Homemade | Rhinestone / Kundan Rangoli

Dear Foodies,

Padmam - Lotus muggu

I'm going to take a detour from cooking on today as I can no longer keep this new craft that my mom and I (...mainly her :) ) have been churning out from all you guys. Last month for a puja at my brother's place we were trying to come up with ideas for setting up the altar and other decorations. Since it was their new home we did not want to risk using traditional muggu (rangoli) colors and staining the floors. When looking for designs online I came across some that were made using kundan stones and that's when this got started.

Peeta muggu (to be placed under a 3" high stool - peeta)

Michael's is our go-to store for craft items and it was no different this time. We found a huge pack of assorted color acrylic rhinestones and with the 40% coupon it was a good buy for a impromptu project. Only drawback was having to sort the beads by color before we got started. But with some glue and plastic printer sheets we got started on our very first one soon.

Since then we've made many more...it's hard to stop and we knew we were spent our afternoons ordering stones on Amazon and our evenings scouring bead stores in the area for the right shape, right shade or the perfectly sized stone :)

another Padmam with a different petal tip design

For the first few muggu's we used Graffix Ink Jet film, but later realized it's a little too thin and flimsy for such a project. We currently have these sheets from Graffix that we ordered online. They are much more sturdier but the only downside is the color. I noticed that the sheet itself had a blue tinge only after opening the package. So if you can find clear sheets of the same thickness, that would be ideal.

Flower pattern - Not the best photo but my favorite so far

Since the sheets are transparent its easy to trace the pattern on a sheet of paper and attach it to the plastic sheet using staples or paper clips. Its best to move a few inches at a time, trace the pattern with glue (we used this) and immediately place the rhinestones. Do use a good amount of glue or the stones will fall out over time when handled...found that the hard way.

We also used pearl and silver bead strings for some of the outlines. My mother figured that the best way to make them fit the pattern is to leave them stringed until they are glued in place. While the glue is still fresh, gently tug at the string and pull it out. You can then make slight adjustments but its a lot easier than gluing beads individually. Once the glue has had time to dry, trim off excess plastic sheet around the pattern. We skipped this step for now and left a lot more space so they are easy to handle and move around.

This our most recent project and the one we are most proud of, I think. We spent many evenings visiting stores and looking online for the right stones for this one but it was definitely worth it. Its still not complete. My mom's done making all the petals (below pic) and we'll have to create the final shape by using some gold string to form an outline.

Materials & Sources

• Acrylic Rhinestones - Various colors, sizes and shapes
• Pearl and Silver beads
Sources: Michaels Craft store - don't forget to look for coupons; local bead stores/outlet; The Crafts Outlet - Amazon store, eligible for prime shipping;
• Craft Plastic Sheets - we used these Graffix sheets, but in a clear color if you can find them (and let me know where!)
• Glue - Aleene's Clear Tacky Glue
• a pair of tweezers really come handy when you have to move little beads around

petals to go around the above circular center pattern - 8 total

Google stone rangoli and get prepared to be awed. There is soo much great work to be inspired by. I thought I had a brilliant idea when we were trying to find an alternative to traditional color powder rangoli, but looks like its been around forever. This was the first collection that inspired me, here's another that lead to our current project; and another one. The very first muggu is the one that will be at the base of our Varalakshmi vratham kalasam this year.

Did you worked on any craft projects recently ? Please share them here!
 

Bajji - Vegetable Fritters

Dear Foodies,

The festive season has begun for some Hindu's with the onset of Sravana masam last Wednesday. My parents are here visiting and I get to experience firsthand again the various puja's and neivedyam that I very vividly remember from when I was home. The unmistakable aroma of ghee and cardamom from the kitchen, incense from the puja room, the melodious voice of M.S. Subbalakshmi or Sudha Ragunathan playing in the background and the whole house buzzing with energy. The entrance would have been decked with a fresh muggu (rangoli) and thoranam. Fresh flowers adorn the altar and all puja samagri cleaned and ready to go. I've tried my best to recreate these from memory in the last few years but its never the same. Having mom here has brought that all back. I've slipped naturally into my post as assistant along with my Dad.

