Krishna Jayanthi

Lord Krishna's birthday is celebrated with a lot of pomp and glory at my house. We make lots of sweets and snacks along with butter as prasad. The kids of the house are dressed up as Krishna / Radha. We draw small footprints with rice flour batter all around the house that represents Lord Krishna's footprints. Here are the links to the recipes and some pictures of the Krishna Jayanthi celebrations at my house.

Now for the recipes for Krishna Jayanthi. Click on the links to go to the recipe....

Cashew Burfi	Vella Cheedai
Uppu Cheedai	Kai Murukku
Thattai	Thenguzhal
Chakkarai Appam	Pal Payasam

Cashew Burfi

This is a very easy recipe from my mom that lets you make yummy cashew burfi in only a few minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Cashew Powder (Powder the raw Cashew nuts in a mixer)
• 1/3 cup Ghee
• 1/3 cup Milk Powder
• 1 cup Sugar (Adjust to Taste)

Vella Cheedai

This is another of Lord Krishna's favorite that is made on Krishna Jayanthi. This is an easy and a no fail  recipe from my mom. Many people complain that the cheedai dissolves in oil or bursts in oil but me or my mom have never experienced that with this recipe. So enjoy it with Krishna!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Rice Flour (I use Nirapara brand)
• 1/4 cup Urad dal Flour (Store bought)
• 2 tsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Sesame seeds
• A pinch of Cardamom powder
• 1 1/2 cups Jaggery
• 2 cups of water
• Oil to deep fry

Method

1. Sieve and dry roast the Rice flour and Urad dal flour. (Frying gives less chance of the cheedai bursting in oil.)
2. Heat water and melt the jaggery in it and filter it. Allow the filtered jaggery mixture to boil and add the roasted rice and dal flour, ghee, sesame seeds and cardamom powder. Mix well to form a dough.
3. Once it cools down a bit, mix the dough with your hands and if it feels too dry add hot water little by little till you are able to get a smooth pliable dough.
4. Make small smooth balls of the dough and deep fry them on medium heat.
5. Once cooled, store them in an air tight container.

Suggestions / Notes

1. If the jaggery is too much, the Cheedai will dissolve in water. But this recipe will not fail you.
2. The ingredients used and the place made should be very clean as even little impurities in the dough will cause it to burst.

Chakkarai Appam

This Appam is my favourite and for every function or festival at home my mom makes this and this is a must in my house for Krishna Jayanthi. This is my grandmother's recipe that will never fail you.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rava
• 1 cup Maida (All Purpose Flour)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Milk
• Pinch of Cardamom
• Oil to deep fry

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients except oil, in a bowl and keep aside for 3-4 hours.
2. Heat Oil in a kadai. Add a small drop of the batter in the oil and if it sizzles up immediately then it means the oil is ready. 
3. Using a tablespoon, pour the batter in the oil to make the appams. Cook the Appams on medium flame only, otherwise they wouldn't get cooked.
4. Flip them when they turn brown and remove them using a slotted spoon once they are completely browned on all sides.
5. Drain the excess oil on a paper towel and store them in an air tight container once they cool down completely.

Thattai

This is a tasty south indian snack. We can have many variations of this by adding the spices that suit your taste but this recipe is in its original.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Rice Flour (I use Nirapara brand)
• 1/4 cup Urad dal Flour (Store bought)
• 2 tbsp Fried Gram dal Flour (Pottu Kadalai Podi)
• 1 tsp Sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp Channa dal
• 2 tbsp yellow Moong dal
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Asafoetida
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
• Oil to deep fry

Uppu Cheedai

This is a tasty south indian snack generally made for Krishna Jayanthi. Extreme care has to be taken about the cleanliness of the ingredients and the place made, as this cheedai is very well known for bursting in the oil at the slightest impurity.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Rice Flour (I use Nirapara brand)
• 1/4 cup Urad dal Flour (Store bought)
• 1 tsp Sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp Channa dal
• 2 tbsp yellow Moong dal
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Asafoetida
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
• Oil to deep fry

Method

1. Soak the Channa dal and Moong dal for an hour.
2. Sieve and dry roast the Rice flour and Urad dal flour. (Frying gives less chance of the cheedai bursting in oil.) Mix the roasted flours along with salt, asafoetida, sesame seeds, soaked dals and butter. Add water little by little to make it into a soft but firm dough.
3. Make very small balls of the dough and spread them on a clean cloth or newspaper. The cheedai balls should NOT be rolled tight and smooth but rolled loosely with cracks by using only the fingers. If it is rolled into tight smooth balls, then chances of it bursting in oil is very high. Also the balls should be very small and almost the same size as only then they will get cooked even and crisp.
4. You can use coconut oil to rub on your hands so that the dough will not be too dry or sticky and it would be easy to roll out the small balls. Also it adds a nice flavor to the Cheedai.
5. Once you have rolled out all the Cheedai balls, heat oil in a kadai/ wok. To test the oil add a pinch of the dough and it should sizzle up immediately. Now fry the Cheedai on medium heat and in small batches. Once done, cool them and store in an air tight container.

Suggestions / Notes

• Traditionally after mixing the dough we make a small cone with it and keep it aside. This cone represents the god who will be witnessing the cooking so that there wouldn't be any hassles during the process.
• If the oil is too hot the cheedai will not get cooked inside and if it is not the right temperature it will be soggy and not so crunchy. So make sure the oil is of the medium heat.
• It is advisable to stay away from the stove after dropping the cheedai balls in the oil so that atleast you wouldnt be hurt if the cheedai decides to burst!

Kai Murukku

My Grandma is an expert in this and in those days it was a laborious task to make it by soaking and grinding rice but my mom has an easy version, which is so easy that you can make this murukku any time you want very quickly and more important without compromising on the taste.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Idiyapam Rice Flour 
• 1/4 cup Urad dal Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Asafoetida
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil (optional)
• Oil to deep fry (I use Sunflower oil. But any other oil can also be used.)

Method

1. Sieve the rice flour and urad dal flour and mix them along with salt, asafoetida and butter. Add water little by little to make it into a soft dough. If the dough is too dry it will be difficult to twist the murukku. So add water in small quantities till you are able to make a smooth murukku. 
2. On a clean cloth or newspaper, make the murukku by taking a small ball of dough and twisting it with your fingers to form a thread like shape and swirling it to form rounds as shown in the picture.
3. You can use coconut oil to rub on your hands so that the dough will not be too dry or sticky and the murukku will come out smooth. Also it adds a nice flavor to the murukku.
4. Once you have made the murukku, heat oil in a kadai/ wok. To test the oil add a pinch of the dough and it should sizzle up immediately. Now fry the murukku on medium heat and in small batches. Once done, cool them and store in an air tight container.

Suggestions/ Notes

1. Traditionally after mixing the dough we make a small cone with it and keep it aside. This cone represents the god who will be witnessing the cooking so that there wouldn't be any hassles during the process.
2. The Murukku dough should be mixed and made immediately else they will turn brown.
3. If the oil is too hot the Murukku will turn brownish and if it is not the right temperature it will be soggy. So make sure the oil is of the right temperature.

Thenguzhal

Thenguzhal is a yummy snack and here is the recipe for it. This recipe requires a special instrument called chakli/murukku press.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Rice flour  (store bought)
• 1/4 cup Urad dal flour (store bought)
• 1 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Asafoetida
• 1 tsp Sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 cup Water (use as required)
• Oil for deep frying