Arusuvai Friendship Chain

The Arusuvai Friendship Chain has been inspired by the Amish Friendship Bread Starter chain doing the rounds outside of India. More details about the chain, here. It has been quite active and as part of it, I received a surprise ingredient from Bhags of crazycurry!!! This is the beautiful logo created by Lakshmi.
The Arusuvi Friendship Chain is about sending along a surprise ingredients as a gift to your friends. Your friend prepare any tasty with it and share the recipe and pass on other surprise ingredients to another people. My blog friend Bhags send the surprise ingredient to me. But when she is send me I am not at home and my mom say your friend send you something to you. I am really very happy and excited when my mom says me on phone. After three days I am coming at home and open the packet. Say what is surprise ingredient for me? Rajgari flour is in the packet. I decided I made two different items from this flour one is sweet and another is spicy. So I made Rajgari sero and Rajgari Tikki.

Rajgira Flour Halwa/Rajgira Sero/Farali Sero

Preparation Time: 2 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 minutes
Serves / Makes: 2 persons

Ingredients:

1 cup rajgira flour
1\2 cup sugar
3\4 cup ghee
1 and 1\2 cup water
1-tbsp elaichi (cardamom) powder
Kaju (cashewnuts) for garnishing

Method:
Step 1: Heat the ghee in pan.

Step 2: Then add rajgira flour on medium flame.

Step 3: Roast it till it change colour and the small starts coming.

Step 4: Boil the water side by side in another pan.

Step 5: When Rajgira flour is roasted turn the gas on law flame and add water slowly.

Step 6: When water starts boiling and mixture becomes thick then add sugar in it.

Step 7: Heat till all the sugar dissolves and mixture start leaving side of Pan.

Step 8: Turn off the flame and add elaichi powder. Place it in serving plate.

Step 9: Garnishing with kaju and serve hot.


MakarSankranti
On January 14 the sun enters the rashi Capricorn. This is known as Makar Sankranti. Sankranti means the entry of the sun from one zodiac to another. Adults, children, even aged men and women, spiritedly fly kites all day. Kites dot the sky.

Gujarat Tourism started hosting International Kite Festival. So many well-known Kitists from many states and countries come here for this event. Kite Flying is now a special event in Ahmedabad held on Makarsakranti day, 14th January. The sky is full of colorful kites flying high in the air.

In Gujarat we made different type of chikkies like Til (sesame seed) chikki, Singdhana Chikki, Murmure Chikki, and Peanuts chikki. My next post for the different type of Chikki.:)

Something about Makar Sankranti........

Traditionally, this period is considered an auspicious time and the veteran Bhishma of Mahabharata chose to die during this period. Bhishma fell to the arrows of Arjuna. With his boon to choose the time of his death, he waited on a bed of arrows to depart from this world only during this period. It is believed that those who die in this period have no rebirth.

Makar Sankranti festival holds special significance according to the solar calendar as the day and night are of exactly equal duration on this day. For the people of northern hemisphere, the northward path of the sun marks the period when the sun is getting closer to them. This signifies that the days will get longer and warmer after Makar Sankranti. Makar Sankranti festival holds special significance according to the solar calendar as the day and night are of exactly equal duration on this day. For the people of northern hemisphere, the northward path of the sun marks the period when the sun is getting closer to them. This signifies that the days will get longer and warmer after Makar Sankranti.

In Uttar Pradesh, Sankranti is called 'Khichiri'.
In Punjab, Sankranti is celebrated as 'Maghi'.
In Madhya Pradesh, Sankranti is celelbrated as 'Sukarat' or 'Sakarat'
In South, Sankranti festival is known by the name of 'Pongal'

Pongal

A three-day harvest festival and one of the most joyful events in the South. Newly harvested rice is ceremonially cooked and cows and bullocks are gaily decorated and fed and are led out in procession to the beat of drums and music.
In south these three days people made Ven Pongal, Sarkkarai Pongal, and Aval Payasam
Pongal festival history is here.:)

Farali Tikki/Rajgira Tikki
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Serves/Makes: 3

Ingredients for paste:

50gm roasted peanuts
7-8 green chillies
1 small part of ginger
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste

* Cut the chillies, ginger and mix with peanuts.

