NIMMAKYA PULIHORA(LEMON RICE)

This is a traditional rice dish usually prepared on auspicious occasions for pujas or vratams.Its an easy dish and takes less time to make compared to chintapandu pulihora or tamarind rice. You can make this for kids lunch box.Kids will love this dish and its taste. INGREDIENTS:

white rice raw-2 cups
water-4cups
oil for tadka-4tbspn
lemon juice from 2 medium sized
turmeric-1-2tspn
green chilli-10
red chilli-4-6
mustard seeds-2tspn
cumin seeds-2tspn
urad daal-2tspn
chana daal(soaked)-2tspn
roasted peanuts-4spn
curry leaves-2tspn
hing
salt
cilantro-4tspn

COOKING PROCESS:
First wash the rice add water and cook in a rice cooker or pressure cooker by adding 1spoon oil or ghee so that rice when cooked comes out dry not mushy. Then after rice is done add lemon juice and salt and let it cool down meanwhile make preparations for tadka or popu.
Take a kadai and add oil to it. Once it is warm add remaining ingedients except cilantro to kadai and once they start spluttering switch off the gas and add hing and turmeric.(add spices acc to your taste)
Add this tadka to the rice and stir well till all the rice gets coated evenly and taste for salt and lemon juice and add accordingly.
Finally add cilantro and serve hot with coconut chutney or curd.

Chekkalu(rice crackers)

Chekallu or Rice crackers are snacks well known in south india.They are easy to prepare and all your family members will love them when you feed them as evening snack.Iam posting the basic recipe.It all depends on your family tastes that you can always add or remove any ingredients and spices.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice Flour-2Cups

Water-2cups

Ghee/butter-2tsp

Soaked & drained chana daal-1/4cup

Cumin Seeds-2-3tspn

Pudina/mint leaves finely chopped-1/2cup

Red chilli powder-2-3tsp(acc to taste)

Salt-acc to taste

Oil to deep fry

Turmeric-1/4tspn


PROCESS:

First take 2cups of water in a pan and bring it to boil.

Now add 2tspn ghee, salt, red chilli pwd and rice flour.Mix it well and cover then pan with a lid and let it sit for few minutes.Allow it to cool.

Once cool you can now add chana daal,mint leaves,cumin seeds and mix well.Test the dough for salt or red chilli pwder and add them if required.

Take a pan or kadai for deep frying and add enough oil.As the oil gets hot meanwhile take a plastic sheet and apply litlle oil to help spread the dough without sticking to the sheet.

Now you can start working with the dough by taking small lemon size balls of the dough and spread them ont he sheet with your fingers into round shape.
Make 6-8 at time and add to the pan as a batch and fry them till they turn golden.
When the chekkalu turn a golden color use a slotted ladle to remove onto an absorbent paper and cool. Repeat the same process till the rest of the dough is done. Cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

TIP: An easy way to press chekalu on the sheet is take a sheet on the bottom on which you place the dough balls.Above which you place another plastic sheet and now press the balls using a round base of a bowl or a glass.