Recipes to try out this festive season by banana leaf

For all those who are still in doubt what and how things are made for Ganesh Chaturthi {which is in like a couple of day}, here is the guide of recipes for all you people to impress your elders by making these traditional dishes. Follow these simple recipes to make amazing dishes and show off your cooking skills. All the recipes are authentic and are loved by a lot of people. Take Notes.

Payasam (Kheer)

Ingredients

1 litre milk
• ½ cup rice
• 1 tsp ghee
• ¼ tsp of cardamom powder
• 1 level cup sugar
• 6 to 8 marble sized rice flour balls, steamed (similar to the steamed rice flour dough in jilledu kayalu)Method
• Rub a bit of ghee into the dry rice.
• Boil the milk and add the rice. Let it simmer on a low flame till the rice is cooked.
• Stir often in between to prevent the rice from burning and the milk from over boiling.
• When the rice is cooked, add sugar and stir continuously for about 10 minutes.
• Add cardamom powder, steamed rice balls and let it simmer for a while. Offer to the Lord and serve

Undrallu (Rice rava balls)

Ingredients
• 2cups rice
• 1 tbsp of channa dal
• ¼ tsp of cumin seeds
• Salt to taste

For the Tempering:
• 1 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp urad dal
• ¼ tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida,
• 2 Green chillies finely chopped
• 10 Curry leaves

Method
• Wash and drain the rice. Let it dry out for 2-3 hours on a clean cloth.
• Grind the rice to make fine rava. It need not be sieved,
• In a deep pan heat the oil and add all the tempering, When it splutters,
• Add green chillies and curry leaves four cups of water and let it boil.
• In the boiling water add the channa dal and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Add salt and rice rava, stir well.
• Cover with a lid and let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes,
• Stirring off and on in between to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom and burning.

When cooked, set aside to cool a bit.
• When warm enough to handle (not completely cold), grease your palms,
• Scoop out small handful and shape into big lemon sized balls.
• Steam the balls for about 10 minutes.
(Offer to the Lord perhaps? and) serve with coconut chutney or coriander chutney.

Jilledu Kayalu (modak/kodakattai)

Ingredients
For the dough:
• 2 cups rice flour,
• 4 cups water,
• A pinch Salt

For the coconut filling:
• 1 medium sized coconut grated
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder

For the sesame seeds filling:
• 1 cup sesame seeds
• ½ cup powdered sugar or crushed jaggery
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder

Method
For the dough:
Boil the water. When bubbling, reduce the flame to a simmer and add the rice flour.
Stir continuously to avoid lumps from forming. cover it and set aside to cool.
When cool, make 25 to 30 balls of equal size (about the size of a lemon)

For the coconut filling:
Heat the grated coconut and sugar in a thick-bottomed pan.
Stir continuously till the sugar melts and begins to coat the sides of the pan.
Take off the flame and add cardamom powder.

For the sesame seeds filling:
Dry roast and powder the sesame seeds.
Add sugar/jaggery and the cardamom powder. Mix well.

Final assembly:
Take a ball of the rice flour dough.
Flatten it between your palms like a small puri),
Place a bit of the coconut stuffing or sesame stuffing in the centre.
Fold in the sides of the rice dough puri and pinch close so that the stuffing is sealed in the centre of an oblong shaped jilledu kaya (Lord Ganesha is fond of jilledu flowers, So its made in the shape of those flowers).
Carefully place all the (Jilledu kayalu in a steamer basket and steam (like idlis) for 10 minutes. Cool, (offer to the Lord perhaps? and) serve.

Panasaku buttalu (rice dumplings steamed in jack fruit leaves)

Ingredients
• 2 cups urad dal,
• 4 cups rice
• Salt to taste,
• Jack fruit leaves fashioned into baskets

Method
• The batter used is very similar to idli batter.
• Soak the urad dal in water for 3-4 hours. Wash and drain the rice. Dry on a clean cloth for about an hour.
• Grind the rice and sieve it to make fine rava. Soak the rice rava for about half an hour.
• Wash and grind the soaked urad dal into a thick batter.
• Drain the rice rava and squeeze out the excess water.
• Add rava to the batter.
• Add salt and leave overnight.

Jackfruit baskets:
Wash the fresh jack fruit leaves and flatten them out by keeping them under a heavy weight for about half an hour.
Take four leaves of similar size and fashion into baskets using a stapler (as shown in the photograph). Make about 20 25 baskets.
Ladle batter into the jackfruit baskets and for about 10-15 minutes. Peel off the leaf-basket and offer the God
serve warm with ghee, tender green tamarind chutney or tomato chutney.

Making the jackfruit leaf-basket (buttalu)

You need: 60 jackfruit leaves (for 15 baskets), stapler, and scissors
Step: 1
pick four leaves of similar size and place as in the photo and staple the ends to form a base of the cup/basket position the leaves such that they overlap and staple them repeat with the other side to fashion a basket (cup shaped hallow)

Step: 2
position the leaves such that they overlap and staple them

Step: 3
repeat with the other side to fashion a basket (cup shaped hallow)

Step: 4
trim three of leaf stems of the cup/basket, leave the fourth to facilitate holding the cup/basket

Note: If you cannot get leaves as per the recipe use small steel tumblers

Pulihora

Ingredients:
• 3 cups or 600gms cooked rice
• 2 tbsp pea nuts
• 1 ½ tsp chana dal
• 1 ½ tsp urad dal
• ½ tsp mustard seeds

10-15 curry leaves
• 4-5 green chilies slit length wise
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• a big lemon size of tamarind. (Extract the juice and keep it aside.)
• 3 tbsp oil
• Salt to tasteMethod:
1. Heat oil in a wok.
2. Add peanuts, chana dal and urad dal.
3. Sauté till golden brown.
4. Add mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add asafetida, green chilies, turmeric.and red chillies.
5. Keep half of the above ingredients aside.
6. Add the tamarind extract to the wok and boil till the oil leaves to the sides.
7. Add the cooked rice and mix well.