Paal Paayasam

Wishing a Happy Onam to all...

Onashamsakal.... 

No festival is incomplete without a grand feast which ends with a sweet, So today being Onam, i prepared a simple paayasam, Paal Paaaysam.Whereever malayalees are there , they will definitely celebrate it with a grand Kerala Sadya. So wishing you a Happy Onam to all...
I have prepared a simple Onam Sadya also we made pookalam at home.

 Pookkalam

Kerala Sadya

Recipe for Paal Paayasam
Ingredients

1. Kaima rice/Jeerakashala rice/Basmathi Rice - 2 cups
2. Water - 4 cups
3. Milk - 1 1/2 Litre
4. Sugar - 2 cups (the sweetness of my sugar was less)
5. Cardamom powder - 1/4 Tsp
6. Ghee - 1 Tbsp
7. Cashew Nuts - 10 to 15 slit
8. Raisins - 2 Tbsp

Preparation

• Wash and drain water from rice. In a pressure cooker, add rice and water. Cook for 4 whistles on medium flame. Once done off the flame and allow the pressure to release.Transfer this to a bowl.
• In the same cooker boil milk and cook on low flame.Let it reduce to 1 liter.
• Add sugar and mix well until sugar dissolves.Add the cooked rice and mix well. If lumps are there just mash it using a spoon.
• Now add cardamom powder. Switch off the flame and remove from fire.
• Heat ghee in a pan , fry cashew nuts and raisins till golden brown. Pour this on to paayasam and mix well.
• Serve it hot or cold.

Note

• The payasam thickens with time so switch it off accordingly.
• Addition of cardamom powder is optional.
• Also tempering cashew nuts and raisins in ghee is optional. You can directly add it.

Mothagam | Vinayaka Chathurthi Recipe

Happy Vinayaka Chathurthi

Ganesha Chaturthi is the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the god Ganesha,the god of beginnings and wisdom.The festival, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi.

The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak, a dumpling made from rice flour with a stuffing of fresh grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments. It is either steam-cooked or fried.I am making this for the first as for Ganesh chathurthi...Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients

1. Rice flour (Ready made idiyappam flour/ pathiri podi )-1 Cup [I used double horse brand]
2. Sesame oil / Ellannai  - 2 Tsp
3. Boiling Water   -  As needed
4. Salt   -  As needed

For Coconut Pooranam

1. Coconut  -  2 Cups
2. Jaggery   -  1 cup 
3. Elachi/Cardamom - 4

 

 

Preparation

• For the dough, add sesame oil to the dough. Add salt to boiling water and mix well using a wooden spatula. Make a smooth and soft dough. Keep covered.

• You can make equal sized balls and keep covered. 
• For the thenga pooranam, place grated coconut jaggery and elachi powder in a pan, with little of water. Cook on medium flame until, it starts leaving the sides of pan, switch off the flame. Keep it to cool and make poornam balls.

• Meanwhile, boil water in a steamer.
• Make small cups out of the dough,  place the poornam inside the dough and shape it as shown in the figure.

• Repeat and finish the kozhukattais and keep covered until steaming.  
• Arrange the mothagams on the steaming plate and cook for 20 - 25 minutes. Or until they are cooked. When cooked you will see that the mothagams are a little shiny on the outside.

 

 

Unnakkaya - A Malabar Ramadan Snack and My 150th post

With this post today,A Bowl Of Curry completes it's 150th post here.It was a journey with lots of interactions,friendships and   learning experience through valuable comments .I would love to thank each of my fellow foodies out there,for their valuable response and support !

It is Ramadan period, a holy month for Muslims all over the world.As all of you know it is the time when they fast and pray each day and break their fast in the evening. Each Iftar day they make delicious snacks, juices, and rice and much more.Each one differ in taste and preparation from one another.

Malabar cuisine is known for their rich,flavourful and exotic in all senses.Being from Malabar, i have tasted many for their recipes and have shared some of them like Chatti Pathiri,Kakkarotti , Pazham Nirachathu , Arikadukka . Today i am sharing one of the famous and a perfect snack from Thalassery, which will melt in your mouth from the first bite, "Unnakkaya". The name and shape of the snack represents elongated "Cotton Pods". When we think of preparation feel it is a long process, but i would say even a bachelor who loves cooking can give it a try. The steamed plantain is filled with mixture lightly sauted coconut , sugar, scrambled egg, elachi powder in ghee called "Pandam" and deep fried in oil. If you don't like or use eggs you can avoid eggs and make it pure vegetarian. Over to the recipe... 

