Appam-Traditional Style

There are lot many procedures for making appam. I already posted a recipe during initial days of my blog which is VELLAYAPPAM. If you are new in making appam please follow that link. The recipe i shared here is bit difficult for first time as it includes the process off KAPPIKACHAL which is a malayalam word. But trust me you can do it. Sharing my mom's recipe here...

Ingredients:

Raw rice	3 cup
Grated Coconut	1&1/2 cup
Urad dal	2 tbl spoon
Coconut water/water	as needed to grind
Salt	to taste
Sugar	3 tspoon

Preparation:

(1) Soak raw rice and urad dal separately in water for about one hour. 

(2) Grind urad dal in a mixer and make a paste. To this add grated coconut and make a fine paste. You can use coconut water for grinding. Keep it aside.

(3) Drain the water from rice and grind it in a grinder by adding coconut water/water little by little. Switch off the grinder when rice is on 3/4th stage. It will be done in less than 5 minutes. Take 1/4 cup of this batter (rough mixture with grainy texture) in a bowl and keep it aside.

(4) Continue grinding the rest of rice by adding ground paste. Make a fine batter. Add coconut water/water if needed.

 (5) When it is completely done switch off the grinder. Take 1/4 cup of this batter and add it to the rough mixture in bowl which we already kept aside. Also clean the grinder by taking rest of batter and store it in a vessel/container. Keep it aside.

 Next process is  KAPPI KACHAL: 

(1) Take a pan and add 1/2 cup of batter(rough batter+grinned batter) to it. To this add 2 cups of water and mix well. 

(2) Keep the pan on a stove and stir it continuously in low flame. Stir till it get thickens, that is the mixture should be bit thick and gelatinous. If you miss this stage appam will not turn soft.

(3) Allow it to cool completely and add this to rice batter. Make sure to mix well. Add sugar, salt and baking soda. Mix well by adding enough coconut water to make the batter loose. Allow it to ferment for 8 hours by keeping it covered. Best is over night.

Next process is making APPAM:

(1) After fermentation the quantity may have slightly increased and looks bubbly. Add coconut milk/coconut water to make the consistency of batter loose and easily pourable. It should be little more watery than dosa batter. 

(2) Heat appam kadai which will have a rounded base. Pour 2 laddle of batter to the centre of kadai. Twirl it once or twice using hand and make round shapes. Don't twirl more than twice. The centre will be thick. Close the kadai with a lid and cook for 1 to 2 minute. You will notice the edges leaving apart and centre looking soft. If the centre looks uncooked cover with the lid and cook again. Once it is cooked replace it to a plate. Don't flip it. Your appam is now ready.

Have appam with channa masala/egg roast/sweetened coconut milk or with your favorite curry…

Tips and variations:

• If appam batter is thick you cannot swirl it easily.
• You can add coconut milk to make the batter loose which will enhance the taste.
• If you are using an iron appam kadai grease the kadai with oil.
• If you don't have an appam kadai, do it in a dosa tawa. Spread batter like dosa and close tawa with a lid to cook. Except the perfect shape you will get tasty appam.
• Always cover appam with a lid while cooking.
• Adding too much of baking soda makes appam to stick on tawa. You can replace soda with yeast.
• The secret of softness depends on KAPPIKACHAL

Egg-Drumstick Aviyal/Mutta-Muringakka Aviyal

This is an easy side dish which goes good with both rice and chapathi. If you have no other veggies in stock you can try this during the season of drumstick which is the most common tree in India. Its a healthy dish as you know drumstick is called as "power house of minerals"...

Ingredients:

Egg	5
Drumstick	3(big)
Small Onion/Shallots	10
Fennel Seeds	1/4 tspoon
Cinnamon	1 inch
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Salt	to taste
Oil	2 tspoon
Coriander leaves	1 fistfull

For Grinding:

Grated Coconut	1/2 cup
Chilly Powder	1/2 tspoon
Turmeric Powder	1/4 tspoon
Garlic	2 cloves

Preparation:

(1) Boil eggs in water. Deshell it and cut into two halves. Keep it aside. Mean while chop shallots into lengthwise pieces. Chop green chillies to lengthwise and also chop drumstick to around 2 inch even lengthy pieces. Then cut each vertically. Keep it aside.

(2) Heat oil in a pan and add chopped shallots. Saute for 2 minutes so that the raw smell will leave. To this add fennel seeds, cinnamon, curry leaves and green chillies. Saute for another one minute.

