Sojjappalu, Dhapalam, Poori, Murukulu, Vellulli Podi from Andhra kitchen

Regional Cuisine of India is celebrating "Andhra Festival Food" in June, here is my Andhra festival thali! Vani of Batasari is hosting the "RCI-Andhra Festival food" this month, an event started by Lakshmi of "Veggie cuisine". We have already celebrated the state of Andhra Pradesh and it's cuisine few month's ago, let's have some Andhra festival food this time! Thanks for hosting Vani! :))

Andhra Festivals and feasts:
Andhra Pradesh is a amalgamation of different religions, cultures and languages and is famous for celebrating festival of every region and religion with equal pomp and enthusiasm, whether it's traditional Hindu festival or the Muslim festivals or Christmas!
Here are some of the festivals celebrated in Andhra Pradesh with much joy, feasts and prayers: Deepavali, Holi, Krishnashatmi,,Maha Shivaratri, Vijaya Dashami, , Naga Panchami,Sankranthi, Sri Rama Navami, Ugadi, Vara Lakshmi Vratam, Vinayaka Chavithi, Id-Ul-Fitr, Milad-Un-Nabi, Muharram and Christmas.
Above info is from this site and to learn more about various Festivals and rituals of Andhra Pradesh in detail, click here.

Sojjappalu with ghee, Dhapalam, Pooris, Murukulu, Vellulli (Garlic-chilli) podi from Andhra festival Kitchen:
Here is a festival thali I would love to have on any festival day, may not be the elaborate kind we usually cook for festivals but I loved it! Dhapalam/Dappalam, the book says, is made on special occasion in Andhra and Sojjappalu is a classic Andhra festival sweet. Check my old post on Andhra cuisine to see the book I referred for some of these recipes.
I didn't have a clue about which festival they cook these dishes for as Vani requested us to point out! That book didn't tell me that either but after researching a bit in the internet, came to know that these dishes are cooked as prasadam to celebrate Sri Vara Lakshmi Vratam and also on Sankranthi too.(Thanks sra!)
(Thank you "mere mai baap" (my mommy and daddy!) Google for this info, without you I am just a big, dumb, non-religious lump in the Universe! OYY! :D)

Pepper or chilli Murukulu:
Murukulu or Chaklis are crispy fried snack which is common to all 4 south Indian states in India. I love them. There are many types of Chaklis you can make using different flour combinations, this is one of them using Besan. Enjoy! :)
You need:
1 cup Chickpea flour/ Besan,
2 cups Rice flour,
2 tsp Cumin seeds crushed,
1 tsp coarsely crushed Pepper corns or red chill flakes,
salt to taste, enough Water to mix,
3 tbsp Sesame seeds,
pinch of Hing.
To make Murukulu:
1. Roast the Besan gently in a pan for a minute or two until warm, cool.
2. Add all the above ingredients and mix with enough water to make a stiff dough.
3. Put it in a Chakli maker in batches, press out Murukulu circles like here on kitchen towel and deep fry them at 375F oil. Drain, cool and store.

Vellulli Podi:
A classic Andhra powder, coarsely pounded or blended together with garlic, chilli pd and other spices is a great tasting condiment on the side for rice or rotis!
You need:
Roast these without oil:
1/2 cup dry coconut, slightly toasted,
4-6 Red chillies or less, toasted,
1 tbsp toasted Coriander seeds,
1 tbsp roasted Sesame seeds,
Enough salt,
1 tbsp grated Jaggary,
3 tbsp chopped Garlic,
2 tsp Tamarind juice or Lemon juice or 1 tsp Tamarind powder.
To make Chilly-Garlic powder:
1. Toast the first four ingredients, cool and add to a blender.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients in the list and blend coarsely.
3. Adjust the spices, cool, bottle it and store in the fridge when cooled.

To make plain flour or wheat flour (atta) Pooris, click here!

Dhapalam/Dappalam:
Dhapalam, as the cookbook says, is made on special occasion in Andhra. I had never heard of this dish before. It's a very simple and delicious side dish made with plenty of vegetables and seasoned lightly. I added some south Indian masala pd I had to make it tastier as an option.