Ingredients

1. Ripe plantains /Nenthrapazham - 5 
2. Grated coconut - 1 cup
3. Sugar - 3 Tbsp or as needed
4. Raisins -  2 Tbsp
5. Almonds /badam  roughly chopped - 4 Tbsp (You can also use cashew nuts)
6. Cardamom powder - 1 Tsp
7. Egg - 1
8. Salt - a tiny pinch
9. Ghee - 1 Tbsp
10. Oil - for deep frying

  Preparation

• Cut each of the bananas into half and also the stems at both the ends. Steam the bananas in a steamer until cooked soft. You can even microwave the bananas and cook. BUT DO NOT OVERCOOK THEM as later it becomes mushy and wont be able to roll it tight .
• After cooling it, peel off the skin and cut into half and remove the black seed thread.
• Now mash it using a wooden spoon or with your hand into a very smooth dough without any lumps. Keep aside.
• Beat egg with a teaspoon of sugar, 1/4 tsp cardamom powder and salt. Keep aside.
• Heat a tsp oil in a nonstick pan and scramble egg. Keep aside.
• Now heat ghee, fry the raisins, let it puff up , remove from heat and keep aside.
• Add grated coconut and saute for 5 minutes till the moisture is absorbed.
• Add sugar, cardamom powder, raisins, scrambled egg and almonds. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool.
• Grease your palm and take little banana mixture, about a lemon size and flatten it with your thumb, place a 2 tsp of the filling inside., seal the edges and roll into cylindrical shape with elongated edges. Shape the remaining the same way.
• Heat oil in a kadai/deep bottomed pan for deep frying. Deep fry each of them into golden . Fry both the sides.
• Drain on paper towel and serve them hot.

Check out the recipe for Pachamulaku Thengaa Chammanthi

Notes

• Do no overcook the bananas, it will become watery and will become difficult to hold.
• If you don't like or use eggs you can avoid eggs and make it pure vegetarian.

Check out for more Ramadan recipes

        

    

   

Ariyunda - The Kerala Style

An authentic sweet from Kerala...i have seen, when i was a kid... in my house our maid used to make these. She used to first roast the rice in otturuli and then powder it in "ural & ulakka", a traditional mortar i would say, which is the bigger version of what we use nowadays for crushing spices and all. Nowthat we have mixer/grinder the preparation is very easy.After my marriage my amma used to prepare and send to three of her daughters every year.At home all love this.So here goes the recipe. 

Ingredients

1. Rice - 2 cups (Preferably Kerala Boiled Rice)
2. Crushed or powdered jaggery - 3/4 to 1 cup (add more if the jaggery is less sweet )
3. Grated coconut - 1 cup
4. Cardamom- 5 - 6 nos. (optional) (This will give a distinct flavor)

Preparation

• Heat a  pan and dry roast the rice on medium flame, until it pops up and turns golden brown. Keep it aside to cool for 5 minutes. (First roast 1 cup and then the remaining). 
• Grind the roasted rice using a mixer/ grinder to a fine powder, also add cardamom pods . Transfer it to a bowl.(Keep 1/4 cup aside for coating).
• Now add grated coconut and jaggery to the mixer and grind it for about 3-4 minutes.You will get a paste,to this add the powdered rice and combine well. Transfer the mixture to a plate.

• Shape them into small balls using hand.

• Dust each balls with the rice powder.
• Store in air tight containers.

Notes

• While making balls if the mixture is sticky, just smear a little ghee on your palm and then make the balls.
• If while making balls the mixture is breaking,tightly press and then shape it.
• Dusting is not necessary ,my mother used to do it.

Linking this to Priya of My Kitchen Odyssey event " Favourite recipes" and My Zesty Kitchen, Dish it Out – Kid Friendly Dishes, WTML June 2014 hosted By The Big Sweet Tooth event by Gayathri

 

Gothambha Paayasam

Ingredients

1. Skinless Wheat/Kuthiya gothambham/Broken Wheat / Cracked Wheat - 1 cup
2. Water - 4-5  cups (or 3 1/2 cups of third extract of coconut milk + 1 cup of water )
3. Jaggery - 3/4 Kg - 1 Kg
4. Water - 1/2 cup
5. Thick coconut milk - 1 cup
6. Second extract of coconut milk - 3 1/2 cups
7. Cardamom crushed and powdered - 3-4 
8. Dry ginger powder - 1/2 Tsp
9. Cumin powder - 1/4 Tsp
10. Ghee - 1 Tbsp
11. Cashew nuts - 10
12. Raisins - 10

Curious about how it looks like? I dont know what it is exactly called in English.