(3) Now add drumstick pieces to it. Pour around 1&1/4 cup of water to it with needed salt. Mix once. Close the vessel with a lid and let it boil for another 10 minutes in medium flame.

(4) Mean while grind the ingredients shown under "for grinding" heading in a mixer and make a coarse mixture with 2 tspoon of water. Keep it aside.
(5) After 10 minutes open the lid, add the ground mixture to the pan and give a quick stir (Retain the remaining water in the pan). Again close the vessel with a lid and cook for another 2 minutes.

(6) Now add eggs to it with the yellow side facing down. Close the vessel with the lid and cook for another 2 minutes.

(7) Open the lid and carefully mix the ingredients without breaking the eggs. Add coriander leaves to it and close the pan with a lid for another 3 to 5 minutes in low to medium flame. The water content will be completely dried now. Switch off the flame and your mutta-muringakka aviyal is now ready.

Have it with your rice/chapathi..

Kerala Style Meen Curry/Pomfret Fish Curry With Malabar Tamarind(no coconut)

I already added Puzha Meen Curry/Fresh Water Fish Curry  which was my mom's recipe. This is some what same but with slight variations. This is my families favorite and finger licking fish curry, simply drooling :)

Ingredients:

Fish(Pomfret/Avoli)	1(1/2 kg)
Small Onion/Shallots	20
Garlic	10 cloves
Ginger	3 inch+1 inch(chopped finely)
Fenugreek seeds/Uluva	1/4 tspoon
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Kudampuli/malabar tamarind (or)tamarind	4 to 5 pieces (or)1 lemon size(soak in hot water and extract the juice)
Salt	to taste
Oil	1+1 tspoon
Chilly Powder	2 tspoon
Coriander Powder	1&1/2 tspoon
Turmeric Powder	1/4 tspoon

For Seasoning:

Oil	1 tspoon
Dry red chilly	3
Mustard	1/2 tspoon
Curry Leaves	1 sprig

Preparation:

(1) Wash and clean the fish. Chop it into medium slices.

(2) Peel the skin of shallots and chop ginger, garlic into cube shapes.

(3) Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic, ginger and saute for a minute. To this add shallots with little salt. Saute well so that the raw smell will leave. To this add fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Saute everything so that color of onion, garlic will change and it will emanates a nice flavor. Now switch off the flame and allow to cool.

(4) Once it is cooled down grind it in a mixer to a fine paste by sprinkling little water to it. Keep it aside.

(5) Heat oil in an earthen bowl. To this add 1 inch piece of ginger and saute well. Now add ground paste. To this add chilly, coriander and turmeric powder. Mix well so that the raw smell of masalas will goes off. Now pour 3/4 cup of water to it. Mix once.

 (6) Add salt and malabar tamarind (or tamarind juice). Mix and make a salt test. To this add  fish pieces. Let it boil for another 15 to 20 minutes. Fish will be now completely cooked and you will find the curry dried up.

(7) At the last minute heat oil in a pan and season with the ingredients shown under "for seasoning" heading. Pour it to the curry (you can do the seasoning before adding the ground paste too) Close the vessel with a lid for 10 minutes before serving. Yummy fish curry is now ready.

Have it with rice/kappa..

Tips:

• You can clean the fish pieces by rubbing it on a stone surface to remove the outer silver color. As i don't have that option i removed the skin which is not recommended.
• It is better to use earthenware to cook fish(i don't have).
• You can try the same with king fish/tuna/pompano,  you can use any fleshy fish.
• Using malabar tamarind/kudampuli will enhance the taste(i don't have it so i used tamarind juice :) ).
• Don't disturb the fish pieces with spoon while cooking as the pieces might break.
• Ensure fish curry doesn't get burnt at the bottom by slowly moving the vessel side by side in between cooking.
• If you find the curry completely dried up and want some gravy, you can add little water in the same vessel and heat it.
• Coconut oil will give extra flavor.

Drumstick Sambar/Muringakka Sambar

It's a TN style sambar which goes good with rice..

Ingredients:

Drumstick/Muringakka	2(big)
Toor dal	3/4 cup
Small Onion/Shallots	15
Tomato	2(medium)
Green chilly	2
Homemade sambar powder	2&1/2 tspoon
Oil	2 tspoon
Salt	to taste
Tamarind	1 gooseberry size(soak in hot water and extract the juice)
Asafoetida Powder	1/4 tspoon
Coriander leaves	1 fistfull

For seasoning:

Ghee/Oil	1 tspoon
Mustard	1/2 tspoon
Fenugreek Seed	1/4 tspoon
Dry red chilly	2
Curry leaves	1 sprig

Preparation:

(1) Wash toor dal and add it in a pressure cooker with little salt and pinch of turmeric powder. Pour 1&3/4 cup of water to it. Pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles. Once pressure is released mash the dal and keep it aside.
(2) Wash drumstick and peel its outer skin. Chop into lengthwise pieces. Peel the skin of onion and also chop tomato, green chillies. Keep everything aside.

