Sweet Thengai Aval/Sweet Coconut Poha.

      

Sweet Thengai Aval/ Sweet Coconut Poha

 

This dish again, very simple yet divine. When we were fresher’s a company in India, sponsored bunch of us for a Software  degree  from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh and we used to stay in downtown Pittsburgh .From there we used to take the city bus to commute to the college. Very commute friendly and never had the need for a car. Inside the campus there is a desi grocery store, subsidized    stationery shop for students etc. Those were the days ‘earn and study ‘, the income used to be meager just to meet our weekly needs .We will find all possibilities to reduce our expenses .To our rescue the cafe in the famous Srinivasar temple there, sells food for very subsidized rates for Devotees, $1 for a bowl of Sambar Rice (Note: Anyone who visited Pittsburgh temple never ever will forget the taste and aroma of that Sambar Rice) and we will make a trip almost every day.
For me, double purpose solved being brought up in a typical Iyengar home, am used to visiting temple almost every other day, so my perumal darshan and food is done at one place. Coming to the point aval/poha is one ingredient which is healthy, reasonably priced, easy to make and will get in bulk. Used to make this dish quiet often and my roommates relished it .Well, now my husband is ardent lover of this dish for the taste and simplicity.
Epic Story believed -Lord Krishna’s friend Sudhama and his family were living in poverty and when Krishna visited him once, he offered Aval with Sugar and the contended Krishna blessed him with kingdom of wealth.
In southern India during Krishna Jayanthi (janmashtami) folks offer a dish made of aval/Poha along with other Prasadams to gain prosperity.

Pittsburgh weather is very sporadic and I must thank our desi professors for the car trips they had helped us with. It’s time to dive in to the recipe.


Ingredients

Thick Flattened Poha  1 cup

Fresh Coconut Grated  ¼ Cup

Cardamom Pod Powdered  2 (According to your taste)

Sugar/Jaggery  5Tsps (According to your taste)


Method


1. Wash poha 2-3 times, drain the water well  and leave it for 5minutes for the poha to absorb all the remaining water.

2. Few minutes later the poha will turn soft.

3.Add the grated coconut, sugar/jaggery, powdered cardamom.

4. Mix well and enjoy


Note: Do not soak the poha in water, will become soggy and won’t taste good.

Oats Porridge Hot,Oats Porridge Cold

Oats/(peas) porridge hot ,Oats/ Porridge(Peas) cold
Oats Porridge in the pot ,Nine days Old
Some like it hot,some like it cold
Some like it in the pot, nine days old 

Love singing the rhyme to my older daughter when she started to consume solids and rather the excitement of eating she will be excited to hear me sing with my not so smooth voice.Anyway let's come to the details of the drink.This is again a very simple recipe ,put together by incorporating the idea from my mother's ragi Kanji/porridge.The main ingredient of this drink should be ragi.Cleansing and preparing ragi for this drink is cumbersome .Subbed with oats for ragi.When we were in our teens my mom used to make this every day and make us drink early morning .No cofee or tea those days.It is packed with full of proteins and good nutrients .Drinking a cup or two will keep us energetic until lunch.My brother and myself used to grudge so much to drink .My mom miles apart now , realize the value of this drink and prepares the powder when the stock from India gets over.This is a very healthy drink and during pregnancy helps sustain the nausea .

Ingredients

Cardamom /Elaichi Pods - 6
Clove Pods - 6
Almonds -10
Pecans - 10
Walnuts- 10
Oats - 2 cups
Wheat Husk - 1 cup
Moong Dal - 1 cup
Par Boiled Rice - 1Cup
Sago - 1 Cup
Buck Wheat - 1/2 cup
Quinoa - 1/4 Cup
Pop Corn -1 Cup
Agave Nectar/Sugar - 1Tsp

Method
1.Dry Roast all the ingredients one by one in the order mentioned on the ingredients list
2.Let it cool .Grind it in a blender or mixer coarse or to a smooth powder.(Used Vitamix )
3.Take 3 spoons of the Protein powder and mix it with 1 cup of water and break out any lumps with a fork.
4.Bring it to a boil until it starts to solidify ,add 1 spoon of agave nectar or sugar
5.Add 1 cup of milk and switch off the flame.
6.Enjoy it Hot or Cold.

Way to Serenity....

Note:Store the remaining powder in an airtight container in a cool dry place and it stays for several months.
Folks  who would like to add ragi ,wash the ragi throughly ,tie it in a soft cloth and let the water drain and leave it for a day to sprout .Once the ragi  begins to sprout  dry roast and grind it along with other ingredients.