Rice Bread / Vattayappam and Hoppers / Vellayappam

Vattayappam is made of rice flour, sugar and coconut. It is a steamed food item. The texture is like that of the regular bread. It is a main dish, but also served at tea time. 

Vellayappam is prepared in a pan /appachatty, which is specially kept for the purpose. Serve along with fried coconut chutney or vegetable stew or egg curry.


                                                         

Ingredients:

1. Rice Flour -  300 grams
2. Sugar - 2 tablespoon
3. Coconut milk ( thick) - 100 ml + 100ml or grind half a coconut and add the paste
4. Dry yeast -1/2  teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon sugar + 1/3 cup warm water
5. Semolina / idly Rava - 2 tablespoons
6. Water - 1 cup
7.Cardamom - 2 -3 pods crushed
8. Coconut Water -  1/2  cup ( optional ) You can use 1/2 cup water
9. Salt - 1 teaspoon
10. Cashew nuts ( Fried) - 6 nos. or as required
11. Raisin (Fried )  - a handful
                                                                    

Preparation:

Mix the semolina or idly rava in 1 cup of water thoroughly and boil it stirring continuously. Cook until it thickens into a loose dough like consistency. Keep aside to cool.
In a glass dish add the dry yeast and sugar.  Pour 1/3 cup warm water, stir well and keep aside. Let it prove for 5 - 10 minutes.
Mix together rice flour , sugar and salt. When the semolina mix is cool add it into the dry mix along with 100 ml of coconut milk or coconut paste, half cup of coconut water or just ordinary water and the yeast mix. Now mix all of these into a thick dough, there should not be any lumps. Keep it covered overnight for proving.
Next morning i divided the dough into 2 parts. One part for making Vattayappam and the other part for making hoppers ( vellayappam )
The part i kept apart for  vattayappam was a little more than half of the total mix.
                                             

How to make Vattayappam:

 Add 4 teaspoons sugar ( if you like it sweeter you can add more sugar ) to the dough you have kept apart for vattayappam. Mix well. The dough should be thick like idly batter. Add the crushed cardamoms. If you think the batter is too thick add 1- 2 teaspoons of water / coconut milk.
Grease a steel plate or cake tin with ghee, pour the prepared mix into it, garnish the top with raisins and cashew nuts, cover and steam cook for 15 -20 minutes.
                                                             

How to make Vellayappam / Hoppers:

To the second part of the dough add 100 ml of coconut milk/ plain water and 1 teaspoon of sugar and make a thin batter.
Heat a non-stick pan, smear it lightly with oil. Pour a spoonful of batter into the pan. Holding on to the handles on either side of the pan, rotate the pan so that the batter spreads out. Now keep the pan back on the stove, cover with the lid and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium flame . Remove the cooked hopper to a casserole. Repeat the process. There is no need to smear oil every time. Once is enough.

                                                       

Note: If you don't like the taste of yeast, add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the fermented batter and keep aside for 1/2 - 1 hour. Then prepare hoppers as usual.

Curd Curry / Yogurt Curry

 This is how i make curd curry. Very easy. The most important ingredient, as the name suggests, is curd /yogurt which is moderately sour.
                                                         

 Ingredients:

Thick curd - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Green chillies - 3 - 4 ( slit)
Salt to taste
Water - 1/2 cup

For seasoning:
Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Mustard seeds -1/4 teaspoon
Black gram ( split ) - 1 teaspoon
Whole dry red chilly - 2 ( each cut into two pieces )
Curry leaves - a few
Oil - 1 - 2 teaspoons

Preparation:

• Beat the curd well and keep aside. 
• Place a pan on the stove and heat. Add all the seasoning ingredients. Stir. When the mustards start spluttering, add half cup of water and the split green chillies. Allow the green chillies to cook. Add turmeric and salt. Lower the flame to sim. Do not allow the water to dry off completely. If such a situation arises add 3 - 4 table spoon of water.
• Add the beaten curd, stirring continuously. When it is well blended take off the stove. Do not allow to boil - if boiled the curd will split. Pour into a serving bowl immediately.
• Serve with rice.

Note: Remove a spoonful of seasoning from the pan before adding water. This can be used for garnishing. 

Coccinia Grandis Curry

Coccinia Grandis Curry

                                                 

Ingredients:

Coccinia Grandis  - 150 – 200 grams

Shallots – 8

Whole dry red chillies – 8

Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds – ½ teaspoon

Vineager – 1 table spoon

Water – 2 cups

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 – 2 table spoon

For Seasoning:

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Mustard seeds – ¼ teaspoon

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Preparation:

                                                   

Cut each coccinia grandis into four pieces lengthwise. Shallow fry the pieces. Sprinkle salt. Don’t brown. Keep aside, let it cool.

