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10 Simply Divine Recipes

1. Udupi Kosambari (Soaked lentil salad) Take half a handful of split mung dal. Soak in water for an hour. Drain water. Add a handful of chopped cucumber. Mix in two pinches of salt. Eaten as a salad or served as a side dish to rice and curry. (Consistency: Dry). No Cook Recipe.

South Indian Temple Cuisine:
Temple towns in India act as the fountainhead of culinary innovation. Palani invented the Panchamirtham and Rasagulas were invented in the Puri Jagannath temple. Udupi, the abode of Lord Krishna has given birth to a huge hotel industry, spawning innumerable hotels across the country. The Tirupathi Laddoo, Sabarimala Aravana payasam and Ambalapuzha Paal payasam are so unique and popular that over 30 tonnes of Aravana payasam and over 150,000 laddoos are distributed to devotees every day on festive days. Food cooked in temples do not use onions / garlic as they are believed to stimulate baser emotions. Asafetida is used as a substitute. ‘English’ vegetables (that were introduced to India in the last few hundred years) like potatoes, tomato, cauliflower, beans, cabbage etc are not usually used. Ultra orthodox temples still use pepper (native to India) and not chili (introduced later by the Portuguese). Many temples use only fruits / vegetables grown in or around the temples. So, though a variety of rice is served as Prasad, tomato rice is conspicuous by its absence.

Shopping List:
Split Mung dal - 50 gms
Cucumber, lemon - 1 no
Salt, Sugar – As needed
Mountain bananas - 4 nos
Dates, Kalkandu, raisins, almonds, cashew - 1/2 handful each
Ghee - 200 ml
Cardamom powder, Asafetida, Turmeric powder
Mustard, cumin , Bengal gram, Urad dal ,Red chilies, Green chilies, peppercorns - 50 gms
Coconut - 1 no
curry leaves, Cilantro ( Kothamalli) - 1 small bunch
Chickpeas - 50 gms
Whole green gram - 50 gms
Rice - 500 gms
Yogurt - 200 ml
Rava ( semolina) - 100 gms
Jaggery- 250 gms

Courtesy: www.ramkicooks.blogspot.com

2. Palani Panchamirtham (No-cook Jam) Take four virupachi bananas ( mountain banana, from the town of Virupachi, near Palani). Peel and mash well. Mix in half a handful sugar, one chopped dates, a bit kalkandu, raisins, a pinch cardamom powder and a spoon ghee. Mix well.

3. Lemon rice Heat a spoon of oil. Add two pinches each of mustard, curry leaves, urad dal, Bengal gram, a chopped green chili and half a handful of chopped cashew nuts. Cook for two minutes. Add two pinches each of turmeric powder and salt. Remove from fire and add the juice of half a lemon. Mix with two handfuls of cooked rice. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

4. Thenga Sadham (Coconut rice) Heat a spoon of oil. Add two pinches each of mustard, curry leaves,urad dal, a red chili, a slit green chili, a pinch of asafetida, a handful of grated coconut and two pinches of salt. Stir and cook for two minutes. Mix in two handfuls of cooked rice . Garnish with cilantro and serve.

5. Sundal ( Spiced Chickpeas) Soak a cup of chickpeas in three cups of water overnight. Drain. Add two cups of water, three pinches of salt and pressure cook for three whistles. Let cool and drain water. Heat a spoon of oil. Add two pinches of mustard, two chopped green chilies, two curry leaves, cooked chickpeas and a handful of grated coconut. Mix well and serve.

6. Muniyodharan Pongal (Rice – whole gram porridge). Add one cup of rice, half a handful of whole green gram, 3 cups of water, two pinches of salt to a pressure cooker and Pressurecook for three whistles. Let cool and mash coarsely. Heat half a cup of ghee. Add a pinch of asafetida, cumin, and two pinches of coarsely crushed peppercorns. Mix in with rice.

7. Dadhiyojanam (Yogurt Rice ) Mix a cup of cooked rice (rice should not be hot) with a cup of milk, half a cup of yogurt and two pinches of salt. Heat a spoon of oil. Add two pinches each of mustard, urad dal, coarsely crushed peppercorns, half a handful of chopped cashew, a small bit of chopped ginger, two curry leaves and a chopped green chili. Mix with rice. Mix in two pinces of salt.

8. Pulihora (Tamarind Rice) Take a spoon of tamarind paste. Mix in half a cup of water (100 ml). Mix in a pinch of turmeric powder, two pinches of salt and simmer for around 5 minutes till it becomes a thick paste. Spread a cup of cooked rice on a plate. Mix in the cooked tamarind paste. Heat a spoon of oil. Add a pinch of mustard seeds, a dry red chili, a pinch of cumin, bengal gram, asafetida and a pinch of turmeric powder. Mix in half a handful of roasted groundnuts. Stir and fry. Mix with rice.

9. Kesari (Semolina pudding) Heat a spoon of ghee. Add half a cup (100 ml) of rava. Stir and roast on medium flame for around three minutes till it browns. Keep aside. Heat two spoons of ghee. Add a handful of a mix of raisins, dates and chopped cashew. Add two cups (400 ml) of water and bring to a boil. Add half a handful of sugar. a pinch of cardamom powder and a tiny bit of yellow / orange / red food colour. Gradually mix in the roasted rava, breaking up the lumps. Stir and cook for around two minutes till it becomes a semi solid. Will thicken considerably on cooling.

10. Sakkara Pongal (Jaggery rice) In a pressure cooker, add 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup split mung dal and 2 cups water. Pressure cook for two whistles. Heat 1/2 cup ghee. Add a handful of raisins - chopped cashew - almond mixture. Add 1 cup jaggery and let melt. Mix in a pinch of cardamom power and the cooked rice - dal mixture. Add 1/2 a cup of fresh grated coconut and 1/2 cup of dry grated coconut (copra). Stir and cook for 5 minutes.