* Add sugar, lemon juice and salt in it.

* Grind all this material in to the mixer.

Ingredients for making Tikki:

1 cup Rajgira Flour
2 big size boiled potatoes
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp oil

Method for making Tikki:
Step 1: Peel the boiled potatoes and grated it.

Step 2: Add the papered material of peanuts in it. Mix very well with spoon.

Step 3: Add one tbsp oil and rajgira flour in it.

Step 4: Make tight dough. If material is very soft then add 2 tbsp rajgira flour and salt to taste.

Step 5: After that take small portion of this material and make the rajgira tikki with help of hand.

Step 6: Add sesame seeds over the each tikki and slightly press.

Step 7: Heat the flat pan and spread little oil over the surface. Place the tikki gently over it.

Step 8: Cook into medium flame for one minutes and turn into another side.
Step 9: Cook on other side for golden patches.

Step 10: Repeat the step 8 and 9 for remaining tikkies.

Step 11: Place the tikki in to serving bowl or plates.

Step 12: Serve hot with Tomato ketchup.

When you receive a package with a “surprise ingredient” as a part of Arusuvai here are the basic rules you need to follow:
1. Prepare something tasty with it and post recipe with a picture if you are a blogger with the logo, a link to person who passed it to you and to this post if you like for reference.
2. If you don’t blog, do share the recipe with the friend who gave it to you or post it as a guest post on someone you know who blogs.
3. Pass on a “surprise ingredient” to two or more friends, one of whom must preferably blog. We all want to have some fun together right?

I am sending my secret ingredients to Priya from Priyas kitchen-spices in life and Foodie from Zaayka now, hope they will continue the chain.:)

Rajgara Seero with salt taste or Farali Seero

This is my contribution for Celebrations for Ganesha Chaturthi – Event. This event announced by Latha Narasimhan….the basic purpose of this event is…. festivals are not really so much for feasting and indulgence but more for socializing and devoting time to celebrate our culture. And how can there not be an online community celebration of the birthday of a God who has such a powerful and universal appeal? Ganesha - the elephant headed god with all his various forms and distinctive iconography will surely be delighted.
This is the first time, I combined sweet with salt andit turned out very nice. If you will try this thenYou will always sayThat sweet and salt taste together feels like heaven.I get this idea from one of my favorite biscuit"Little Hearts".


Ingredients:
1-cup Rajgara flour
1-cup sugar
1\2-cup ghee
One small piece dry coconut
3-cub cheese
1\2-cup mava
Dryfruits (Cashew nuts and rasins)

Rajgara flour is easily available in Indian grocery store.

Method: Step 1: Grate dry coconut, cottage cheese and Mava(in hindi it is Khoya,in english it is calledcondensed milk) Step 2: Heat the 2-cup water in another vessel and keep aside.
Step 3: Heat the ghee in heavy bottomed pan. Add the rajagara flour.

Step 4: Cook over low flame and stir continuously.

Step 5: Cook till flour color turns into golden brown. Approximately 10-15 minutes.

Step 6: In low flame add grated cheese in it and mix well.


Step 6: Turn off the flame and add grated mava in it. While mixing , if ghee appears on top of the flourthen consider that flour is roasted nicely.



Step 7: After that add hot water in low flame.

Step 8: Add the sugar in above mixture.

Step 9: Let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Also add clean and washed rasins in it.

Step 10: When all the water is absorbed remove from the heat.

Step 11: Place it in another bowl and add half of the grated coconut in it.

Step 12: Decorate with cashew nuts and another half of the grated coconut.
Serve hot……