Vattayappam

                 Vattayappam is one of the delicacies of Kerala, prepared with rice, coconut and jaggery or sugar. It is oil free as it is steamed and easy to make but the taste is really good.

                                               

Ingredients :

Raw Rice    1 cup

Grated coconut 1 cup

Sugar / powdered Jaggery 0.5 cup

Ghee, Coconut Oil, cardamom Powder, cooking Soda

Method:

Soak the rice for 2 hours and grind to a fine paste with the coconut and the water, required for grinding. Add the sugar or jaggery power.

After grinding to a fine paste, transfer to a vessel and adjust the consistency to that of Dosa batter. Let it ferment for 5 to 6 hours. Yeast can be added for quicker fermentation within 2 to 3 hours.

After the batter has fermented well, add cardamom powder, a pinch of cooking soda and mix gently. Grease a tray or plate which could fit into your Idly vessel or steamer conveniently.

Pour the batter only up to half of the vessel with space for the batter to expand after steaming. Steam it an Idli vessel or steamer.

After 10 to 12 minutes, check, if the Vattayappam is cooked by inserting a stick. If done, remove from the steamer and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Gently using a knife along the sides of the cooked Vattayappam, free from the vessel and turn it upside down on a plate. Cut into desired shapes. Jaggery tastes better than sugar. Now the tasty Vattayappam with an aroma of coconut and Jaggery is ready. 

   

Uzhundhang Kanji

   This Kanji can be taken as a simplified version of the Uzhundhang Kali. This is very easy to prepare and has a rich nutritive value.

                                                                     Uzhundhang Kanji.

Ingredients :

Whole or broken Urad Dhal / Uzundham Paruppu   2 tbsp.

Raw rice  1tbsp.

Powdered Vellam / Jaggery / Karuppatty   8 Tbsp.

Cardamom Powder, Sukku Powder

Method :

Rinse the Dhal and Rice and soak for 30 minutes. Grind to a fine paste in a mixer jar as done for Dosai batter by adding water, 

Then transfer to a thick bottomed sauce pan. Add 5 cups of water and boil it. Then slowly add the Dhal, rice paste and keep on stirring on a low flame. The mixture starts thickening in 2 minutes. Keep on stirring to avoid lumps. Add the Jaggery powder, mix well and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Add a pinch of Cardamom powder and 0.5 tsp. of Sukku powder. Mix well and switch off. The easy to make, tasty and healthy Kanji is ready. Even 2 tbsp. of grated coconut can be added with the the rice and dhal for an enhanced taste,

Time taken 10 minutes

Finished product 5 cups.

Maida Biscuit

             Earlier this Maida Biscuit was one of the components of the snack, Mixture prepared by me. Later, may be due to the time constraint, this Biscuit was skipped.

             Now this is prepared by me now and then as a separate snack item. It is very easy to make and the taste is wonderful. These biscuits can be prepared either with Maida or Wheat Flour. But, it is better to use only Maida to get soft biscuits.

                                                                Maida Biscuits

Ingredients:

Maida / Wheat flour  1 cup.

Sugar  1/4 cup.            

Butter/ Ghee 2 tbsp.

Oil, Cardamom Powder,

Method:

Powder the sugar. Mix the powdered sugar, flour, butter and half teaspoon of Cardamom powder. Add water little by little and make a dough as done for Chappathi. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

Make the dough into 2 balls. Roll as done for Chappathi with a rolling pin for a thickness of 0.5 centimeter, Cut into small square or diamond shaped pieces. Heat the oil and fry in reduced flame though it takes some extra time, This is very important. Otherwise the biscuits may turn deep brown. Repeat with the other ball of dough. If done patiently, we can get crispy golden colour biscuits. Initially the biscuits may be soft but in 2 or 3 hours, they will become crispy.

Time taken  30 minutes

Finished product 250 grams.

Pottukadalai Murukku

    Pottukadalai Murukkus...…. very yummy....crispy.. With so many years of experience in cooking and having tried some recipes with Idiappam Flour, it is still a big surprise to me that the Idiappam Flour can make the Murukkus so crispy and white in color without adding butter or ghee. Ghee or butter can be used for enhanced taste. 

Ingredients:

Idiappam Flour   2 cups

Pottukadali    1/2  cup

Cummin / Zeeragam   2 tsp.

Oil, Salt, Hing

Method:

Powder the Pottukadalai . Sieve the flours and mix all the ingredients except oil, well. Boil 3 cups of water. After the water starts boiling, add slowly to the the flour and make a dough, not rigid nor very loose. This may roughly require 3 cups of boiling water. It may vary according to the texture of the rice flour. Add 2 tbsp. of hot oil. Mix well.

Using the Murukku mould with the 3 or 5 holed disc, press into the hot oil, 3 to 5 Murukkus, depending on the size of the Kadai. When half cooked, flip to the other side. Remove from the oil once the bubbles disappear .Repeat till the dough gets over. 

Very important that only Idiappam Flour and boiling water should be used for crispy, tasty and white Murukkus. If only ordinary flour is at home, it can be dry roasted and used.

