Atola - East Indian#SundayFunday

Atola is a traditional East Indian rice pudding that it made with newly harvested rice. This is basically a vegan, gluten free, no sugar, no oil , no ghee or butter, it has just 3 basic ingredients i.e. new rice , coconut milk , jaggery as a sweetener and is flavored with cardamom powder. It's delicious and creamy.

This is made only once a year with rice from the new harvest, on All Souls Day. The rice should be new as new rice is sticky and this is what we want. But if you don’t have rice from the new harvest then use any other rice.

All Souls’ Day, is a day dedicated to the dead and it is observed on 02 November every year. As per the Catholic church, it is the day of Commemoration of All The Departed Souls. Masses are offered for the dead. People also visit and decorate the graves of their loved ones.

Serves 4 - 5
Measurement of 1 Cup = 200Ml
Ingredients
¾ Cup Rice
1/3 Cup Chawli/Black Eyed Beans
1 Liter Thin Coconut Milk -Homemade
250Ml Thick Coconut Milk ( first extract)
160 Grams Jaggery - I used organic
½ Teaspoon Cardamom powder
¼ Teaspoon Salt
Method
Wash and soak the black eyed beans for 6 -8 hours.

In a deep vessel/pot add the rice, chawli beans, salt and

the thin coconut milk, bring it to boil and cook until the rice and chawli beans are soft ( keep stirring in between since this will stick to the bottom of the pot and get burnt).

Once the beans and rice are cooked this will thicken,

now add the jaggery , keep stirring it till the jaggery melts (taste, it if you want it sweeter than add more jaggery accordingly, for us the sweetness is just right) and the pudding comes to a boil. 

Add the cardamom powder and the thick/first extract coconut milk, let it come to a slight simmer. Switch off the flame.

This will thicken as it cools.

Enjoy this warm. Super yummy & delicious!!

Labels: Rice, Homemade, Coconut Milk, Jaggery, Cardamom Powder, Pudding, Sweets & Desserts, East Indian, Sunday Funday,  Vegan, Gluten free, No Oil Or Butter

Today for Sunday Funday Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla, has chosen this theme for us Día de los Muertos - which is The Day of the Dead. 

Atola- East Indian by Sneha's Recipe
Caldo Tlalpeño by Food Lust People Love
Dia de Los Muertos Sugar Skull Cake by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
Enfrijoladas de Pollo by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Fiambre Rojo for Día de los Muertos by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Pan de Muerto (Mexican Day of the Dead Bread) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
Pan Seared Tilapia with Shrimp by Palatable Pastime
Taco Casserole by Making Miracles
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup by Mayuri's Jikoni

Gulachi Sanjyachya Polya With Whole Wheat Flour

These are good for travelling stay's well for 2 -3 days. Festival sweet for Ganapati or Dassehra puja. This is a famous Maharastrian recipe.
1 Cup = 200 Ml
Ingredients
For Stuffing
1 Cup fine Semolina
1 Teaspoon Desi Ghee
¾ cup Grated Jaggery - I used organic Jaggery
A Pinch of Salt
1½ Cup Water
1 Teaspoon Cardamom Powder
For The Outer Covering
A Pinch of Salt
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tablespoon Oil
Water as required to make a dough

Method

In sauce pan add 1½ cup water on medium high flame let is come to a boil, add the jaggery and stir till it melts. Strain this mixture and then pour this into the same pan again. Bring this to a boil.

On medium low flame heat a pan add a teaspoon ghee and roast semolina till it starts to release an aroma, add a pinch of salt. 

Pour the strained jaggery water and stir continuously till there are no lumps . Cover with lid and let it cook for 5 minutes or till the water gets absorbed in semolina(do not cook it too long or else the jaggery will harden and you will not be able to roll the polya). Switch off the flame. Add cardamom powder and stir nicely. 

Cool and then knead this well till forms a soft ball and keep aside. 

Divide into 6 equal round balls.

Let's make dough for the outer covering

Sift wheat flour in a large bowl. Heat a tablespoon of oil on medium high flame. Pour this hot oil into flour, with a spoon mix it well. Add little water at a time and knead dough to medium soft consistency. Keep this covered for 20 minutes. Then divide it into 6 equal balls.

Take one dough ball and flatten it with your finger to make small round dish . Fill a semolina ball in the center and cover it tightly to make ball. 

Close all the edges and cover stuffing ball with the dough.
Dust this ball with some wheat flour, and lightly flatten it, roll it gently with rolling pin. 