Preparation

• Clean and pressure cook the broken wheat either with 4 -5 cups of water or with both water and third extract of coconut milk to 6-8 whistles. (Refer Notes).
• In another bowl melt jaggery with 1/2 cup of water. Strain the melted jaggery .
• Reduce the flame of the pressure cooker. Now slowly pour the melted jaggery to this. Also add the second extract of coconut milk to it and boil.
• When it boils add crushed and powdered cardamom.Stir well  and after 5 minutes, add thick coconut milk. Heat for few minutes. (Do not let it boil). (Refer notes)
• Remove it from fire. Add dry ginger powder and mix well.
• In a pan, heat ghee, fry cashew nuts and raisins, off the flame and add cumin powder. 
• Immediately pour this along with the ghee to the hot paayasam. Keep it unstirred for  about 10 minutes and then mix it well.
• Serve hot.

Notes

• Pressure cook broken wheat for 6 - 8 whistles. I cooked on high flame for 5 whistles, checked if cooked, and cooked on low flame for 3 whistles. If water is absorbed, do add boiling water to it. Never add normal or cold water as the cooked wheat might become hard. 
• The colour of the paayasam depends on the type of jaggery you use.
• If you boil the paayasam after adding the thick coconut milk, it ends to curdle.
• The paayasam tends to thicken when it cools. If it is too thick you can add warm milk.
• Don't fry the cumin powder as it will give a different taste to the paayasam.

Sending this to 50 Sweet and Savory Holiday Recipes + Add yours to win a surprise Giveaway! by Siri

Sending this to 1st anniversary celebration with giveaways ! of cook click n devour

Pazham Nirachathu / Stuffed Plantains

Today also i am posting another famous snack from Malabar "Pazham Nirachathu" / Stuffed Plantain. This is a very tasty and inevitable snack prepared for evening tea time. This is one of the important snack served during Iftar (nombhu thura/ breaking the Ramadan fast) in Malabar. This snack is prepared by stuffing a mixture of coconut , sugar, cardamom, cashews , raisins and sugar. Slit open the plantains and stuff the filling and shallow fry in oil.

Scroll down for the full recipe...

Ingredients

1. Ripe Kerala Plantain - 3 nos.(not too ripe)
2. Grated coconut - 1 1/2 cups
3. Sugar - 1/2 cup (add more if you need )
4. Cardamom pods crushed- 5-6
5. Cashew nuts roughly chopped - 2 Tbsp
6. Raisins - 2 Tbsp
7. Ghee - 1 1/2 Tbsp
8. Oil - for frying
9. All purpose flour/ Maida - 1/4 cup
10. A pinch of salt
11. Water - to make a thick paste

Preparation

• Heat ghee in a frying pan, add the chopped cashew nuts until golden brown. Transfer them to a paper towel.
• Add the raisins, let them puff up like cute little balls. Remove them to the paper towel before they get charred. Keep aside.
• To this ghee add the grated coconut, saute for 2-3 minutes add sugar and crushed cardamom. Mix the cashew nuts and raisins and keep the filling aside. 
• In a bowl mix maida , salt and water to make a thick paste to cover the slits of the banana.
• Now peel the plantains. Make a shallow slit lengthwise in the center of the plantain. The depth of the slit should be made until it reaches the center of the plantain.(Do not cut open the slit.). Now make another slit nearer to that, about 2 inches width. Remove the piece from the banana.
• Now using spoon , fill in the prepared coconut mixture into that gap. Press them tight using your fingers. Now cover it with the piece that you have removed from the plantain.Seal the gap with the maida paste.
• Repeat the same with the other plantains.
• Heat oil in a kadai/ non-stick pan for frying on a medium flame.
• Fry the stuffed plantains, until golden brown. 
• Carefully flip the sides in between.
• Drain them on a kitchen towel.
• Sere it hot with a cup of tea / coffee..

Notes :

• Do not use too ripe plantains, as it will absorb too much oil and hard to hold.
• Instead of coconut, we also use a mix of scrambled eggs, sugar, cardamom and nuts-raisins 

Linking this to Lunch Box series - Kids Delight Event and a pretty Giveaway! and spicing your life