PEANUT SUNDAL RECIPE (VERKADALAI SUNDAL) | NAVARATRI RECIPES

      
   For everybody including me, kolu means the first thing is Sundal that comes to our mind. I have posted this Pasi payaru sweet sundal 2 years back when I made it for my kolu. Last year I din’t post any sundal recipe in my blog. But I did made pasi paruppu sundal, channa dal sundal and verkadalai sundal. Dint concentrated on clicking pictures to post here. Just was excited about my kolu. Yes. I love to keep kolu at my home. This is going to be boring for some of you, so feel free to skip reading this.
    I have been brought up seeing my mom keeping kolu. So from my childhood I loved it. My mom every year never misses to keep kolu. We have a ‘mara potti’ full of dolls especially for that. The marapaachi bommai, chettiyar couple are few of my favourites. The festive mood starts few days before by taking out the dolls and sometimes we make cute little dresses for the dolls as well.

My last year's(2011) Kolu. First two steps with the dolls and 3rd step is only for Aj, only his toys :)

  We take a tray and spread manal(sea sand) and sprinkle either fenugreek seeds or mustard seeds. Sprinkle water everyday and grow it to make a ‘mini forest’. We arrange all kutti plastic animals in that forest. My mom makes a bowl as pond and we have some (plastic)tiny cute turtles, flowers, fishes,alligators to make them float in the mini pond. Tennis courts, cricket ground any one of this will be there. These all are kept aside down the kolu steps.
  My mom keeps either 5 steps or 3 steps due to space constrains. She has a white embroidered cloth specially for spreading over the steps. For me when my mom arranges every dolls over the steps, then only I will start missing playing with those dolls or will feel like taking out the doll from the kolu and play. But they will strictly not allow to move even an inch, the dolls when it is in the kolu. And not to forget the last day-night, when we make all the dolls sleep. I love that part .Still if I remember those days, are sweet.

The poorna kumbam with coconut and maavilai is considered a 'must' in the kolu...

   After I got married, I was only one year or so at Chennai and MIL has no practice to keep kolu. And after that when I came here, few years, though I had a strong wish to keep kolu, somehow dint happened. Then when I told my mom and MIL, they encouraged me a lot and bought new dolls, even my mom passed few of her old dolls to me for my kolu. Then two years back, I successfully kept my own kolu. Last year too I did. I felt so proud and so do my mom and MIL .  I have no much friends to call home for my kolu. So I call my SIL, Jeyashri usually, and last year, Janani aslo visited my kolu. Janani called me for her kolu as well and I was lucky to see her beautiful kolu :)

    Even at my mom’s place at Salem, there were lots of friends, but not many will take time to come home to see the kolu. So some times my  mom even takes the goodie bag with a blouse bit, pocket mirror, comb, vetrilai paaku (betel leaves and nut), flowers, kumkum, turmeric, yellow thread along with Sundal and payasam, to their home and give them. Some of them will then take time to come and see :) Here SIL with her kids are kind enough to come inspite of the distance.
   Ok now, coming to the recipe, this peanut sundal is one I loved when Janani gave when I went to her kolu. It was tasting simply superb. Usually I add grated coconut. But I felt like she had ground the coconut which made it look good. So I tried that way, she had ground the coconut fine,though I ground very coarsely. Still loved it! My mom always makes the sundal moist. Not very dry. I too prefer that way. Sundals are simple to make, but make a healthy snack. So even if you dont keep kolu, do make sundal and eat . This year, since Rukku paati passed away, we are not celebrating any festivals and sadly no kolu as well....

Ingredients (serves 3)

Peanut (dry)	1 cup
Coconut	1/8 cup
Salt	1 tsp(as needed)

 

To temper

Oil	2 tsp
Mustard	1 tsp
Urad dal	1 tsp
Red chilli	2-3
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Asafoetida	3 pinches

 

Method

Soak the peanuts for 1-2  hours. Drain and pressure cook for 3 whistles with 3/4 cup water,salt. Drain and keep aside. Heat a pan with oil and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table. Add the drained peanuts and give a stir for a minute. Add the coconut (I ground coarsely)  and mix well for a minute.

     
         Transfer to the serving bowl. It is simple with least ingredients, yet flavourful and juicy sundal!

 

Notes

My  mom never drain the water and boil it until it evaporates. If you use fresh peanuts, no need to soak, just pressure cook with salt. You can add finely chopped ginger after you temper for extra flavour. You can also grind coconut, green chilli and ginger coarsely and add lastly instead of using red chillies while tempering.  I made less in quantity for this post than I have mentioned in the ingredients.

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