Gothumai Alwa

Okay, first things first. We call it alwa, not 'Halwa'. Now that, that is clear, we can move on to the recipe.

Have to mention my aunt Mrs Kamakshi and my cousin Priya for making this alwa along with me on skype and showing recipe, step by step! Thank you both :)

This recipe makes about 2 cups of alwa. 

You need whole wheat for this. It's called 'samba gothumai' in Tamil. It's available in the Indian stores as 'Haleem Wheat'. I don't like alwa made out of wheat flour. 

Whole wheat 1/2 cup

Water 3 and 1/2 cup water (basically 7 times whole wheat)

Sugar 1 and 1/4 cup+ 1/8th of a cup ( if you like it sweeter, make it 1 and 1/2 cup sugar)

Ghee 1 cup ghee ( keep a bit more handy)

Cardamom 1/2 teaspoon

The first step is to soak the whole wheat overnight. 

Drain the soaked wheat.

Go ahead and grind the water and the soaked wheat in your wet grinder if you have one, for at least 45 minutes to an hour. 

If you don't have a wet grinder, you can use your blender or mixie to do this. Just make sure it's super smooth.

Prepare the tray you are going to pour the alwa with ghee. Spread the ghee so that it covers the tray fully. 

Strain the mixture through a fine strainer and try and squeeze out al the juice from the leftover pulp.

Add the sugar, saffron and cardamom to this mixture.

Pour this in a heavy bottomed pan. On a medium flame, keep stirring this mixture,. 

Be prepared to be near the stove for a good 45 minutes. 

I've taken pictures every 10 minutes. So you can see the difference. 

Every 10 minutes add a generous ladle of ghee, when you reach around  40 minutes, you should be able to see the ghee oozing out of the alwa. This means, it's ready to be poured on the tray.

In the last 15 minutes, you will notice that the mixture starts bubbling and coming together. When you mix it, it should cling to the spoon. 

At this point, the alwa is done. 

Pour it out on the tray. 

Enjoy it hot! You will be able to cut it in pieces once it sets. 

This can be stored for at least a week, but be sure to microwave it a bit before eating for maximum taste. 

KaraSev (Spicy Savory)

Kara Sev! 

This is a spicy kind of savory that tastes so good just by itself or with tea 

It is very crunchy and yummy!

This recipe is from Meenakshi Ammal's 'Samauthu Par'. 

The proportion of Kadala mavu (Chick Pea Flour)  to Arisi Mavu (Rice Flour) is 4:1

You need 

Kadala Mavu (Chick Pea Flour/ Besan) 2 cups 

Arisi mavu (Rice flour) 1/2 cup

Fennel Seeds 1 tsp

Black Pepper 1 tablespoon (more if you like spicier)

Red Chili 7 big ones 

Butter (melted) 1 table spoon

Salt 1 and 1/2 teaspoons 

Garlic cloves 2 (optional)

Water as needed

Oil to deep fry 

Method

Start by making a coarse powder of black pepper and red chillies in your mixer

Then make a paste of the garlic, you can add a bit of water to this. If there are any big pieces, remove them by hand so they won't get stuck and close the hole of the achu

Mix the dry stuff first and then add the fennel seeds, the salt and the spices

And then add the water, little by little to make a thick dough.

I also added a few drops of hot oil to the dough. 

Add some oil in a thick bottomed pan and keep on a med hi flame

Make sure the heat stays steady through out the process 

Pinch a small ball of dough in to hot oil to check if the oil is ready.

If the oil is hot enough, it should rise back  up to the top instantly.

You are now ready to start making 'kara sev'!

I used a 3 hole 'achu'  and just press the dough on to the hot oil.

Once it's in the oil, take a. Stainless steel ladle and break off the kara sev in to pieces 

This will make it crispier

And the Kara Sev is done when it turns golden brown and is 'silent' 

Remove and let cool 

For the measurement I used, it filled up a 6 cup box.