Back home in Chennai,you hardly see Surfers,Colorful Umbrellas and kids with bathing suits making sand castles.That’s a very western thing.But you can see plenty of Kites Flying, mini Ferris wheels, Fishermen folk,Flower vendors,Peanut vendors and small stalls making hot beachy treats like Chilli Bajji-(a deep fried battered snack),Sutta Cholam-(corn,that has been cooked in flame like BBQ),Thengai Maangai Patani Sundal-(cooked beans with mangoes and coconuts0. People come to the beach as an outing, to get some fresh air, drench their feet in the salty water and of course to enjoy the yummy beach treats.
As a child, every summer, we go to Chennai for the Summer Vacations and we would make a trip to Marina Beach or Besant Nagar Beach(Elliots Beach).I used to love the Besant nagar beach, as it also has a beautiful Astalakshmi temple by the beach. After getting wet and sticky, we would enjoy some of these yummy treats. Sutta Cholam is one of my favorites. Corn on the cob is cooked over flame and salt and lemon is coated over them and eaten while its is still hot. Raw mango slices with salt n chilly powder sprinkled on top of them is another yummy treat.
My Parents are here in the US for a visit and we decided to go to Nantasket Beach(MA). Its a beautiful beach in the South Shore. In an attempt to make them feel at home, made all the snacks that would typically be a treat for your tongue at the beach. My dad gave some sound effects- murug murug…… to make it even more real.
Chilly Bajji
Ingredients:
- Bajji Chillies- 10.
- Gram Flour-1 cup.
- Rice Flour-1cup.
- Red chilly powder- 1tsp.
- Asafoetida-a pinch.
- Salt- to taste.
- Baking powder-a pinch for crispiness.
- Tamarind juice- 1cup.
Method:
- Slit the chillies in a way that they are still intact and remove the pith and seeds.
- Soak them in tamarind juice for 1o minutes.
- Add the above ingredients in a bowl and add little water to make a thick paste.
- Drain the excess tamarind juice.
- Dip the chillies in the batter and make sure its covered with the batter.
- Deep fry in hot oil.
- Drain excess oil with a paper towel and serve with any date chutney or tomato ketchup.
Note: Another version the chilly bajji can be made with stuffing in the middle.
Thengai-Maangai Patani Sundal:
This is a protein filled salt n spicy treat with a hint of sourness.
Ingredients:
- Green Vatana ( dried green peas)-1 cup.
- Raw Mango chopped-1/4 cup.
- Coc0nut scrapes or coconut pieces- 2tsp.
- Salt-to taste.
- Oil-1 tsp.
For Seasoning:
- Mustard seeds-1tsp.
- Urad Dhal-1 tsp.
- Asafoetida- a pinch.
- Green chillies slit-3.
- Curry leaves- an arc.
Method:
- Soak the green vatana in water for 8 hours.
- Pressure cook them till 1 whistle with salt or can be cooked in microwave, if you don’t want it to become too soft.
- Drain excess water from the peas.
- Take oil in a pan and add the things mentioned in seasonings and after the mustard splatters add raw mango and saute for 1/2 minute.
- Add cooked peas and mix well.
- Sprinkle coconut scrapes.
Raw Mango Slices:
Ingredients:
- Raw mango cuts.
- Salt.
- Red chilly powder-1/2 tsp.
Cut the mango in thin strips and make slits like the above photo. Mix salt and chilly powder together and sprinkle on the mango slices and enjoy!
Roasted Peanuts:
Take raw peanuts and roast them with a little bit oil and sprinkle salt and red chilly powder and can be served in a paper cone. Pori kadalai– Pori(Puffed rice) can also be added to the peanuts to make it even more interesting.
great way to enjoy the beach and the breeze..lovely treats.
HI Indhu 🙂
I stay in Chennai and that too very close to Marina beach 🙂 we vist the beach very often …ur description is so beautiful …another thing that I love about the beach is the evening warm up sessions for the beach patrol horses (horse mounted policemen) it looks awesome …indeed all these things make it a pretty picture 🙂
I’ve tasted all these things at the beach …never tried them at home. ur eats look mouthwatering 🙂
Good post.
TC
hi indu,
nice blog with a good collection of recipes
Your post made me nostalgic. Reminded me of my college days spent in the besant nagar beach with friends. Thanks for dropping by my blog.