Repreparation Time: 10 minutes 

Preparation    40 minutes

Finished product   500 grams

Milagu / Pepper Kara Sevu

         Often Kara Sevu with Garlic and Zeeragam is only prepared by me. Now, Milagu Sevu is also prepared by me. It is very easy to make but the taste is very good.

                                                              Milagu Kara Sevu



Ingredients :

Besan Flour / Kadalai Mavu     2 cups
Rice Flour   1/2  cup
Pepper powder  1 tbsp
Salt. Hing, Oil


Method:

Seive the flours and make a dough with all the ingredients except oil. Add water slowly and make a dough, neither rigid nor loose.


Heat the oil, add a tablesoon of hot oil to the dough and mix well. 

Using the Murukku mould, press the dough into the oil,in a circular form, using the disc with 3 holes. Flip to the other side, break into small pieces, using the laddle. Once the bubbles disappear, remove from the oil. The whole dough can be pressed in 6 to 7 batches in less than 30 minutes, using a medium Kadai and 2 cups of oil.

Crunchy Kara Sevu is ready in 30 minutes. For soft Sevu, 1 tbsp. of butter or Ghee can be added instead of hot oil.

Easy Dosai Batter

                      Some 3 decades back, before buying the wet grinder, Idli and Dosai batter were occasionally made in the mixer, soaking  Urad Dhal and Rice in in the ratio of 1; 3. They have to be ground separately and mixed, little bit time consuming and tedious. The Dosais were not bad and the Idlis were not soft. With the advent of the wet grinders, this method went into a state of oblivion.


                   Now the members of the family getting reduced to just three with the children getting married and moving away, our intake is also comparatively getting less with age. So the mixer jar has become very handy and easy. Both Urad Dhal and the Rice are soaked together with a bit of Fenugreek and Toor Dhal. The batter is perfect. Yummy are the Dosais and Idlis are not bad.

                   
                   The batter also gets fermented in 6 to 7 hours. As the salt is not mixed initially and mixed only at the time of making the Dosais or Idlis, the batter never becomes frothy but gets fermented; may be because of the Toor Dhal. Only soaking is a matter of concern. For small families and for kids, this is easier than getting the batter across the counter. Even 2 cups of Rice together with the required Urad Dhal and Toor Dhal can be soaked and ground in two batches. Yummy golden brown Dosais can be prepared after fermentation.

Ingredients :

Idli Rice     3/ 4 cup.
Raw Rice   1/4 cup.
Urad Dhal  1/ 5 cup.
Toor Dhal    1 tbsp.
Fenugreek   1 tsp.


Method :

Wash and soak all the ingredients together for 4 hours.

Grind to a fine paste in the large mixer jar, adding water, just to the level of the ingredients,added  in the jar. Even little more water can be added. The grinding takes less than 4 minutes, that can be done for 2 plus 2 minutes with a pause for a minute. Make to a fine paste and transfer to a container and the let the batter be loose. Add salt at the time of preparing the Dosais after six hours. In winter, fermentation takes more time.

8 medium sized yummy Dosais can be prepared after 5 to 6 hours in Summer and 6 to 7 hours in winter,

Thattai

             Thattai is a very common evening snack item. No idea as to why this recipe has not been by posted me. Well and good that, now there is an easy version, which is also very tasty and crispy.

Thattai

Ingredients:

Idiappam Rice flour 1 cup.
Pottukadalai Flour 1 tbsp.
Urad  Dhal Flour   1tbsp.
Channa Dhal 2 tbsp.
Zeeragam / Black or White Sesame  1 tsp.
Garlic   10 pods
Chilly Powder 0.5 tsp.
Hing,  Salt, Curry Leaves, Oil to fry.


Method:



Soak the Channa Dhal for an hour. 

If Idiappam flour is not available at home, slightly dry roast the ordinary home made or store bought rice flour. Similarly if Urad Dhal flour or Pottukadalai Flour is out of stock, slightly dry roast the Urad Dhal. Powder the Urad Dhal and the Pottukadalai separately in a small mixer jar. Sieve all the three flours and mix well with the salt.

Drain the water from the soaked Channa Dhal and using the whipper button, break them a little in the small mixer jar. Add with the flours. Grind the Garlic pods in the same jar and add.

Add the Curry Leaves, Hing, Chilly Powder and 1 tbsp. of hot oil. Mix well. Add water and knead into a dough, not very hard and not very loose. Make into small balls.

Take 2 plastic sheets of 12 x 10 inches. Smear with oil. Place 6 or 7 balls with space for expanding, when pressed. Cover with another oil smeared sheet. Press using a flat bottomed bowl, preferably, a coffee dhabara. 

Heat oil moderately, remove the Thattais gently from the sheet and drop in the oil. Flip to the other side. Remove from the oil once the bubbles disappear. The frying will be over in 4 or 5 batches. Now the very crispy Thattais are ready.

Preparation Time 10 minutes.
Frying Time   25 Minutes.
Finished Product   25 Thattais