Today is Garuda panchami, a puja performed by sisters for the well-being of their brothers. It is a special pooja in our home for both my mom and me - she has four brothers and I have one. This also signifies the start of a string of auspicious days for the season - Varalaksmi vratam is on Friday, followed soon by Avani avittam (Jandhayala pandaga/Rakhi), Janmashtami, Vinayaka Chavithi, Dasara and then Diwali.

Clockwise - peppers, green tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes

For a foodie though, all these festive occasions have one other important thing at their core - neivedyam. Each puja has its own set of customary dishes that make it special. Kozhakattai for one, kesari for another or bobatlu. But no special Andhra (/Telangana ugh) meal is complete with out bajji - fritters. Usually its thinly sliced potatoes dipped in a mildly spiced besan/chickpea batter and deep fried to puffy, golden deliciousness. Using just pantry essentials, these take no more than 15 mins, with prep time taking just as long as it takes for the oil to come to temperature. So no surprise then that these were perfect snack to offer to unexpected guests.

On Saturday, we spent all morning at Suzie's farm picking fabulous summer produce. We now have close to 10 varieties of peppers, lots of sun ripened tomatoes, beets, kale, chard, eggplant and squash. With all this fresh produce in hand we had no reason to stick to traditional potato alone. Instead we made a bajji sampler plate using sliced eggplant, padron peppers, unripe green tomatoes and potatoes. Onions are also great for bajji but since this was going to be offered as neivedyam we skipped it.

Bajji - Fritters with Potatoes, Brinjal, Green Tomatoes and Peppers 

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup - Besan/Chickpea flour
• 1/4 cup - Rice flour
• 1/2 tsp - Ghee or 1 tsp - Curd or 1 tsp - Rava/Semolina
• 1/8 tsp - Turmeric
• 1/4 tsp - Red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 1/8 tsp - Ajwain (whole or roasted & powdered)
• a pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
• Salt to taste (~1/2 tsp)
• Water, for batter
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Prep veggies first - Scrub potatoes clean, wash all other veggies and pat dry. Peel potatoes if needed. Slice potatoes and eggplant thinly (1/8inch) by knife or using a mandoline. Cut stem end of peppers, de-seed and slice into discs. Green tomatoes sliced a little thicker than the rest.
2. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
3. For the batter, combine all dry ingredients first. To make the fritters crispy add either ghee, rava or curd in the amount suggested. Add water to get the batter to a thick yet pouring consistency as shown above.
4. Once the oil is hot (starts to shimmer and a small drop of batter falls to the bottom and rises up in a few seconds) dunk a few slices in batter and move them around to coat all sides. Pick up one slice at a time, allow excess batter drop, and gently slide it into the pan of oil from the side closest to you. Add a few more slices based on size of the pan making sure not to over crowd it.
5. Using a slotted spoon, gently move the slices around 1-2 times, gradually spooning a little oil over them. Once the bottom part looks cooked (~ 1 min) flip over and cook until both sides are golden. 
6. Transfer to a tissue lined plate for a few minutes to absorb excess oil. Move them to a serving plate or dish. They are great warm or at room temperature. Though they hardly need any accompaniments, a little Maggi sauce or mango avakaya on the side is wonderful.

Once you have the batter ready, you can experiment with almost all veggies. The tart green tomatoes were really good and so was the eggplant with a slight bitterness. Peppers (mirapakakya bajji) and potatoes (aloo bajji) hardly need any help in selling out. Cauliflower, cucumber, squash, spinach are all very good candidates. Last week we even saw someone on a cookery show dip rava kesari balls in this batter to make a hybrid snack! I may never go that far and plan to stick to just veggies.

We are busy making arrangements for Varalakshmi Vratam now and I hope to write another post this week about ourpreparations. My mom's Kozhakattai recipe now has new photos from today.