Athirasam

Ingredients:

• Raw rice - 4 cup
• Jaggery - 4 cups
• Water - 2 cups
• Vanaspathi or Ghee - 4 tb sp tp 1/2 cup
• Cardamom - 4 pods

Method.



Soak the rice for 1 hour. Drain till its 3/4th dry. Run it in a blender. Sieve it. Sive 1/4th of the flour coarsely.
Disslovle the jaggery in two cups water filter and heat it.
Boil till up to 1 string level (1 Kambi Patham).
Sprinkle the flour on the jaggery syrup and keep mixing.
Add crushed cardamom. Discard the skin.
Mix all the flour gradually.
Keep stirring, simmer the stove.
Cook till the water is absorbed. say 5 to 10 minutes.
See to that it dous not get caramelised or burnt.
When it is done add ghee or dalda.
Keep it in a container and tie a cloth covering it. Do not cover with a lid.

The next day make the athirasams.

Heat ghee or vanaspathi in a kadai.
Rub your palm in fat (ghee or vanaspathi).
On a plastic sheet apply fat.
Take a lemon sized ball keep it on the sheet and press with the tip of the fingers.
Drop the athirasam in hot fat cook on one side after a minute turn it on the other side and cook for half minute.
Drain and take it out.

Note: When hot you may feel the inner content little uncooked but when cooled the texture will be changed.
Take it out when it turns brown. If the jaggery you added is a bit more than the measure it may not retain the shape, or it may not be cooked well, in such cases try adding a little flour. But this may not be more successful in extreme cases. Even when the flour is over cooked or undercooked things may go wrong. So try in small quantities than that i have mentioned. 

Prawn curry

Ingredients

• Prawn - 1/2 kg
• Onion - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Somph - 1 tsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 2 tsp
• Coconut milk - 1/4 to 1/2 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - to garnish

Method

Wash and clean prawns.
Chop onion and tomato.
Heat oil fry somph and the onions, till the onions change color.
Add the tomatoes and saute till the tomatoes are cooked well.
Add chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt.
Sprinkle little water and close and cook till it turns out to be a thick gravy letting oil out.
Add the prawns and cook it closed for 5 to 10 minutes.
Turn off the stove and mix in the coconut milk.
Transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

Notes: you can alter the coconut milk with fresh cream or thick milk though the taste differs with each and coconut milk stands on top. But health conscious people can avaoid all.

Prawn Cashew fry

Ingredients

• Prawn - 1/2 kg
• Cashew nut - 10 to 15
• Small onions - 10 to 15
• lemon Juice - 2 tsp
• Ginger - 2"
• Garlic - 4 pods
• Somph - 2 tsp
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Method

Slice the small onions very finely.
Clean the prawns and wash them well.
In a bowl mix the prawns, small onions(half of the quantity), chilli powder, salt and lemon juice. Let this marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
Crush ginger, garlic and somph coarsely.
To that marinated prawn add half a cup of water and cook on low fire for 5 to 10 minutes.
In a frying pan heat oil fry the cashew nuts, add the sliced onions and fry till slight brown. Now add the crushed paste and saute well for 2 minutes and then add the prawns. Cook well untill it gets dry.

Note: Actually this fry do not take in much oil, even still if you are much health conscious you can even avoid the cashew nuts. Prawns generally get cooked faster. so keep littl;e water and cook. Cooking for a long time will make the prawns harder. 

Channa

Ingredients

• Channa - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 big
• Tomato - 2 big
• Green chilli - 2
• Ginger - 2"
• Clove - 3
• Cinnamon - 2"
• Cardamom - 2
• Butter - 1 tsp
• Cream or thick milk - 1/4 cup
• Chilli powder - 2 tb sp
• Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
• Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp
• Jaggery - 2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 3 tb sp
• Salt - to taste

Method:

Soak the channa over night. Tie all the spices in a piece of cloth as a knot as a sack. Drain and pressure cook with enough water and alson with salt and spice sack.
Grind onion, tomato, green chilli and ginger to a paste.
Heat butter in a kadai and fry the paste well till the raw smell goes and the water evaporates. Add the chilli powder and salt.
Remove the spice knot.
when the oil comes out add the channa to it. and let it boil.
Add the tamarind paste, tomato ketch up. Check for salt and spice.
Add the jaggery. turn off the stove. Mix the cream, sprinkle the garam masala. Garnish with coriander leaves.