(3) Heat oil in a pan. Add onion and saute for a minute. To this add tomato cubes. Saute for a minute so its raw smell will leave.

(4) To this add drumstick pieces with little salt. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour 3 cup of water to it. Add needed salt too. Once it starts boiling pour tamarind juice and mashed dal. Mix well.

(5) Now add sambar powder. Mix once and close the pan with a lid. Allow the drumstick to cook. It may take some 15 to 20 minutes. Add asafoetida powder in last minute. Now open the lid. Make a salt test here (Add more salt, tamarind juice and water if you want). Let it boil in low flame. Mean while temper with the ingredients shown under "for seasoning" heading. Pour it to the curry.

(7) Top with coriander leaves and switch off the flame. You can top with a tspoon of ghee too. Yummy Muringakka sambar/Drumstick sambar is now ready…

Have it with rice..We had carrot thoran too..

Tips:

• Sambar tends to thicken once cooled down. Adjust water level accordingly.
• I used home made sambar powder. You can use store bought too. Adjust spiciness accordingly.

For other sambar recipes CLICK HERE

Carrot Thoran/Carrot Poriyal

Well, i already added CARROT BEANS THORAN during initial days of my blog. Ofcourse preparing thoran is not a big deal. Since carrot thoran is so easy, i used to prepare it for my kid if there are no other vegetables for lunch. Didn't thought of adding this recipe here, but today while clicking photos of drumstick sambar just clicked these snaps too. I hope this may be useful for those who are new to kitchen. Yeah drumstick sambar will be my next post :)..

Ingredients:

Carrot	3(medium)
Salt	to taste

For seasoning:

Oil	2 tspoon
Urad dal	1/2 tspoon
Onion/shallots	2 (chopped finely)
Mustard	1/2 tspoon
Dry red chilly	3
Curry leaves	1 sprig

For grinding:

Grated Coconut	2 tbl spoon
Redchilly Powder	1/4 tspoon
Turmeric Powder	2 pinch

Preparation:

(1) Wash carrots. Peel the outer skin. Grate it using a grater.

(2) Heat oil in a pan. Add the ingredients shown under "for seasoning" heading one by one. Now add grated carrot to it with needed salt. Mix well and saute in between.

(3) Mean while grind the ingredients shown under "for grinding" heading in a mixer without adding water. Make a coarse mixture. Keep it aside. Carrot will be cooked in 5 minutes (If you are chopping carrot to pieces instead of grating just sprinkle water over it and allow to cook by closing the pan with a lid). Now add the ground mixture to it.

(4) Mix once and switch off the pan. Close the pan with a lid and let it remain in stove for another 2 minutes. Your carrot thoran is now ready.

Have it with your rice..We had rice with muringakka sambar and this carrot thoran...

For other THORAN recipes CLICK HERE

Chicken Kurma/Chicken Kuzhambu

This is a south indian style chicken curry. I got the basic recipe from a website "spiceindiaonline". If you want more gravy with chicken you can try this which goes good with rice/chapathi/appam/dosa/idly...

Ingredients:

Chicken	1 kg
Small Onion/shallots	10 to 15
Big Onion	1
Tomato	1
Ginger	3 inch piece
Garlic	7 cloves
Green chilly	5(slit open)
Chilly Powder	2 tspoon
Coriander Powder	1&1/2 tspoon
Turmeric Powder	1/4 tspoon
Garam Masala	1&1/2 tspoon
Salt	to taste
Coriander leaves	1 fistfull

For Grinding:

Grated Coconut	1/2 cup
Pepper	1 tspoon
Cashewnuts	5 to 7
Fennel Seeds/Perumjeerakam	3/4 tspoon
Roasted gram/Fried Channa/Pottukadalai	1 tspoon

For seasoning:

Oil+Ghee	1 tbl spoon
Cardamom	4
Cloves	3
Cinnamon	2 inch
Bay leaves	2
Curry leaves	2 sprig

Preparation:

(1) Wash and clean the chicken. Chop into medium pieces. Soak cashewnuts in water. Chop onion and tomato into cubes or pieces. Also chop ginger, garlic and green chilly. Keep everything  aside.

