Ona Sadhya from tasty land

Onasadhya is the most delicious part of the grand festival called Onam. It is considered to be the most elaborate and grand meal prepared by any civilisation or cultures in the world

The Meals

Rice is the essential ingredient of this Nine Course Strictly Vegetarian Meals. All together there are 11 essential dishes which have to prepared for Onasadya. Number of dishes may at times also go upto 13. Onasadya is so elaborate a meal that it is called meals, even though it is consumed in one sitting. Onasadya is consumed with hands, there is no concept of spoon or forks here.

Traditional Onam Sadya meal comprises of different varieties of curries, upperies - thigs fried in oil, pappadams which are round crisp flour paste cakes of peculiar make, uppilittathu - pickles of various kinds, chammanthi - the chutney, payasams and prathamans or puddings of various descriptions. Fruits and digestives are also part of the meal.


More About the Meal
For a better understanding of the Onasadhya meal let us now go through all the dishes in a little more detail. If that temps you too much, take a look at the recipes section and enjoy your Onam whenever you want.

Erissery
Onasadya
This is either prepared from pumpkins/red beans or from yam and raw bananas cubes. The spices used in this include split green chillies, ground coconut, cumin seeds, turmeric and red chillies. Erissery is seasoned with mustard seeds spluttered in oil. This is a main stay for the occasion, though not very popular these days.

Kalan or Pulisseri
This is prepared from buttermilk. Ingredients consist of sliced plantains called nenthra-kaya and yams or chena. These are boiled in water with salt and chillies. It is flavoured with ground coconut and mustard seeds spluttered in oil. Some even add cucumber cubes to Kalan.

Olan
Olan is prepared from sliced cucumber and brinjal. Sometimes pulse is also added. They are boiled in water with salt and no chillies. When properly boiled, some fresh coconut oil is poured. The dish is seasoned with flavour kariveppila (curry leaves).

Aviyal
This is kind of a mixed vegetable as all sorts of available vegetables are added to it. All vegetables are first boiled in water with salt and chillies. Tamarind and well ground pulp are added at proper time. Aviyal is flavoured with coconut oil and Kariveppila.

Thoran
Thoran is prepared by slicing beetroot and several other vegetables into very small pieces. These are then boiled in water witth some salt and chillies till all the water dries up. Water can also be strained away. For seasoning, ground coconut pulp and mustard fried in coconut oil is used.

Mulakoshyam
This resembles olan. It is a special Onam delicacy from the state of Kerala and has been recently added to Onam Sadhya.

Koottukari
This is a curry consisting of a variety of vegetables and some Bengal gram. It differs from Aviyal as it does not contain tamarind.

Sambar
OnasadyaThis is an extremely popular recipe from South India and relished by the whole of India. It consists of dal and a variety of vegetables like brinjal, drum-sticks, pavakkai (bitter gourd), etc. All vegetables are first boiled in water with salt and chilies. Tamarind is also added to enhance the taste. Other spices like coriander, cumin seed etc. are fried in oil and powdered. Sambhar is flavoured with mustard seeds and asafoetida.

Pachchati, Kichchati

These are types of curry consisting chiefly of cucumber, mustard and sour butter milk or curds. In Kichchatim, young and tender cucumber is added

Rasam
This lip smacking recipe is prepared from tomatoes treated with tamarind juice. It is seasoned with bay leaves and mustard seeds spluttered in oil. Some people take rasam with rice. Rasam also helps in digestion.

Payasam
This is an extremely delicious dish and is a sort of pudding. It is prepared from boiled potatoes mixed with molasses and coconut milk. The mixture is flavoured with spices. There is another type of payasam called 'Pal Payasam' in which rice is boiled with milk and sweetened with sugar.

Prathaman
There is a whole variety of Prathamans such as ata, pazham, parippu and palata prathamans.

Beverages
A special drink is prepared for Onam in which water is boiled with a combination of cumin and dried ginger (chukku). This is beneficial from health point of view.

