Summer Special 1 - Tangy Javvarsi Vadaam

Javvarsi vadam, the best side dish for the all the rice.

Vadam laid out to dry in my terrace. I am happy to be a part of this big vadam project. Last month, I went to my hometown and spent some days with my parents. My sister and my brother also joined me. It was a family reunion after 2 years with lots of fun with some sad moments.

As I said in my earlier post Maavadu, my mom work like a factory and makes pickles, vadams. As the summer season comes, she makes yummy homemade vadams and distributes to all. Oh yes, she sent some to Chicago too.

Since we all were there, my mom did little extra this time. While myself, mom and my sister-in-law were working on the vadam, my sister took care of the two vaalu kids.

Ingredients : 1/2 kg -- Javvarsi / sago 100 gm -- Green chillies 2 nos -- juice from Lemon Salt as per taste ** Since this is my mom's recipe, all the measurements are in weight. Method : --- Soak the javarsi over night. Let the volume of the water be double the volume of javvarsi. --- Next day morning, wash the green chillies and grind them to a fine paste . As you all know the measure of chilly depends on one's taste. So adjust accordingly. --- Take a big thick bottom vessel with 2 litre of water and bring it to boil. --- Once it starts boiling, add the javvarsi,  chilly paste and cook. You can very much control the chilly now also. --- Accordingly add salt to the mixture and cook until javvarsi is cooked fully and becomes transparent pearls. --- The whole mixture becomes little thick, like kanji consistency. --- Turn thr heat off and let it cool for few minutes. --- Pour the lemon juice to the mixture and mix well. --- Vadam kuzhu (liquid mixture) is ready. --- Now comes the big part. Take some big plastic sheets and wash them thoroughly and drip out the water completely. You can also use white cloth for laying the vadams. But we prefer the sheet because, its easy to peel the vadam. --- Lay the plastic sheet in the open terrace or where you can get proper sunlight and secure all the corners. --- Now take the liquid mixture in a small spoon and place it over the plastic sheet. --- The size of the vadam is up to your imagination. Place the vadam mixture in a row with some space between two, because when it spreads it will not touch the next in the row. --- After a day if it comes peel the vadam from the sheet and dry it for 4-5 days until whole water is absorbed. --- Then store it in a airtight box.

Always try to keep this vadam project in the early mornings before the sun. Fry the vadam in the oil or cook it in the microwave oven and enjoy when ever you want a crunch.

We enjoyed this tangy vadam along with a summer cool salad. Will post the salad recipe shortly :))

Maavadu - Tender mango pickle

Hurray, Its mango time again...

The time the mango season starts, the pickle season starts in our home. Maavadu, is a pickle made out of cute little tender mangoes.

My mother makes pickles like a factory and distributes it to all of us. For the past 2 years, she had it delivered to me in Chicago too. My sister resides in Mambalam and has ready access to almost anything you name. Specially in the summer she gets loads and loads of mangoes. The list starts from Maavadu mangoes, then Aavakaai mango, mangoes for vathal, thokku and of course mambazham.  We finished the first batch of Maavadu at home a couple of weeks ago and my mother prepared another batch last week.

Ingredients : 1 padi** -- Maavadu, small size tender mangoes 50 gm -- Mustard  seeds 4 tbsp -- Chili powder 3 tsp -- Turmeric powder 2 tsp -- Castor Oil 150gm to 200gm -- Powdered salt ** Since this is my mom's recipe, all the measurements are in weight. And the padi is the old method of  measuring unit, still used in some places. My mom and my in-law talks more often with this unit. Since they used to cook for big families. 1 padi approximately equals 8 cups Method : --- Wash the mangoes and dry them completely by spreading over a dry cloth. --- After drying the mangoes, transfer the mangoes in a bowl or a jar in which you are going to store the pickle. Pour the 2 tsp edible Castor oil  over the mangoes and mix well and make sure all the mangoes are coated with the oil. --- Grind the mustard seeds to powder. --- Add chili powder, mustard seed powder, turmeric powder and salt to the mangoes. --- Mix well and close the bowl / jar with a lid. --- Utmost try to use a dry wooden ladle to mix the mangoes or use clean dry hands. --- Mix the mangoes daily for at least for a week to 10 days in the morning with wooden ladle, once the skin shrinks and the salt become watery, the pickle is ready to use. --- Taste a mango after 3-4 days, if you feel it needs more salt. Go and grab the salt jar from the pantry and add to the mangoes. --- Yummy tender mango pickle is ready to rock.

Important note :
1) If the salt is more the life span of the pickle will also be more. If salt is less, then the pickle will be infected with fungus growth. So always better to check the mangoes daily.
2) Also use dry spoon to take the mangoes from the big container you stored.

If you follow the above two instruction you can store in the air tight container or ceramic jar in the room temperature itself and will lasts for more months, provided the consumption level, unlike us:-), is less. Or else you can even store it in a fridge and it will last for years.