Grind shallots, red chillies, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and vineager into a smooth paste.

Heat a pan. Add mustard seeds, oil and curry leaves. When the mustard splutters, add the ground paste and sauté. Stir continuously in low - medium flame.  When the paste starts to brown, add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.

Add the shallow fried Coccinia grandis into the gravy. Cook on a low flame until gravy thickens. 

Serve hot with rice.

Queen of Puddings

Ingredients:

For Custard:

Softened, unsalted butter - 30 - 40 grams ( a little for greasing the dish )
Castor sugar - 50 grams
Lemon zest - 1 tablespoon
Milk - 600 ml (full cream )
Vanilla - 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh bread crumbs - 75 grams ( Do not use browned bread crumbs )
Egg yolks - 4
salt - a pinch

Fruity layer:

Raspberry jam/preserve - 4-6 tablespoon

For Meringue:

Castor sugar -150 grams
Egg whites - 5

Preparation:

Pre heat oven, 180 degree C. Butter a one litre oven-proof dish.

Custard:

Combine egg yolks and vanilla and keep aside.

Heat milk, butter, sugar, lemon zest and a pinch of salt.. Use a thick bottomed pan for the purpose.When the butter just melts remove the pan from heat. Do not boil. If the lemon zest added are small pieces, strain to remove them now. Otherwise skip this step.

Now add the bread crumbs and keep stirring till the mixture thickens. Allow to cool and come down to room temperature

When the mix has cooled enough add the egg yolks and mix thoroughly.

Pour this into the buttered pan and bake for 15 minutes or until the custard is just set. Cool on a wire rack

Fruity layer:

Heat the fruit preserve in a small pan until it is runny. Don't burn the preserve.

Spread this on the custard layer very carefully, without breaking the custard surface.

Meringue:

In a large pan fill water till half, bring it to a boil. Take another saucepan add sugar and egg whites into it. Hold this saucepan over the large pan of simmering water. Gently whisk so that the sugar dissolves. (The sauce pan must be held over the large vessel, do not place it in the boiling water.)

Once the sugar is dissolved remove from heat and beat the egg whites using an electric beater until it forms soft peaks. Spread this over the jam layer OR you can pipe the meringue over the jam layer into definite peaks.

Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the surface becomes lightly brown. Let it cool a bit.
Serve warm.

This is a traditional British Pudding.

Cauliflower and Chickpea Koftas

Ingredients:
                                     

For Kofta :

1.Cauliflower - 400 grams
2.Chickpeas - 350 grams ( cooked or canned )
3.Chickpea flour / besan - 75 gram
4.Cashew nuts - 50 grams ( finely chopped )
5.Green chillies - 2 ( finely chopped )
6.Garlic -2 ( finely chopped )
7.Ginger - 2 teaspoon ( grated )
8.Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon ( ground )
9.Cumin - 2 teaspoon ( ground )
10.Cinnamon -  1/2 teaspoon
11.Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
12.Maldon salt - a pinch (more salt if you like )
13.Oil - for shallow frying / baking

For Sauce:

1.Yogurt - 250 grams
2.Lime juice from 1/4 lime
3.Mint leaves  - 2 tablespoon ( shredded )
4.Ground red chilly - a pinch

Preparation:

1. Kofta: Puree all the ingredients, except the chickpea and cashews, until the cauliflower becomes fine particles.

2.Drain the canned/cooked chickpeas and mash them into a rough puree.

3.Add the cauliflower puree and cashew nuts into the chickpea puree and mix them well.

4.Make small balls out of the mix and refrigerate for one hour before cooking.
                                               

5.Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Place the balls on a well greased tray and bake for 30 minutes until they are golden brown.
OR
You can deep fry the Koftas and drain excess oil on a kitchen towel.

Sauce: Mix all the ingredients for sauce.

Serve the hot kofta with the sauce as a starter.

Note: I shallow fried the kofta.

Hot Sweet and Sour Chutney / Kismis Chutney / Raisin sauce

Raisins or dried grapes has great nutritional and health benefits. It is good for your bones and teeth. Also very good for the eye. It fights constipation, acidity and anemia. Very good for your complexion. It helps healthy weight gain.


Ingredients:

                                                   

1. Onions - 3
2. Kismis/ Raisin - 100 grams
3. Red Chilly - 15
4. Tamarind - the size of a small lime
5. Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
6. Garlic - 3 flakes
7. Molasses - the size of a lime
8. Salt to taste
9. Mint leaves - 2 - 3 sprigs
10. Vineager  - 2 table spoon
11. Lime juice - from half of a lime
12. Ghee for frying


                                                         

Preparation:

1. Grind red chillies and tamarind, adding salt, to a very smooth paste.

2. Chop the onions and fry it in ghee until crisp.

3. Remove the onions from the ghee and add the kismis, fry the kismis. Do not burn.

4. Now grind the onions and kismis along with the red chilly - tamarind paste, adding vineagar.

5. When the mixture becomes a smooth paste, add ginger, garlic, molasses and mint leaves. grind again to a smooth paste.

6. Add salt and lime juice. Do not add water.

Note: If needed cooked beetroot and dates can also be added.




