Happy Janmashtami!

Today, as per hindu mythology, Lord krishna was born. What do I say about him? He is one god who doesn't need any penance, just simple devotion. Did I drift too much into Hindu religion? Ok, let me come to the point- Hindus celebrate Janmashtami today marking the birth of Lord Krishna. I love this festival very much- Guess why? Because of all the snacks we would make in the name of God ;) and my favorite part is decorating the house with foot prints. Yes, you heard it right- We would draw foot prints (with the help of chalk or rice flour) with the belief that little lord krishna will come crawling in our home and eat the snacks we made for him! 

This is murukku- which requires a smooth dough consisting rice (1 cup), 1 spoon gram flour, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp sesame seeds, 1 big teaspoon melted butter, salt and pinch of asafoetida powder. Ofcourse, you need a murukku machine. This machine has small plates with which you can get any shape you want- Put the dough in the machine and squeeze them in desirable shapes :)

 This is called thattai which is made from a smooth dough consisting rice (1 cup), 2 tsp urad dal (also called black gram flour), 1tsp bengal gram (soaked previously), sesame seeds 1/2 tsp, pinch of asafoetida powder, chopped curry leaves, salt and melted butter. Once the dough is ready you need to take a small ball in your fist and flatten it to a thin round. Fry it in oil!

This is the main attraction of our snacks for this festival- Also called cheedai this is pretty simple to make once you have the dough. We need a smooth dough consisting rice (1 cup), 1 spoon gram flour, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp sesame seeds, 1 big teaspoon melted butter, salt and pinch of asafoetida powder.  Once the dough is done, roll them in small balls and fry them in oil. Just ensure that when you roll the dough into small balls, the shape should be uniform and don't roll them big!

 

This is called ribbon pakoda and is made with a smooth dough consisting 2 cups rice flour, 2 cups gram flour, 3/4 tsp paprika powder, melted butter, pinch of asafoetida powder and salt. You need murukku machine to make them. 

Happy Janmashtami to all the believers!