Kallappam / Rice with Coconut Pancake(Kerala Style)

KALLAPPAM

Kallappam is a kind of rice pancake traditionally prepared using Toddy/kallu and tastes almost similar to Palappam.Batter is prepared by grinding Rice with coconut,cumin seeds,small onions and garlic.Nowadays people use yeast for fermentation due to the shortage of good toddy.Kallappam looks like Dosa and it's cooked at both sides.
This is a typical Syrian Christian dish.It is one of the breakfast items in Kerala and I made it after a long time since I had a craving for it.Kallappams are often served with non- veg curries such as chicken/mutton/beef curries or a spicy fish curry.
Here goes the recipe..... 
Ingredients:

1. Raw rice/Pachari or roasted rice flour-1cup
2. Coconut-1/2cup
3. Cooked rice-a handful
4. Shallots/small onion-3
5. Cumin seeds-1/4tsp
6. Garlic-2-3flakes
7. Sugar-2tsp
8. Yeast-1/2tsp or Toddy-half glass 
9. Salt-a pinch  

   

   KALLAPPAM

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice in water for 4-5 hours.
2. Combine sugar and yeast in 1/4cup lukewarm water and keep it aside for 10minutes.It will rise to almost the double in size.
3. Now grind together all the ingredients except yeast and salt adding very little water to a smooth thin batter.
4. Mix in yeast mixture,stir well and allow the batter to ferment for  7-8 hours.
5. Just before preparing add a pinch of salt and stir well. 
6. Heat a tava or a iron pan rub with oil,pour one ladlefull of batter.It'll spread it by itself.no need to use the back of the ladle to spread it.
7. Cover the pan with a lid and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.After 2 minutes,turn the appams and cook the other side too until it is lightly browned.This recipe yields 10-12 Kallappams.

Notes:

1. The batter should be not thick like Idli batter,not too thin also.
2. You can use 2tbsp of Rava in 1/4cup water and make a kuruku in a low flame and grind it with rice mixture,instead of cooked rice
3. You can use roasted rice flour to make this.You will get fluffy appams. 

Serve warm with all types of stew,duck curry or fish mappas,fish molee,Chicken Curry.

 Happy Cooking!!!



    

Kuttanadan Tharavu Curry / Duck Curry (Kerala Style)

Duck Curry/Tharavu Curry Kerala Style

Duck is a staple in the backwaters,a region of intricate canals and lakes in the Indian state of Kerala.Kuttanadan Duck curry is a traditional dish and it is an inevitable dish during the special occasions like Easter,Christmas and marriages.Duck recipes are a specialty of Syrian Christian families in Kerala and is part of their cuisine on all special occasions.There are different variations in making duck curry.In regions like Kuttanadu it is made with the skin, without adding water and is cooked in its own fat.This is my Amma's recipe and I usually made like this.Today I prepared this  duck curry  as our Easter dish with kallappam.I am happy to share this recipe to all my friends.

Here is the Recipe:

Ingredients:

For Marinate: 

1. Duck/Tharavu -1kg(skinned and cut into medium pieces)
2. Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
3. Coriander powder-1/2 tsp
4. Ginger-a small piece,crushed
5. Garlic-3 cloves,crushed
6. Pepper-1/2 tsp,crushed
7. Fennelseeds-1/2tsp
8. Vinegar-2 tbsp  
9. Salt to taste

For Gravy:

1. Shallots/small onion-1/2 cup,thinly sliced
2. Ginger-1' piece,crushed
3. Garlic-8-10,crushed
4. Green chilies-3-5,slit lengthwise(As per tolerance)
5. Curry leaves-2 sprigs
6. Coriander powder-1-2 tsp
7. Chilly powder-1 tsp
8. Pepper powder-1tsp (As per your tolerance) 
9. Garam masala-1tsp 
10. Coconut milk-half cup(optional)
11. Oil- as required 

Method:

