Ellorai |Sesame Seeds Rice |How to make Ellorai

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Ellorai, sesame seeds rice is a quick to make mixed rice/kalanda saadam recipe. A easy to make rice dish that can be packed for lunch box.

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The Festival

The second day of Pongal festival, comes Kanu Pongal, the day , we do pooja for the wellbeing of our brothers and for the unity in the family. 
Pooja will be performed early in the morning. The offering is balls of leftover rice and sarkarai pongal from the previous day. The colorful rice balls, placed neatly on turmeric leafs and offered to the crows.

The Prayer

Kaaka Pidi vachen, kannu pidi vachen, kaakai ellam kalyanam, un kootam polave en kootamum othumaya vazhanum

காக்கா பிடி வைத்தேன், கண்ணு பிடி வைத்தேன், காக்கை எல்லாம் கல்யாணம். உன் கூட்டம் போலவே என் கூட்டமும் ஒற்றுமையா வாழணும்.

It roughly translates to, here i touch/offer these colorful rice balls to you crows, i wish my family always stay united, just like yours. After the pooja, we need to bath  and eat the leftover rice, not the one offered to crows, there will be some leftover rice kept separately for breakfast. We usually have it along with curd.  

While discussing this tradition with sangeeta khanna, she enlightened me that seasonal changes causes good gut bacteria in these leftover food. Traditions like these prepare our body well for the oncoming change in the air. 

Unfortunately, many don't value these traditions much these days, we simply shut them off and it ends abruptly. Our grandparents were definitely wiser than the doctors now. Let us try to follow some of the old eating habits and free ourselves a bit from trouble.

The Food

Mixed rices, also known as variety rice , called kalanda saadam in tamil. the word Kalanda means to mix, Saadam, means rice. Kalanda Saadam, means mixed rice.

Mixed/variety rice recipes, like lemon rice, coconut rice, Ellorai, puliyodharai and aviyal, will be the menu for the day. My normal menu is coconut rice, lemon rice and some aviyal for side. This year, I wanted to try a different mixed rice .

Ellorai/Sesame seeds mixed rice, is a pretty easy rice to make, you can make the spice powder ahead and store in the fridge. If storing, i would recommend not more than a week, spice powder will lose its aroma and vigor if stored for long.

The Ingredients

• Sesame seeds, the star ingredient of this recipe. I have used a combination of both white and black sesame seeds in the recipe.
• I suggest using black sesame a little bit more as it would it give a deep color to the rice. Sesame seeds are rich in calcium, so i try to use them as much as possible in my cooking
• Dal, I have used both chana dal and black gram in the recipe. I prefer using skinned urad dal. If using urad dal with skin it might change the color of the spice powder. You can use either whole or split ones.
• Coriander seeds, add a nice nutty aroma to the spice powder.
• Chilies, i have used red chilies round variety to spice the powder.

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Serve this spicy ellorai with sweet potato fry. If you prefer something gravy like, then go for aloo gravy

Mixed Rice Varieties

• Leftover rice breakfast bowl
• Curry leaves rice
• Minty carrot and peas rice

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