Chekkalu or Pappu Chekkalu or Karam billalu

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail". Harold R. McAlindon


Todays receipe is Chekkalu.  It is simple yet delicious. Its a nice tea-time snack.

Ingredients

Rice flour - 500 gms

Bengal gram - 2 tbsps (soaked for an hour)

Carom seeds - 2 tbsp 

Sesame seeds - 2 tbsps

Salt as per taste

Red chilli powder as per taste

Turmeric powder -1 tsp

Peanuts - 3 tsps(nicely roasted and chopped)

Water as required

Curry leaves - 2 strings (roughly crushed)

Oil for deep frying

Method 

1. Take a bowl add the rice flour. Add bengal gram, carom seeds, sesame seeds, salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, peanuts and curry leaves. 

2. Boil some water and add to the above content slowly and make a dough. 

3. Rest the dough for half an hour. Place a damp cloth on the  dough so that it wont get dry. 

4. Heat the oil. Before its hot mean while make chekkalu on a plastic sheet each of 4 inch diameter and deep fry them.

Note

1. We use hot water for making a dough. This makes the chekkalu to puff a little. 

2. Before making the whole batch, make 2 or 3. Let them cool and check whether the salt and red chilli powder ratio proportions.  if necessary you can add. 

3.You can also prepare using besan or gram flour. You can add rice flour and besan in 1:1 ratio.

4.Always maintain the flame in medium so that you can have uniform color to all the chekkalu. 

Karamposa

Decide what you want ... believe you can have it, believe you deserve it, believe it’s possible for you. - Rhonda Byrne

On occasion of diwali my mom used to prepare these festival foods at home. The one which i am telling today is a thicker version of a karamposa.

Ingredients

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Rice flour - 3 cups

Gram flour - 1 cup

Salt - as required

Red chilli powder - as required

Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp

Ajwain - 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp

Ghee (optional)

Oil for deep frying

Water - as required.

Method

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1. Mix the two flours. To this add salt, redchilli powder, turmeric powder, sesame seeds, ajwain.

2. Boil the water and mix this water in the flour and make a stiff dough.

3. Heat the oil. Once the oil is hot, place some dough in the poosa gottam and press the gottam for the desirable shape for the poosa.
4. Fry them nicely and place the korapupoosa on the paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Sunniundalu/Moong Dal ladoo

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. - Anatole France

My aunt prepares this ladoos called as moongdal ladoo whenever i demand for any ladoo... I really used to cherish those moments when i used to go to her place only for these ladoos. I used to wonder how good this ladoo is. So i asked my mom how these ladoos are made.. and thought to make these for diwali....

Here it goes..

Ingredients

------------

Urad dal - 1 cup

Sugar - as required

Ghee - 3/4 cup(melted)

Method:-

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1. Take the urad dal fry in any pan without oil until it becomes little bit brown on medium heat. It approximately takes 20 - 30 minutes.

2. Once they are nicely fried, cool them and make them into fine powder.

3. Once the powder is made, add the sugar.Measure the powder.Now add the sugar to the powder. The powder and sugar ratio is 1:2.Mix the powder and sugar well.Check the powder, if the sweetness is enough for you.

4. Now add the melted ghee to the powder and make ladoos out of it.

Note:-

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Usually my mom likes the powder very fine. So she used to get it done in a mill near our house.She also use powdered sugar in place of a granular one.

Wheat Ladoo

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. - Hugh Downs

This ladoo is so yummy.... My best friend prepared this on Ganesh chathurthi...I was so eager to prepare the ladoo.. i jot down all the details from her... Here it goes....

Ingredients

~~~~~~~~

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Sugar - as per flour( The measure is explained below.)

Butter - 1/2 cup (melted)

Roasted Cashew nuts - 1 tbsp (These cashewnuts are fried golden brown in ghee)

Roasted Dry grapes - 1 tbsp ( These dry grapes( Kishmis) are fried golden brown in ghee)

Water

Method

~~~~~

1. Mix wheat flour and water and knead into a soft dough.

2. Make small pedas out of it and press them flat like small puris.

3. Now take a tava and when it is hot apply little butter and place all these above made puris on the tava.

4. Roast these puris till they are golden brown on low heat.

5. Once they turn golden brown. Cool these puris and grind them into fine powder.

6. Now measure this powder. The amount of sugar and the wheat powder should be in 1:1 ratio. You can increase the sugar as per your taste.

7. Now mix sugar and wheat powder well. Add the roasted cashewnuts and the dry grapes to it.

8. Now add melted ghee to it. when it is hot, try to make ladoos.

9. You can store them for 15 days in a air tight container.

Note:- Please read the whole recipe carefully before you are attempting any.