls with the grounded mixture after it cools down. Stuffing is ready.

6. Take a clean plastic sheet or plantain leaf and grease it with oil.

7. Make small balls with the maida dough and keep each one in the leaf and flatten it a bit and keep the stuffing.

8. Properly close the maida and flatten again using hand. (just like thin poories but little small in size)

9. Cook them in a tawa adding ghee and oil. Cook until they are cooked on both sides.(again like chappathi)

Dhal poli or paruppu poli is ready. Add ghee while serving.

Ingredients:

Raw Rice – 1 1/2 cups

Urad Dhal – 2 tsp

Toor dhal – 2 tsp

Maida – 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Green chilli – 2 nos

Curry and coriander leaves – little

Salt – to taste

Oil – to fry

Seasoning:

Oil – 2 tsp

Mustard – 1/2 tsp

Urad and channa dhal – 2 tsp

Asafoetida – 2 pinch

Method:

1. Soak rice and dhal in water for 2 hours and get it grinded with chilli, curry and coriander leaves and salt to a fine paste.

2. Now add maida slowly and mix well.

3. Heat oil in a pan and season the batter with the ingredients mentioned in seasoning.

4. The consistency should be like that of the dosa batter.

5. Now heat oil in a tawa, take small amount of this batter and pour one by one into the oil.

6. When you pour, the batter would go to the bottom and as it starts cooking it will come to the top and then you can turn it to the other side and get it cooked.

Karthigai or Karthikai Deepam is the festival of lights in Tamil Nadu and it is observed on the full moon day of the Tamil month Karthigai (November-December) on the Karthigai Nakshatram day.

On this day, temples, homes and streets are decorated with traditional oil lamps. Special pujas and prayers are held at temples.

Karthikai Deepam - Diyas

As a tradition, we prepare some dishes as offering to God on this day.

Some have the habit of preparing pori urundai or puffed rice balls and some have the habit of preparing sweet and savory appams.

Sweet Appam Recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw rice – 1 1/2 cups

Jaggery – 1 1/2 cup

Maida or wheat flour – 1 cup

Cardamom – a pinch

Coconut scrapings – 2 tsp

Oil – to fry

Method:

1. Soak rice for 2 hours and get it grinded along with jaggery and coconut to a fine paste adding little water.

2. Mix maida slowly to this mixture not allowing it to form clumps.

3. The consistency should be like that of the dosa batter.

4. Now heat oil in a tawa, take small amount of this batter and pour one by one into the oil.

5. When you pour, the batter would go to the bottom and as it starts cooking it will come to the top and then you can turn it to the other side and get it cooked.

Sweet Appam

Ingredients:

Fresh Coconut scrapings – 2 cups

Sugar – 1 cup

Cardamom – a pinch

Method:

1. Melt the sugar in a thick bottomed vessel adding little water.

2. Add the cardamom to the sugar syrup and mix well.

3. Now add the coconut scrapings little by little and stir well.

4. As the mixture starts thickening, transfer it to a ghee greased plate and cut them to pieces immediately.

Note: If needed can add 2 tsp of ghee before transferring it to plate.

Coconut Burfi