OnasadyaUpperi or Chips
Upperi is prepared from various things like raw bananas (kaaya), yam (chena), jack fruit (chakka), bitter gourd (pavayka) and egg plant fruit (vazhuthanga). Slices of the ingredient are fried in coconut oil to a crisp condition.

Pickles (Achaar)
These are prepared well in advance of Onasadhya. Pickles are chiefly made from mango, lemon, ginger, chillies and curry naranga.

Pappads (Pappadam)
These are prepared from black grams and are fried in oil. Pappadams are usually served in three sizes - small, medium and large.

Quick Strawberry Pie recipe

Preparation Time : 25 min.
Setting Time : 30 min. Serves 6 to 8.

For the crust
7 tablespoons crushed Marie biscuits
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
For the filling
1 packet (100 grams) strawberry jelly
1 family pack (1/2 litre) vanilla ice-cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
3/4 teacup sliced strawberries
For the decoration
sweetened cream
fresh strawberries

Method
For the crust
1. Mix all the biscuits, butter and sugar and press the mixture evenly into a 175 or 200 mm. diameter loose bottom tin
2. Place in the refrigerator until firm.
For the filling
1. Dissolve the jelly in 3 teacups of boiling water.
2. Pour the hot jelly mixture over the ice-cream. Place over ice.
3. Add the lemon juice and sugar and beat continuously until light and fluffy.4.Add the sliced strawberries.

How to proceed
1. Pour the jelly mixture over the set crust. Put to set in the refrigerator until firm.
2. When set, remove and decorate with sweetened cream and fresh strawberries.
3. Serve cold.

Do you know thw prepration of Onion Burger

ONION BURGERS

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. horseradish, prepared
2 tsp. mustard, prepared
1/2 tsp. salt
6 split buns

Combine ground beef, salt and pepper. Shape into 12 thin patties. Brown chopped onion lightly in butter, add horseradish, mustard and salt.

Spread onion mixture over 6 patties, top each with a patty and press together to form 6 large patties. Chill.

Place patties on grill and brown each side 8 to 10 minutes.

Serve on buns, if desired.

6 servings.

How is the making of Low Fat Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey breast
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons light teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon water
Cooking spray
1 large onion, cut into (1/4-inch-thick) slices (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns
8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato
4 curly leaf lettuce leaves
Preparation
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Divide the turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each portion into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Combine the teriyaki sauce and water in a small bowl.

Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat until hot. Add the onion slices; cover and cook 10 minutes or until onion is golden brown, stirring frequently. Stir in 1 tablespoon teriyaki mixture. Remove onion from pan, and keep warm. Add olive oil to pan. Add patties, and cook 5 minutes over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons teriyaki mixture to pan. Carefully turn patties over, and cook for 3 minutes or until golden. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun, and top each patty with 1/4 cup onion, 2 tomato slices, and 1 lettuce leaf. Top with remaining bun halves.

Note: You can freeze any uncooked turkey patties for up to 1 month. To freeze, seperate the patties with wax paper; place them in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag, remove excess air, seal, and freeze Thaw in the refrigerator.
Yield

4 servings
Nutritional Information

CALORIES 278(15% from fat); FAT 4.7g (sat 1.2g,mono 1.3g,poly 1.4g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 60mg; CALCIUM 73mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28.9g; SODIUM 949mg; PROTEIN 30g; FIBER 2.4g

The Recipe for Delicious Vegetable Burger

Ingredients:

* Vegetable Steaks - 4 (or) any other vegetable cutlet of your choice
* Tomato ketchup- 2 tsp
* Sliced buns- 4
* Onion-1 (cut into thin round slices)
* Tomato- 1 (cut into thin round slices)
* Carrot- 1 (cut into thin round slices)
* Cabbage leaves- 4
* Turmeric powder- 1/4 spoon
* Salt
* Butter- 2 tsp
* Dalda- 2 tsp

Method:
Boil water in a pan add turmeric & salt to it. Turn off the heat. Put the cabbage leaves & carrots in that hot water and leave it for 10 minutes. Then take the vegetables from the water and drain on paper towels.

