Friday, October 12, 2007

Pachoru


Pachoru is an ancient Christian delicay. It is usually made during Church Festivals. In olden days, when one's wishes come true, people used to make Pachoru and take it to the church and distribute it to the devotees, on the festival day. It is served with melted jaggery and can be eaten as a snack or a dessert. Kids will love it too!

Velankanni is a famous pilgrim centre in Tamil Nadu. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Health. It is one of the most visited pilgrim places in India. The festival is celebrated on September 8th every year. Mother Mary is lovingly known as 'Annai Velankanni' throughout Tamil Nadu. You can read more about Velankanni here.

What you need
:

Raw rice -1 cup
Grated coconut -1 cup
Water -6 cups
Cumin seeds -1 tsp, crushed
Salt -as required
Melted jaggery -as required

Method:

Cook the rice along with 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 7 minutes. Grind the coconut to a fine paste. Open the cooker and add the ground coconut paste, salt and 2 cups of water. Mix well and simmer it for about 5 minutes till it is thick. Finally add crushed cumin seeds and mix well. Transfer it to a serving dish and let it cool. Cut it into pieces and serve topped with melted jaggery. It can be served chilled or at room temperature.

20 comments:

Raks said...

Sounds delicious...!!Thanx for the recipe..!

Saju said...

looks and sounds delicious, I can almost smell the coconutty aroma.

Padmaja said...

Lissie!!
What an amazing entry lissie? i heard a lot about Velankanni from friends n family but never went there and also i never knew about this dish till now!! So I came over!!

Siri said...

Never heard of this recipe.. sounds delish..:).. thanks for sharing

Swaruchy said...

Lissie...Velankani...yes...I studied my Masters in Trichy REC.....and I know Velanakanni....wanted to go there but could never make it...hheard so much good abt this church ...wish I cud visit it while I was there......Nice one dear....Ur dish looks delicious :-))
So how did u celebrate this festival dear ...?

Padma said...

Never heard of this before, sounds incredible and yeah I agree with Saju!

FH said...

Loved the photos Lissie!! Great info, learnt a lot!:))
Dessert looks so good, lot of coconut.YUM!!

Kribha said...

This is a totally new dish to me. I've never heard of this before. Looks so nice. will try it for my son. Thanks for sharing.

Bharathy said...

I used to have this in KTM...and used to love Pachoru!!Thanks for sharing this christian authentic,Lizzie!!

Love that egg recipe and easy chilly chicken!!:D

Sia said...

coconut enhances the flavour of any dish... wonderful dish

Apple said...

Nice description Lissie...Never heard abt this recipe..Cumin and Jaggery together...should be sweet and savoury too...Thanks for sharing

Rina said...

I know of this when my mother made it long long ago. This is a tradition to feed the girls wo come of age. Thanks for the recipe again

Lissie said...

thank you raks, padmaja and padma for your kind words!
welcome siri and sia!
sirisha, you missed a golden opportunity. never mind, try to visit Velankanni next time you come to India. i used to visit Velankanni every year with family.

Lissie said...

apple, it is a sweet dish. cumin is added only for flavouring just like we add cardamom. it will not be savoury. thankx for visiting!
thank you asha, kribha and bharathy for your compliments!
rina, it is a new information. thanks!

Prajusha said...

Lissie,
Pachoru looks nice.Good Info.

Seena said...

I was thinking what would be the taste of thsi rice, jeera plus jaggery..? umm, like neyyappams?

Cynthia said...

Is this like a rice pudding.

Viji said...

Nice to know about the story behind this dish Lissie. Very interesting. I have been there. Viji

Lissie said...

thanks prajusha and viji for visiting! viji, nice to hear that you have visited Velankanni!!

seena, it won't taste like neyyappam. it would have the taste of your jeera kanji with some jaggery added!

cynthia, it is ofcourse a rice pudding! you said it correctly!!

Rajitha said...

lissie..i remember the church and have been there to light candles...nice recipe btw