Nallicheetu/Dry Gooseberry with curd/Amala

Dry Gooseberry in Curds is one of the traditional recipe of in Iyengar house. We Called Nallichettu in Our language. In kannada we called as Nallikai . Usually people make Pickle with in this Nallikai . You get the Nallikai in market from October to December( to say in Karthik Masam). Dry gooseberry can be preparedby cutting the fresh gooseberry and drying it under the sun. Its it also available in an Indian store . It can be stored for a long time.Its has medicinal values. sundried Gooseberry paste is used to apply on hair just like Henna ,its make your hair sliky and shiny. Its oil is also helpful for hair growth.My mother used to prepare the gooseberry oil at home and mix with coconut oil .


This nallicheetu is commonly prepare on Tulasi pooje day(Kartik Shukla Dwadashi) in our houses. Even this Gooseberry is used as diya or deepam on tulasi pooja day .On this Day tulsi married to Lord Krishna.I should thanks to my mother in law she had patiently dried this goosberry and powdered it,has send a bottle of it.

This year on I prepared Nallichatu Tulasi pooja.


Ingredients:

Dry gooseberry pieces 5-10
Green chillies (chopped) 2-3
Coconut (scraped) 2 tbs
Jeera 1 tbs
curd 1 cup
salt to taste


Seasoning ingredients:

Mustard 1/2 tbs
Red chillies 1
Asafoetida a pinch
Curry leaves
Ghee or oil 1 tbs

Method;


Grind Dry gooseberry, chillies and coconut and jeera adding little water to a paste.
Add the ground paste to the curds.
Season the curds and mix well.

Serve tangy Nallichettu with rice.

Shrikhand Poori Sagu

I am posting this recipe after a gap of six months

Last month I prepared the Poori Shrikhand with Sagu on my husband's request.I was successful in preparing the Shrikhand at home.

Ingredients

1/2 liter thick homemade curd
300 grams of powder sugar
1tbs of cardamom powder
Few strands saffron
Muslin cloth


Procedure

Tie the curd in muslin cloth for around 8 hours. so that it will drain the water from curd. Once it drains water from the curd,remove thick sour cream from cloth .
Add powered sugar and stir it and keep it aside for 15 minutes .
In a small bowl soak the saffron strands in 2 tbs of milk so that it will leave a saffron color .
Add this saffron and cardamom powder to the cream and mix it well .
Chill it in the fridge for an hour and serve with poori.


Sagu.

Sagu means mixture of all the vegetables. This very popular dish in karanataka. it is a good combination for poori.


Ingredients

vegetables
75 grams of cut green beans
75 grams of cut carrot
1 medium sized chopped onion
1/4 cup of peas
1 cup cut Chayote

Items to grind
1 Cinnamon stick
4 to 5 Cloves
1 tbs jeera
Ginger 1 tbs
Garlic 1 heap
1 tbs Coriander seeds
2 tbs Poppy seeds
4 to 5 Green chilies
1/4 cup shredded coconut
Coriander leaves small bunch
5 to 10 Pudina(mint) leaves
2 tbs Dalia (hurukadale)
1 tbs oil
Salt to taste



Cut and cook the above all the vegetables and keep it aside.

Grind all the ingredients with little water.

In pan heat the oil put jeera and onion, add the gravy to the oil and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes to remove raw smell . Add cooked vegetables with water. Bring it to boil and remove from the fire when it becomes thick gravy .

Serve with poori.