Heat dalda in a pan and toast the buns. Then apply butter & little ketchup to the inner sides of the buns. Keep 1 cabbage leaf, 1 tomato slice, 1 steak (or) cutlet, 1 onion slice, 1 carrot slice in between two slices of a bun. Prepare all the buns in the same manner.

The making of tasty Bucky Burgers

Bucky Burgers
Ingredients:

* 1 cup Buckwheat Groats*
* 2 cups Water
* 1 tablespoon Salt
* 1 cup Plain Wholewheat Flour
* 2 tablespoons Peanut Oil
* 2 small Grated Onions
* 4 Spring Onions (use the whole onion - cutting off only the top inch - this means that you will be using the tasty green bit as well).
* Rolled Oats

* It is possible to buy buckwheat that is already roasted. If you do this, then omit the roasting part of the recipe. I would recommend that you roast your own.

Method:

Dry-roast the buckwheat evenly in a deep sided saucepan until brown - stir consistently otherwise they will burn. Add the water (some recipes suggest boiling water but considering the fact that you have just roast the buckwheat, this is a little dangerous) and salt and boil for around 20 minutes until the water has been absorbed. This product is called Kasha and towards the end of the boiling process, should be stirred so that each grain remains separate. Let the Kasha cool down - it has to be quite cool for the next stage that involves it.

In a wok, add the oil and lightly fry the onions. Add the spring onions and cooled Kasha and flour (the resulting mixture should not be hot enough to cook the flour), kneading to a firm consistency (add some water or flour to adjust this).

Form the mixture into small balls and roll them in the rolled oats, then squashing them into the burger shapes.

Fry in oil in a frying pan until cooked right through (the thinner - the quicker) and browned on the outside. Consistency is the trick with this - set up a production line, making the burgers the roughly the same weight and thickness and the level of heat and time required will make the job a lot easier.

When cooked, remove and place on absorbent kitchen paper towelling.

Variations:

Instead of (or in addition to) spring onions, a variety of other flavourings may be used:

1. Chilli;
2. Sage;
3. Pimento;
4. Miso;
5. Curry;
6. Tomato (use tomato puree);
7. Mushroom;
8. Hoi Sin Sauce;
9. Garlic; and so on.

Remember that anything that goes into the burger should have no dimension greater than the thickness of the burger otherwise the burger will start to lose its structural integrity.

Storage:

If not eaten immediately, either store in a refrigerator and eat within a few days (animal free cooking lasts so much longer than the meat analogues such as beef burgers) or pack separately and freeze. I have eaten Bucky Burgers that have been frozen for over a year and come to no harm - get to know what your freezer is capable of.

The burgers may be reheated in the microwave in only a few minutes with an adjustment for frozen burgers.

How to Make a Rustica Pizza

Ingredients
* Dough
o 175g flour
o 30g butter
o 12cl milk
o salt
* Toppings
o tomato sauce
o aubergine in bits
o courgette in bits
o 50g red pepper and 50g green pepper in cubes
o red onion
o garlic
o a bit basilicum
o 100g mozzarella
o pepper and salt
o olive oil
Steps

1. Make the dough using flour, butter, milk and salt (see below).
2. Cut the vegetables, the garlic and the onion and put it on a plate in the oven for 20 minutes until they become a little dark on the outside.
3. Grease the dough with olive oil.
4. Put the dough on a plate and make a bottom.
5. Cover the dough with the tomato sauce.
6. Put the grilled vegetables on the pizza.
7. Cut the mozarella in cubes and put it on the pizza.
8. Sprinkle the basilicum on top.
9. Cook the pizza in the oven for 18 minutes at 200 degrees centigrade.


Tips

* Check regularly that the pizza isn't burning.