Alhamdulillah... Ramadan has begun and the first fasting is finished... the time for a much needed soul cleansing and uplifting, that many of us look forward to and would love to carry ahead as the years pass by... It is from the deep recesses of my heart that I wish all my Muslim brothers and sisters all across the globe the best of this blessed month... may Allah Ta'alah look into our inner wishes and grant us peace of mind to enjoy His blessings, and the strength to bear His trial and tribulations... and keep us steadfast on the path of eternal Jannah... Aameen...
Last year, I was new to blogging and I was so excited when Lubna invited me to blog in her Ramadan event. Due to other commitments, I was not able to do full justice to my post of Masala Aleesa, despite she confirming that the post had done really well on her blog. Alhamdulillah…. This time, when her invitation came, I wanted to make sure that I do a neat job, the maximum I can at this point that I give her a good enough post with good pictures and with a traditional recipe and here I am with what I am able to do…
Last year, I was new to blogging and I was so excited when Lubna invited me to blog in her Ramadan event. Due to other commitments, I was not able to do full justice to my post of Masala Aleesa, despite she confirming that the post had done really well on her blog. Alhamdulillah…. This time, when her invitation came, I wanted to make sure that I do a neat job, the maximum I can at this point that I give her a good enough post with good pictures and with a traditional recipe and here I am with what I am able to do…
There is some food that is so connected to our childhood, which we cease to enjoy once we grow up. Umma used to cook quite a bit of traditional food and then suddenly she stopped cooking most of it. Now what’s the reason, I really don’t know and at that time, we actually never cared. Of recently, my sister rang her up to get the recipe of “Kadala Pidi”. That was the time it rang a bell in my head. “Kadala Pidi” is a Malabar sweet delicacy made of chana dal and tiny rice dumplings, cooked in a sauce of jiggery and coconut milk. I had lost count of the number of years we had not eaten this. Umma explained the recipe to her and she did go ahead to make it, to mixed results. That was when I decided I must ask umma to cook it and show it to me. Very impromptu, it came out from my mouth, “Umma, why don’t we make kadala pidi for tea time tomorrow?” This was asked on a Friday and she nodded a yes.
Wouldn't you want to read more of this post in detail? Then do hop on to Lubna's space to read the recipe and definitely more... Hope you enjoy the post as much as I loved putting this nostalgic post together...
I am so glad that she chose my post to start this year's "Joy from Fasting to Feasting" which has entered into its seventh edition... and MaShaAllah, she has been successfully hosting this event every Ramadan. InShaAllah, hope this is a good start for this year's series... :)
I am so glad that she chose my post to start this year's "Joy from Fasting to Feasting" which has entered into its seventh edition... and MaShaAllah, she has been successfully hosting this event every Ramadan. InShaAllah, hope this is a good start for this year's series... :)
Kadala Pidi – Dal and Rice Dumpling Relish
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS:
For Pidi:
- 1 ½ cup Rice flour (one used for pathiri) plus 1 cup
- 1 ½ cup Water
- Salt to taste
- Little oil for rolling
For Remaining:
- 1 cup Chana dal, soaked for 4 hours
- 2 cups Water
- 250 gm Jiggery
- 1 tsp. Cardamom powder, divided
- Salt to taste
- 1 Coconut, grated
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- 6 Shallots, sliced thinly
PREPARATION:
- Cook the chana dal in water till soft, but not mushy. It must hold its shape. Drain and set aside.
- Now let’s make the pidi. Boil water and salt in a large bowl. Set aside 1 ½ cups rice flour in a plate. As the water starts boiling, be ready with a wooden ladle with a long handle. Slowly tip in the rice flour, increase the flame to make the water boil and mix rigorously to combine. Ensure that the rice flour is completely wet and crumbly. Reduce the flame to bare minimum, close the lid and keep it closed for 5 minutes. Switch off.
- In a big flat plate, put this rice flour mixture. Allow to slightly cool, till your hand can touch. It shouldn’t go too cold, otherwise it will be difficult to handle. Keep some water in a bowl close by. Dip your hand in water and bring together the mixture to look like a dough. Start kneading. Knead for at least 10 minutes, occasionally dipping your hand in water. At the end of the kneading, you will get a non-sticky dough.
- Keep some oil in a small bowl near to you. Keep the extra 1 cup rice flour in another bowl as well. Take a wide plate or bowl and sprinkle some rice flour generously. Oil your hand well. Take a lime sized ball, make it into a log shape. Pinch from the top a tiny piece, roll and press to represent a button. Repeat till the log is done. Then take another lime sized ball and continue with the steps till the whole dough is exhausted. Keep oiling your hand occasionally if the dough feels sticky. After finishing each lime ball, make sure to sprinkle rice flour on top of the pidis so that it doesn't stick to each other.
* I have tried to give a step by step for this but it’s not very clear! L My elder one Rasha had taken it using my mobile phone and the photos were so distant when I tried to crop it, it looks like this. However, I am still attaching it here hoping that it would serve the purpose to at least explain the steps. At this stage, have company around. It is a really boring task doing a big bowl of pidis all by your own. Sit down comfortably and do it. Before, my sister and I used to chat to glory while we completed doing it. This time, I kept my younger one Azza in front of me and she did the non-stop chatting while I just sat nodding to her in acceptance. After all, she made sure that I was fully entertained!!! :-) *
- Grind the coconut along with 1 cup of water in the blender. Strain through a sieve and reserve the coconut milk.
- In a large saucepan, add the 2 cups of water, ½ tsp cardamom powder, salt and the jiggery. Let the water boil and the jiggery to melt. Now add in the pidis. Cook till done, around 15 to 20 minutes on low flame. Keep stirring in between so that it doesn’t stick, but not too much that the pidis lose their shape. You will see that the mixture will start thickening.
- Now add the coconut milk and the dal and cook for a further 5 minutes or until thickened. Add the remaining cardamom powder, adjust the salt. Switch off.
- In a little saucepan, heat ghee, fry the shallots till brown. Pour into the prepared kadala pidi and mix well.
- Serve warm with a cup of chai. Oh, bliss!!!