Amma's tasty 'POORNAM' for her girl

This is my entry for Cooking for kids with Love event for the month of February.I've only just read about it(don't blame me,I've logged on the Net after 12 days.)

Jigyasa and Pratibha have written the invite so beautifully that I felt compelled to join them in the event(Well,the book was a great temptation too,but let us save it for another day.)I just read the guidelines,and didn't even have to think of it , it came to me spontaneously - Amma's Kadalai Paruppu Poornam.

Any dish that Amma (for that matter,even the ones that Appa cooks) is infused with copious amounts of LOVE(Aren't all the dishes???).But this one has got a special place in my heart because Amma tries to woo me with it whenever I'm frustrated,angry,depressed or simply not in the best of days.And to tell you the truth, it does brighten and cheer me up!!!
Its got the divine sweetness of jaggery,not to forget the minerals and vitamins and lots of energy in it.Its got the power-protein of Chana dal,the essential omega-3 fats and rich taste of dry fruits.All-in-all it is a complete meal in itself(why else is it called so???POORNAM in Tamil,Marathi and even Hindi signifies completeness).If you ask me,I'd give it the position of Comfort Food in my life.

So on to the recipe:


Get your stock of these replenished.......................
Good old Chana Dal - 1 cup
Yummy melt in the mouth jaggery - 1.5 cups
Cashews,sultanas,almonds,pistachios(all chopped) - 1/2 a cup
A little ghee - just enough to fry the nuts

This dish is not my favouritestestestest for nothing.Its also easy to make ,has the teensiest-weensiest amount of ingredients,feeds you all kinds of nutrients (iron specifically) and most importantly its YUM.YUM.YUMMY!!!!

I'll try giving you the method in 4 steps,you can follow these to impress your audience...................

1.]Boil chana dal till it is well-cooked in enough water;drain the excess water.(Don't throw it away,utilise it for soups and gravies,mind you it is rich in B vitamins.)

2.] Add a little water to the jaggery and melt it into a golden syrup over a slow flame.

3.]Once the syrup is of medium consistency,add the dal to it,mix well and let cook till desired consistency is achieved-(can be anything from liquidy payasamy to solidish burfyish[Sorry for using such English] texture........everything tastes good with this!)

4.]Mix in the fried nuts,stir well.

Oops!I'm really sorry for this goof-up,I couldn't finish in 4 steps,there's still a lot more to be done.....Read on..................

What??? Serve it dears,what else?Or pop it into your mouth straight away;well ,not straightaway,certainly not if you want to howl around popping chilled ice or ice-cream or lemonade or drink & gargle cool water till the blisters in your mouth disappear(Well, it may sound like I'm exaggerating,but the aroma of this may make you do that,just as it does to me.Every single time.)

Heaven! Jannat! Swarg! Sorgam!
That's what this tastes like to me.Since I'm a total health freak,(well not total,I'm told ,when consuming bright yellow Banana chips by the kilo,but never mind),I find this sweet RICH,without stocking up on those 'ghee and oil calories,and nutritionally loaded,so no qualms about that.

Try it and fall in love with jaggery all over again,be charmed by what wonders Chana-dal can do and..................See???I can go ooon & ooon about this,you get the drift?


Oh yeah,I'll also give you a few innovations, just in case-
1-> Chop in plantains and mix well to get an even more royal experience.
2-> Mix in Milkmaid, just before you eat to get a creamy touch.

P.S.: Amma made this dish just the day before yesterday, and by 8 a.m. in the morning yesterday,it had completely vanished.Any guesses about what must've happened?No prizes for that one for sure!!!