                                               

Kidney Bean Curry

Kidney Bean  / Rajma Curry

                                               

Ingredients:

1. Kidney Bean / Rajma - 1 cup (soaked overnight )
2. Onion - 1 (grated )
3. Tomato -1 - 2  ( Chopped )
4. Ginger-garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
5. Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon
6. Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon
7. Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
8. Salt to taste
9. Black salt - 1 pinch ( optional )
10. Aamchur / Dry Mango powder - 1/4 teaspoon ( optional )
11. Green chillies - 2 - 3 ( cut into long thin pieces)
12. Fresh Coiander leaves - 1 Tablespoon ( Chopped )
13. Oil - 1 tablespoon
14.Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
15. Water - 5 cups

Preparation:

1. Wash the soaked kidney beans, and pressure cook in 5 cups of water till it becomes tender. Allow to cool. Place a colander over a clean vessel and pour the contents of the pressure cooker into the colander,  the cooked beans are separated from water. Do not throw away the water.

2. In a heavy-bottomed pan heat oil, add cumin seeds. When it starts spluttering add the grated onions and fry till golden brown .

3. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute.

4. Now add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and coriander powder and cook in a low flame for a couple of minutes.

5. Add the beans and and stir well.

6. Now take out a cup of fried rajma from the pan and puree it with a cup of water used for boiling the rajma. Add the remaining water into the pan and bring to a boil.

7. Add the pureed rajma into the pan.

8. Add salt and black salt and  aam chur. If you don't have black salt and aam chur, don't worry. You can avoid it.

9. Last of all add the chopped coriander leaves and green chillies.

Serve hot with rice / rotis.

VEGETABLE KURUMA

Ingredients

1.Mixed vegetables of your choice ( cut into 1/2 cm cubes) - 4 cups
2.Onion -  2 medium ( minced or grated )
3.Oil - 4 tablespoons
4.Ginger   - 1" piece ( crushed )
5.Garlic - 6 - 7 pieces (  ,,  )
6.Black cardamom - 2  ( split )
7.Cinnamon - 1" piece ( broken to smaller pieces )
8.Cloves - 4 - 5
9.Tomatoes - 2 medium ( chopped )
10.Coconut  - half cup
11. Fennel - 1 teaspoon
12.turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
13.Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon
14.Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon
15. Poppy seeds ( ground ) - 2 teaspoons ( optional)
16. Salt to taste
17.Water - 2 cups


                                         

Preparation:
Grind the coconut and fennel together. If you are adding poppy seeds grind that too.

Heat oil in a pan, add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. When it starts spluttering add the grated onions and stir fry, then add the crushed ginger and garlic.Stir for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder, ground coconut paste and salt. Cover and cook till oil separates, on a low flame.

Now add the the vegetables and stir for 5 minutes, add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil, lower the flame and cook for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Serve hot with pooris.
                                             
                                               

Carrot Apple Milkshake

                                     

Preparation:

1. Chop carrots and apples.
2. Grind the carrot pieces to a fine paste. Add the rest of the ingredients into the carrot paste and whip well.
3. Sieve and Serve garnished.

Note: You can add 6 cups of milk and avoid water.


Ingredients:

1. Carrots - 2
2. Apples - 2
3. Cinnamon powder - 1 teaspoon
4. Cold Milk -  3 cups
5. Cold Water - 3 cups
6. Sugar - 6 Tablespoons ( can add more or less )

Adapted from Prachi Agarwal FJ recipe

Tasty Vegetable Salad

Tasty Vegetable Salad                                        
Recipe adapted from EDR

                       

Ingredients                                                                       

Tomatoes - 2 large ( cut into 1 inch cubes ) 

Cucumber - 1 large ( peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes )

Carrot - 1 large (peeled and sliced ) 

Onion - half ( cut into 1/2 inch cubes ) 

 For the Sauce:

Canola oil - 1/4 cup 

Apple cider vinegar - 3 table spoon 

Garlic - 2 cloves ( minced ) 

Sugar - 1 teaspoon 

Salt - 1/4 tsp 

White peppercorns - 1/4 tsp ( crushed )

Preparation 

1. In a large bowl combine together tomatoes, cucumber, carrot and onion pieces. Keep aside.

2. In another bowl whisk together canola oil, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, sugar, salt and pepper, until sugar and salt dissolves. 

3. Pour over the vegetables and toss till evenly coated.

4. Serve immediately OR refrigerate until ready to serve.