You need:
About 6 cups of mixed vegetables of your choice, peeled, chopped into cubes,
(I used a mix of Cauliflower, baby Carrots, 1 Potato, Green Beans, Green bell pepper, Green peas, few Spinach leaves, 2 cups Bottle Gourd cubes, 1 small Eggplant, 1 Tomato)
3 Green chillies,
1/2 tsp good quality Turmeric,
3 tbsp Cilantro,
2 tsp Coriander seeds powder or any south Indian masala pd you have (optional),
2 tsp Tamarind juice,
1 tsp Jaggary or sugar,
2 tsp Rice flour mixed with 2 tbsp of water.
For seasoning:
2 tbsp oil and ghee mixed, or sesame seeds oil,
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds,
1 tsp Mustard seeds,
2 red chillies,
few curry leaves,
pinch of Hing/Asafoetida.
To Make it:
1. Cook all the veggies with 2-3 cups of water, turmeric, green chillies gently until cooked thru' but not mashed in a pressure cooker.
2. Open the lid, add salt, jaggary, cilantro, spice powder if you are using,Tamarind, simmer gently for 2 mins.
3. Add rice flour mixture to vegetables and simmer until you get thickish gravy for about 2 mins. Turn off the heat.
4. Heat oil and add all the above ingredients and let it sizzle. Add to the Dhapalam and mix it in. YUMMY! Tastes even better the next day, great with Pooris!


Dhapalam goes to "Vegetable Of the Week", an event hosted by Pooja from "Creative Pooja" blog. Her choice of vegetable this month is "Bottle Gourd". Here is my contribution to her event, enjoy hosting Pooja!:))

Check this post for more bottle gourd dishes here!


Sojjappalu:
Sojjappalu is similar to Obbattu with dal filling we make in Karnataka. Filling for Sojjapplau is made of Rawa Kesari, just like Karnataka Kesari Bhath, but thick enough to make balls. It is stuffed in sweet dough, patted to circles and cooked. Delicious!:))

I am sending Sojjappalu to Mythreyee' from "Paajaka" who is hosting a "Sweet Series-Sweet Rotis" event. Enjoy Myth!:)

For filling you need:

2 tbsp Ghee or more if you like,
1 cup Rawa/Semolina, finer the texture the better,
Pinch of salt,
1/2 cup sugar or more if you like it sweeter,
1 tsp Cardamom powder,
1/4 tsp Saffron mixed with 1/4 cup milk,
keep some more milk ready as needed to make a solid mixture.
Roasted, finely chopped Cashews and Raisins are optional, I didn't add them to keep the wrap from tearing.
To make it:
1. Heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Add chopped nuts and raisins if you are using, then Semolina and fry stirring constantly to avoid burning the rawa.
2. When you get a golden hue or smell the roasted aroma, turn the heat down a bit and add salt and sugar, mix well.
3. Keep mixing until the sugar dissolves, take off the heat, add cardamom pd, mix. Now add 1/4 cup saffron mixed milk, mix well.
4. Place it again on the heat and stir until you get big lump of Semolina, should be able to makes balls. Add a tbsp of milk at a time only if the mixture is dry and crumbly but not too much. Cover and cook on low heat until it looks like lump.
5. Let it cool and then divide into golf ball sized rounds. Keep aside.
To make the dough:
1. Mix and knead 1 1/2 cups of plain flour or wheat flour or mix of both, pinch of salt, 1 tbsp powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp Cardamom pd and enough milk or water to make a stiff dough like poori dough.
2.Cover and let it rest for 1 hour. Divide into the same amount as Semolina balls you have made already.
To make Sojjappalu:
1. Roll one dough ball in to 3" circle, place one Semolina ball and cover with dough all over the sweet filling. (Just like making Aloo Paratha)
2. Press a little to make it flat, and roll or pat with your hand until it's about 3-4" circle. It's okay if little filling comes out, you can always patch it up. Repeat with others.
3. Instead of deep frying in ghee as the book says, cook on a griddle with bit oil or ghee brushed until golden both sides.
4. Cool and serve with a tsp Ghee on top. Perfect traditional dessert to enjoy!:)

One more look!

Enjoy and hope you make some of these!

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"Thank you Meera" dishes this week!
I was in her blog two weeks ago and saw few delicious Malvani dishes. I casually mentioned to her that I would love the recipe for Malvani powder. Next thing you know, sweet girl that she is, sent me a package with Goda Masala, Malvani masala and Kolhapuri Masala!
I thought I would choose and cook few dishes from her blog with the masalas she sent me. Each one of them were delicious, specially loved Malvani Tomato Saar and spicy Misal. I made some Pakodas for Misal as they served in Belgaum and loved it. Thank you for everything, including the "inspiration award" Meera!:))

My thanks to Delhi Belle, Sireesha, Cham, Madhavi, Roma, JZ, EC, Hetal, Latha N, Veggie Platter and Happy Cook for their awards given to me as well!

Meera's package, Kolhapuri Tambda Rassa, Misal and Malvani Tomatochi Amti/Saar.
Click on these above titles to go to Meera's blog and for the recipes. Enjoy!:))

Okay dear friends, have a wonderful week and weekend too! I have two more weeks/posts to go here before the vacation! YAY! :)