1. Clean and wash well.Soak them in a water and lemon juice for couple of minutes.Drain it.Cut into medium sized pieces with skin.
2. Marinate the cleaned duck pieces with the ingredients given in under marination for at least 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes,pressure cook the marinated meat in a pressure cooker until cooked and soft.Duck usually takes more time to get cooked compared to chicken.
4. Heat oil in a large kadai or a Mun Chatti/clay pot,saute thinly sliced small onion till they begin to turn soft,add crushed ginger,garlic and green chilies and cook until it turns lightly golden brown color.At this stage,add all the powders except pepper powder and garam masala and stir in low-medium heat until a nice aroma comes.
5. Now add cooked meat to this masala mixture and bring to a boil in medium heat.Adjust the salt.
6. Add half cup freshly extracted medium consistency coconut milk to this(optional).(I didn't use this time)
7. Add curry leaves and garam masala powder and the remaining pepper powder to this and cook in a low flame for 10-20 minutes till the gravy thickens,and the oil coating floats on top.
8. Switch off the flame and let it sit for 30 minutes before serving. 

 Notes:

• You can prepare this dish without coconut milk also. 
• Marination is must.Cooking time is more than that of chicken and mutton.

Duck Curry

Serve warm with Rice,Palappam,Kallappam or Chapati...

Happy Cooking!!! 

Chammanthi Podi/Roasted coconut N Spice Powder(Kerala Style)

Chammanthi podi was a savior to me during my hostel days.Amma used to pack this tasty podi for me those days....During my last vaccation to Kerala,Amma gave me a bottle of chammanthi podi for us and the bottle was empty within few days....My whole family love this and the advantage is it stays good for a long time.Each home has its own variations.

I am sending this recipe for the cook along event of Kerala Kitchen hosted by Nags of Edible Garden.

Check her recipe for chammanthi podi Here.I made slight variations and prepared it in my style.

Ingredients:

• Grated Coconut-2cups
• Shallots/small onion-10,sliced
• Dry red chillies-20-25 nos(according to your spice level)
• Coriander seeds-1tbsp
• Whole pepper-1tbsp
• Ginger-1'' piece
• Garlic-2 cloves,chopped
• Curry leaves-2 handfuls
• Tamarind-a lemon size
• Salt to taste 

   Method:

• Heat a broad pan or iron kadai.
• Dry roast all the ingredients except tamarind and salt.
• Fry this mixture until it turns dark brown colour,by stirring continuously in a medium flame.It takes a long time around 20 minutes.
• Switch off the flame.Allow the mixture to cool.
• Add salt and tamarind.Grind it into a coarse powder in a mixer grinder.
• after cooling store the chammanthi podi in air tight glass bottle.
• Keep it in refrigerator in air tight containers or glass bottle.It has long shelf life.

Serve with Rice,Rice porridge(Kanji) or mix with coconut oil
and serve as side for IDLI and Dosa or with anything as you wish....
 
Happy Cooking!!!

Chana Dal(Bengal Gram Lentil) Halwa

As Indians celebrates Holi today I would also love to share my wishes to all my friends and readers.

                            Happy Holi!!!

 Today I am sharing a sweet which is popular in northern part of India and is prepared during festival seasons.This recipe was new to me and never tried the halwa with dal.But I love this sweet very much.

I am happy to inform you that i am now a team member of the South Vs North Challenge SNC as called,hosted by Divya Pramil of You Too Can Cook Indian Food.She is doing this job for the past six months in a  big successful way.By participating this challenge i can learn more North Indian dishes.The group is divided into 2 teams named as south and north team where both of them compete against each other with a traditional recipe.Kirti from flavors from my kitchen challenged south team with a sweet dish Chana dal Halwa and Swasthi  challenged the north team with Hyderabad dum vegbiryani  as this month's challenge.This is the first time i am participating in a challenge competition.