(2) Mean while grind the ingredients shown under "for grinding" heading in a mixer by adding little water (i didn't used roasted gram). Make a smooth paste. Keep it aside

(3) Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the ingredients shown under "for seasoning" heading one by one. To this add ginger, garlic and green chilly. Saute well. Now add chopped onion and shallots with little salt. Saute till color changes. No need to saute till brownish.

 (4) Now add tomato. Saute till it turns juicy. To this add chicken pieces with chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and garam masala along with needed salt. Mix well.

(5) Now pour 1 cup of water to it. Mix once and pressure cook for 2 whistles (in india chicken will cook in some 3 to 4 whistles, here in US 2 is fine :) Open the lid once pressure is released.

(6) To the cooked chicken add ground paste. Mix once and make a salt test here.

(7) Close the vessel with a lid and cook for another 10 minutes in low flame or till oil separates. Add coriander leaves and switch off the flame. Close the vessel with a lid for some 15 minutes before serving.

Have it with rice/chapathi/appam/idly/dosa..

Tips:

• Cooking time of chicken depends on its type.
• Addition of chilly powder depends on your tolerance level. The above one is less spicy which suits my kid's taste.
• Chicken tends to thicken once it is cooled down. Adjust water level accordingly.

For more non-veg recipes from shyama's tastes CLICK HERE

Chemmeen Theeyal/Prawns Curry

This is a nadan dish which goes good with rice and chapathi. I slightly varied the recipe from my mom's usual recipe. This is too yummy..

Ingredients:

Chemmeen/Prawns	1/2 kg
Grated Coconut	1&1/2 cup
Shallots/Small Onion	15
Garlic	4 cloves(chopped)
Ginger	1 inch piece(chopped)
Green Chilly	5(chopped)
Dry red Chilly	2 to 3
Turmeric Powder	1/2 tspoon
Fenugreek Powder	1 pinch
Coriander Powder	1 tspoon
Tamarind	1 gooseberry size(Soak in hot water and extract the juice)
Oil	1+1 tbl spoon
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Salt	to taste

For Seasoning:

Oil	1 tspoon
Dry red chilly	2
Mustard	1/2 tspoon
Curry leaves	1 sprig

Preparation:

(1) Wash and clean the prawns. Those i bought were without heads and for that, you have to deshell it and remove the black vein like thing from its back. Rinse in water with a pinch of turmeric powder. Keep it aside.

(2) Heat oil in a pan. Add grated coconut and saute for some seconds. To this add 4 peeled shallots and dry red chilly. Saute till the color of coconut changes brownish. Switch off the flame and add coriander powder. Saute well and remove the pan from stove. Let it cool.

(3) Once it is cooled down grind the ingredients in a mixer by adding 2 tbl spoon of water. Make a smooth paste. Keep it aside.

(4) Mean while heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves. To this add ginger and garlic pieces. Saute till the raw smell goes off. To this add remaining shallots along with little salt and green chilly. Saute for some seconds. 

(5) Now add turmeric powder and fenugreek powder. Saute once. To this add prawns and saute for a minute. Now pour around 1/2 cup of water to it. Once it starts boiling pour tamarind juice and add little salt. Close the vessel with a lid. Let it boil for another 15 minutes so that prawns will be cooked well(make sure it is cooked).

(6) Retain remaining water in the vessel and switch off the flame. To this add ground paste and mix well. If you want the curry to be more watery add little water. Also make a salt test here. Add salt or tamarind juice to your taste. Again allow it to heat for another 5 minutes in low flame.

(7) Mean while temper with the ingredients shown under "for seasoning" heading. Pour it to the curry. Switch off the flame and close the vessel with a lid for 10 minutes before serving so that flavor sets well.Your chemmeen theeyal/Prawns curry is now ready.

Have it with your rice/chapathi/appam/dosa/idly...

Tips:

• It is better to use earthen clay pot/manchatti for cooking (i don't have it).
• While you are stir-frying the coconut make sure not to burn. Always cook coconut on medium heat. Ensure to stir constantly and scrape the coconut from bottom of pan/vessel while stirring. If coconut got burnt your curry will be a flop.
• Always add small amount of tamarind water or tamarind pulp while cooking any prawn dishes. Better to use kudampuli/malabar tamarind (not used here).
• The bad way to cook prawns is to over cook them. If you over cook prawns, it will change rubbery and dry.