I haven’t been able to celebrate Ugadhi with my family for more than 10 years. So it was a special occasion. And mom went all the way to make it even more memorable. Here are some pictures.

Hanging Mango Leaves

Garelu

Ugadhi Pachadi : Ingredients

Ugadhi Pachadi : Final

Thanking the divine ones

Click on the picture to get to an enlarged version

I will try to convert the data in this picture to an excel spreadsheet when I get some time..

The data in tabular form..(work in progress)

[gview file="http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tWM60O2i56vebN-13Jkel9g&single=true&gid=0&output=html"]

Ingredients :

• Rice Flour (1.5 cups)
• Brown Sugar (2 cups)
• Milk (1/2 Gallons)
• Butter (Ghee) (3 tablespoons)
• Cashew Nuts (1/2 cup)
• Cardamom Seeds (eilachi) (~15)

Preparation :

• Knead the rice flour into a dough by adding 1 cup of brown sugar and some warm milk.
• Add the rest of the brown sugar to the milk and bring it to a boiling point
• Put the prepared dough in a cookie press and drop it into the milk as short noodles (use the cookie press template with round holes of ~0.25 inches in diameter)
• Roast the cashews slightly in butter and them to the milk (along with the butter)
• Crush the cardamom seeds and add them to the milk.
• Let all the ingredients boil for ~15 minutes and you are ready to enjoy palathalikalu

Wasn’t that easy? .. You can also add raisins to the dish based on your preference.

Visuals :

The Ingredients

The Cookie Press (Indian Version )

Creating the noodles

Yummy!!

Ingredients :

• Shrimp (uncooked, medium size)
• Beera Kaya (Ridged Gourd.. you can get it at an Indian grocery)
• Red Onions
• Red Chilli Powder
• Salt
• Ginger Garlic Paste
• Coconut Milk (check out the ethnic aisle in any grocery)
• Cloves
• Cardamoms
• Cilantro
• Garam Masala (ground spices..another thing you can get at an Indian grocery)
• Vegetable Oil

Preperation :

• Peel and cut the ridged gourd into medium sized cubes and the onions into small pieces.
• Cook the shrimp (2lbs) in coconut milk (3 tablespoons) and ginger garlic paste (2 teaspoons) without adding any water for ~20 minutes. There is no need to add water, since the shrimp has a lot of water in it. This process helps with cooking the shrimp and elimninating the “fishy” odour.
• Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet and fry the cloves, cardamoms. Add the onions after a couple of minutes.
• When the onions turn golden, add the shrimp.
• Add some more ginger garlic, red chilli powder and salt
• Wait for a couple of minutes and add the ridge gourd
• Let the whole disk cook for ~15 minutes (let the water evaporate).
• Add the garam masala and cilantro
• Serve hot with rice.

Visuals  :

Shrimp being boiled with coconut milk and ginger garlic

Chopped Onion and peeled beera kaya

Shrimp and Beera Kaya cooking together

Beerakaya Royyalu served hot with rice

Rich’s Lechon (Roast pork, Romaine lettuce, grilled onions, sweet plantain, garlic sauce)

Janvi’s Cuban (Cuban ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, pickles, mustard) 

My Frita Cubana (Cuban hamburger, Romaine lettuce, tomato, shoestring potatoes)

And to top it all.. some Banana pudding

Ingredients :

• Goat Meat (with bones)
• Onions
• Green Chilli
• Cloves
• Cinnamon
• Cardamoms
• Garam Masala
• Oil
• Turmeric
• Salt
• Chilli powder
• Tamarind Paste

Preperation :

• Cut the meat into medium chunks. Don’t skin the meat from the bones. Let the meat cling onto the bones.
• Heat some oil in a skillet and gently roast the cloves, cinnamon and cardamoms after crushing them.
• After a minute, add the sliced onions and half cut green chilli.
• When the onions turn golden, add the meat and gently turn it around until it becomes light pink.
• Sprinkle some turmeric and add salt, chilli powder (according to your taste).
• Let the meat cook for another 3-4 minutes and add garam masala.
• Add plenty of water (should be at least 2 inches about the level of the meat) and the tamarind paste.
• Let the meat cook for at least 1 hour on medium flame.
• Serve hot with white rice..

Visuals :

The meat..

 

Cinnamon, Cloves &  Cardamoms

Onions & Chilli

All mixed together..

Served with a bunch of other dishes

Thx to Sri and Kirthi for hosting this year’s Superbowl party.. The Guacamole and Haleem were yummy..Pictures from the party (http://flickr.com/photos/kudithipudi/sets/72157613256281176/)

Coming to the title of this post.. Why did I add 5 lbs of weight? These three pictures should tell you why..

YUM

YUMMM

YUMMMMMY

OK.. That is my friend Rich.. but you get the idea ..

You need to go here in Sunnyvale, CA