Keep turning the chapatti, so that it doesn't stick to the work surface. The hand should be light while rolling, if you use too much pressure it with start to break and the filling will ooze out while baking.  

Here it's perfect.

Heat a griddle/ tawa, when it just warm, place the roti on it

cook till it become golden spots on one side and it puff up.

Drizzle a teaspoon of desi ghee and flip it with a spatula and let it cook till golden brown. 

Now drizzle a teaspoon or more of desi ghee, on and around the polya while it's baking. This will give nice ghee taste and flavor to Sanjyachi Poli.

Here it's perfectly baked, soft like cotton..lush lushit!!

                              

Like wise make the rest of the Sanjyachya Ploya!!

Serve hot!! 

We had with our hot cup of tea. 

Labels: Maharastrian Cuisine, Jaggery, Wheat Flour, Fine Semolina, Sugar Free, Cardamom Powder, Stuffed Flatbreads, Breads, Breakfast, Sweets & Desserts, Festival Sweets

Chach- A Dessert Soup - East Indian#Soupswappers

What is Chach? That's a question many will be asking! This is an East Indian dessert soup which is made with sweet potatoes on Maundy Thursday. This is also called by many East Indians as Gorache. My mother made this every year on Maundy Thursday and we loved it. She made it without tapioca pearls, this is my addition to it. My hubby loves this Chach too. He had it as his meal, two bowls full. This dessert Soup is, no oil or butter, sugar free, vegan and gluten free too.
Make 3 Bowls
Ingredients
220 Grams Sweet Potatoes- cut into thick roundels
1/3 Cup Sabudana/Tapioca Pearls
180 Grams Jaggery - chopped
1 Medium Size Coconut - to make coconut Milk
1 Teaspoon Cardamom powder
A Pinch of Salt
Method
Wash the sabudana/tapioca pearls in water 2 times then soak it in water till an inch above the pearls. Keep this covered for at least an hour or two.

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes and cut into medium thick pieces.

This should be the thickness or else they will melt when cooking. Soak them in water, keep aside.

Now let's make the Coconut Milk

Peel all the brown part of the coconut we require only the white meat, chop it into pieces

Then grate it in a blender jar.

Warm 4 cups of water.

In big blender jar add the grated coconut, add 250Ml warm water and run the blender for 2 minutes. 

Take this out into a fine muslin cloth and squeeze out all the coconut milk 

this makes the first thick extract. Keep this extract a side.

Again add the coconut from the muslin cloth into the blender jar 

add 250Ml warm water and again run the blender for 2 minutes.

Remove this into the muslin cloth and squeeze out all the coconut milk this makes the second extract, 

pour this into a airtight bottle . These are the two bottles (250Ml Each) that I filled and labeled thick and thin coconut milk.
If you require another thin extract you can do this process again by adding just a cup of water. After this you cannot extract any more coconut milk. Use can use how much you want and freeze the remaining coconut milk.

To Make the Chach

In a large pot/pan add the 2 cups thin extract of coconut milk , salt and the sweet potatoes slices. Place this on medium low flame and let it cook for 5 to 7 minutes or till nearly done, stirring once or twice in between. 

When the sweet potatoes are nearly done then add the tapioca pearls and give it a quick stir, let this cook again on medium low flame till done/ transparent and the sweet potatoes are fully cooked, do not make them mushy they should remain whole. 

Now add the jaggery and let it melt and comes to just a boil. Add the thick extract of coconut milk and give it stir, bring this to just a boil. 

Switch off the flame add the cardamom powder.

Serve into large bowls and enjoy warm!!
Labels : Dessert Soup, East Indian, Soup, Sweet Potato, Jaggery, Cardamom Powder, Healthy, No Oil Or Butter, Vegan, Gluten free, Soup Swappers, Homemade, Coconut Milk

For Soup Swappers April 2021, we asked to "Share a soup that provides a link to your ancestry". and our Host is Sidsel of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking. 

• Apong Meling's Sinigang from Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Blomkål- og ostesuppe (Cauliflower and Cheese Soup) from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Chach- A Dessert Soup - East Indian from Sneha's Recipe
• Cock-a-leekie Scottish Chicken Soup from Making Miracles
• Mulligatawny Soup from Magical Ingredients
• Scottish Red Lentil Soup from Pandemonium Noshery 
• Ticinese Minestrone from Karen's Kitchen Stories