To most of us around the world, celebrating one's own birthday is a big deal, but for us Indians, we celebrate ours, and our God's!! Today happens to be Lord Krishna's Birthday, based on the lunar calendar, falls on the 8th day after the new moon day .. ashtami! A little about Indian mythology...stories that we all grew up listening to from generations past, is an amazing web reflecting new age, modern life's tapestry!! We Indians generally draw our strength and inspirations to live from these age old mythological stories -- of which the 2 main gigantic epics being Ramayana (stories of Lord Rama) and Mahabharata (Stories of Lord Vishnu). Both being incarnations of the same form/God -- Narayana. Please do look up Dashavathar stories to learn about the 10 different incarnations, Ramayana and Mahabharata. I feel Krishna is very important in the realm of Indian spirituality.... why you may ask??!! For, he is the epitome of happiness, celebrations, love, romance, music, the list is quite exhaustive! Lord Krishna amidst all listed worldly elements asks you to renounce the world but .. to accept it as presented!!! In a nutshell..no-one's life is rosy as is but one must learn to accept it as a whole and celebrate it!! Every festival in India is centered around the characteristic foods prepared for that particular God!!! Today, we prepare, little savory pellets -- Uppu Cheedai, Sweet pellets -- Vella Cheedai both made of roasted rice flour. We also supplement the Cheedais with Murukku, thenkozhal, karachikkai and so on, if you want a very elaborate feast! I stick to the first 2 and also make a sweet and a savory dish with beaten and flattened rice crisps called Poha! I have my own selfish reasons for preparing poha today!! There is a very significant story attached to this Poha! It is said that a childhood friend of Krishna, Sudama, who would not share their share of poha during a play date and lies about the very existence of it! The consequence being, he has to endure a life of poverty while Krishna lives the life of a King!! Later on, in adulthood, when the poverty is unbearable, with the prodding of Mrs.Sudama, he visits Krishna and as a gift, gives him some poha, earned out of his his sheer hard work. And viola! he is bestowed with riches to last generations!! So, there is so much at stake and I never forget to offer Krishna his share of poha during his birthday. I shall share some simple and delectable recipes on that!
Vella Cheedai! You will need -- Dark brown sugar 3/4 cup, Roasted rice flour 1cup, sweetened coconut--2 tbsp., cardamom powder-- 1tsp, salt -- a pinch and oil to deep fry!
Mix all of the above into to dough ball with water (about 1/4 cup). Add in small increments to get a soft yet, slightly firm pliable dough. Make lime sized balls like shown below.
Deep fry them in hot oil (oil should be of a neutral flavor so I go with Canola oil), until they are slightly dark brown. they should be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside! Try with one at a time and then increase the number of balls per batch to deep fry!
Your Perfect Vella Cheedai is ready!!!! Now, fry up the rest with Confidence!!!
Uppu Cheedai: I will need -- Roasted Rice Flour -- 1 cup, Urad Dal Flour (from the Indian Grocery store) --2 Tbsp, Cumin Seeds-- 1 tsp, Cayenne Pepper Powder -- 3/4 tsp or more (as per your liking), Hing -- a pinch, Salt -- 1/2-3/4 tsp (to taste) and oil to deep fry!
Mix all of the above to a firm, stiff dough ball. Roll the dough into smooth pellets to the size of a cocoa puff! Deep fry them in a batch of 10-15 to a golden brown color, drain them into a bowl lined with paper towels!
Your Uppu Cheedai is ready to be devoured....have to be crispy and crunchy, inside and out!
Vella Aval: Sweetened Poha: I will need -- thick poha --2/3 cup, dark brown sugar --2/3 cup+2 tbsp, Sweetened coconut -- 2 tbsp., Cardamom power -- 1 tsp., Butter 3 tbsp. Cashews about 5-6, chopped, and water as needed
Saute in a pan in this order: Add 2 tbsp butter, roast the cashews, once they darken sightly, add the cardamom powder, poha, and coconut scrapings. mix well until they are all slightly toasted.
Add Water (1/2 cup) and let the poha cook in it for about 5 minutes or until you feel the kernels soft!
Add the brown sugar (vellum) and mix well. once the mixture comes to a rolling boil, add the remaining 1 tbsp butter to bring everything together. At the end, the mixture should look glossy and thick! Enjoy!
Uppu Aval: you will need 1 tbsp of oil, Fennel seeds -- 1/2 tsp, Mustard seeds -- 1/2 tsp, Turmeric --1/2 tsp, Dried, red chillies -- 2, split, Curry leaves -- a few, Cayenne pepper powder -- 1/2 tsp, Salt to taste, Hing -- a pinch! Poha --3/4 cup
Add in this order -- Heat oil in the pan, add the fennel, and the mustard seeds, let them sizzle, add the dried chillies, curry leaves, hing and turmeric. Let them sizzle, add the poha and fry well. It will crisp-en immediately! Add the cayenne pepper powder and salt. Toss well! Your poha is ready!
With the above goodies down, onto make some Kaal Marks -- an old standby joke!! kaal meaning feet!
We clean our homes, make rangoli patterns (with colored rice flour powders) on our front doors to welcome his presence. In the south, we make small foot marks with rice ground to a fine paste like below.
This is a mixture of 1/4 cup rice flour (I love the rice flour we get in the US, makes for some instant kolam maavu) mixed with 1 cup of water, mixed into a thin slurry! I use a bounty towelette, dip it in the rice flour mixture, rest it on the inside of my four fingers and draw the rangoli patterns. This is an age old technique called the "Maa Kolam"!!
We did a quick puja, offered our prayers and the kids were more keen on quenching their famished appetites with the goodies!!
My Shrine!
Every festival has its own significance, stories from the Indian mythology, foods, festivities, rituals and tradition. I hope you enjoyed taking a glimpse into mine! The whole process took me about 2 hours. But was very gratifying that I was able to pass on a slice of my tradition to the next generations -- my kids!!