Here is my Recipe for Chana Dal Halwa.
Ingredients:

1. Chana Dal/Split bengal gram/kadala parippu-3/4cup
2. Granulated white sugar-1/4cup
3. Rice flour-2tsp
4. Ghee-5-7tbsp
5. Milk-1.5cup
6. Cardamom pods-5,crushed  
7. Cashew nuts,halved-5-7 

 Method:

1. Wash and soak chana dal in water for 2 hours.
2. Boil the dal in 1cup water until it is just done.
3. You can pressure cook with 1cup water for 2-3 whistles and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Allow all the water to evaporate and allow to cool.
5. Mash the cooked dal with the ladle or with  a masher to get a coarse paste.
6. Heat ghee in a pan and add mashed dal.
7. Fry the mashed dal on medium heat for 15 minutes or until the ghee separates on the top and the raw smell disappears.
8. Now add 1/2cup milk along with rice flour and fry on high heat till it is well absorbed.Then again add the remaining milk and keep stirring frequently. 
9. Repeat this until all milk is used.
10. Now add sugar and cardamom powder.Mix well.
11. Fry on high heat for 5 minutes.switch off the flame, when the halwa starts leaving the pan.Add chopped cashew nuts.
12. Pour into a greased tray  to set.Pressed the top of the halwa using banana leaf or with an aluminum foil to get a smooth surface.Sprinkle some chopped nuts on top of it and cut in desired shape.

Serve with warm or as your personal taste.

NOTES:

• You can use blender to mash the dal.Do not add water and make a coarse paste(I didn't use).
• Stir the mixture continuously while cooking.
• Do not add milk in one trip.Then the halwa becomes soggy and will loose the texture too.  
• You can add khoya also. 
  

Happy Cooking!!!
  

 

Vettu Cake/Deep Fried Cake(Kerala Special Tea Shop Palaharam)

VETTU CAKE

Vettu cake is a local snack available in almost all the tea shops(chayakkada)in southern part of Kerala,India.Tea shops in Kerala is a gathering place for local people as well as podiums for long discussions on politics and current affairs.As these discussions heated up and more people will join and the the number of tea consumed will go up drastically along with snacks like parippu vada,uzhunnu vada,pazham pori,bonda and vettu cake.

This was my childhood favorite.Now fancy items have replaced this old traditional tea time snack.I am so glad to share it with you guys:)

I prepared this cake on last weekend.My hubby likes it and took the pics with his favorite camera.So I got some good pics.

VETTU CAKE

I got the inspiration to make this cake from my friend's blog Swapna's Cuisine.
Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour/maida-2cups
• Rava-1/4 cup
• Eggs -2,big(duck eggs are using in kerala)
• Baking soda -1tsp
• Sugar-1/4 cup
• Salt-a pinch
• Water-as required
• cardamom-1tsp,crushed with half tsp sugar
• Oil-for deep frying     

 Method:

• Sieve  the flour,rava and  baking soda well.

• Beat eggs well with powdered sugar with a hand blender till the sugar completely melts.
• Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the egg mixture.Add salt and cardamom powder.Mix it and knead well by adding water little by little.Make a tight dough.Cover and keep it aside for 1 hour.
• Divide the dough into equal sized strips by rolling.I used aluminum foil to roll out.It helps me to roll it out smoothly.You need not take the entire dough for rolling,you can take part by part.
• Gently press the rolled out dough,so that it forms a rectangular shape strips. Cut them into 1.5 inch piece squares.
• Make a deep cut in the centre using a knife and again one opposite to the first cut.Make one deep cut in the centre for triangular shapes.
• Heat oil in a frying pan deep fry it till golden brown on medium heat.
• Make sure not to over fry this cake as it will become very hard to eat.
• Make sure that oil is not too hot.When the oil is very hot,outside of the cake gets burns earlier and the inside part won't cook properly.
• Once they are cooked,remove it from the oil and transfer to a kitchen tissue to absorb excess oil. 
• Allow to cool and store in air tight containers for up to 2-3 weeks. 

VETTU CAKE

Enjoy with hot Tea/ coffee..... 
Happy Cooking!!!