Appam with vegetable stew | No yeast no soda recipe

The more you are away  from your kith and kins , the more you feel for them. You tend to stay close to your roots to regain that comfort and soothing feeling that you miss by staying abroad.Well, to me Food is the main way I chose to cherish the interlaced memories to transport me to my childhood.If you hail from a family where food plays a vital role , you'll probably agree with me. When I make a lemonade for my boy , I get to remember the day amma made us lemonade and I mimicked the famous commercial of that time .....Lehar Mirinda Good Good Good.... and there my brother and sister laughing continuously dropping their glasses and there amma giving us a blast ....though that evening ended up chaotic, I just love those memories.

While doing groceries last week , I picked up few fresh coconuts. From there it all started ... Wanted to make something so very authentic , just the way Mom made for us. What else I can think of other  than Appam and Vegetable stew. Fresh ginger, green chilles, curry leaves, coconut oil  .... mmmm. Also amma has her trademark recipe for appam. Usually yeast or cooking soda is a must for the recipe. But she never added all these, still she makes fluffy , soft appam with beautiful lace all around.When others made using raw rice alone , her trade mark is to use a mix of raw rice and boiled rice(idli rice).

Sometimes spicy onion chutney will accompany these appams , sometimes cardamom scented coconut milk and some lucky days (when she had extra time) uttelrly delicious vegetable stew will be there on the table. I just wanted to recreate here and so I made all together. Enjoyed these pillowy soft appams to the fullest . Simple pleasures of life !!!

 I would recommend you to use fresh coconut milk for best flavor and taste . Never go for store bought ones or canned milk. Simplicity is the best part of this stew.Fresh ginger , green chilli and curry leaves are the key for success here.

Recipe for Appam

Raw Rice ............................... 1 cup
Idli Rice ................................. 1 cup
Urad Dal ................................1 tbsp (dehusked one)
Coconut (grated ).................... 1/4 cup
Beaten Rice/ Poha/ Aval........... 1/4 cup (Thick variety)
Salt .......................................... to taste
sugar ....................................... 1 tsp
Sesame oil / coconut oil ............ to make appam

Method 

• Wash and Soak both the rice along with Urad with enough water for 4 hours.
• Wash and soak poha with just enough water to cover for 15 minutes.
• Blend together poha and coconuts and  reserve.
• Grind the soaked rice mixture using a wet grinder or any blender to a fine paint consistency.
• Towards the end of grinding add the reserved poha coconut paste to the rice mixture, grind together and get the batter done.
• Transfer to a big container with enough space to ferment and rise. 
• Keep covered in a warm place for 12 hrs( I keep it in my oven with light on)
• After the batter is fermented , mix salt and sugar.
• Now the batter is ready for making appam.
• Add some water to make a coating consistency batter. When you dip a ladle , the batter should just coat the ladle, that's what we need.
• Heat a curved pan and grease well with some oil and wipe off the excess with a paper towel.
• Pour one big ladle of batter and gently lift and rotate the pan to resemble a basket shape.
• Cover and cook in medium for 3 minutes. Open the lid and drizzle little oil around the edges.
• Again cover and cook for 2 minutes or until edges turn gold and the center is fully cooked.
• Transfer to a plate and again grease the pan and continue to make the next appam. 

Vegetable Stew 

Mixed vegetables ........................................ 1 1/2 cups , cut into cubes( I used carrots, beans, potatoes and green peas)
Green Chillies .............................................. 2 or 3 adjust to taste, slit
Ginger ......................................................... 1 inch piece , peeled and cubed
Onion............................................................ 1/4 cup , finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste .........................................1/2 tsp
curry leaves ................................................. 2 sprigs, fresh
Cinnamon ................................................... 1 inch
Cardamom ................................................2
Cloves .....................................................2
Salt ............................................................. to taste
Coconut oil .................................................1.5 tbsp
Thick coconut milk ...................................... 1 cup
Rice flour .................................................. 1 tsp.

Method

• Heat oil in heavy bottom pan.
• Crush cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and add to the pan.
• Add in the chopped onions, curry leaves, green chillies.
• When onions are translucent , stir in the ginger garlic paste and cook for 2 more minutes , followed by vegetables. 
• Add a cup of water ,salt and 1/4 cup coconut milk, cover and cook till the vegetables are cooked still crisp a bit.
• Mix 1 tsp rice flour to 1/4 cup water and make a lump free mixture.
• Add this mixture to the vegetables and allow it to cook for 5 minutes .
• Finally stir in the 3/4 cup thick coconut milk and remove from heat.

Cardamom Flavored Coconut milk

Fresh grated coconut .............................1/2 cup
Warm Water ...................................................3/4 cup
Sugar ..................................................1 tsp
Cardamom .........................................2

Method

• Blend water and coconut together and strain the milk from coconut with a fine seive.
• Remove the shell of the cardamom and crush the seeds.
• Mix the ground cardamom and sugar along with coconut milk.

Spicy Onion Chutney

Red Onion ...................................... 1 big
Dried red chilli .................................5 (adjust )
Mustard .........................................1/2 tsp
Split urad .......................................1/2 tsp
Sesame oil .....................................2 tbsp
tamarind ........................................ 1 marble size
curry leaves .................................. few
Salt ........................................... to taste.

Method

• Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan and roast the red chillies for a minute and remove the chillies.
• To the same pan oil 1 tbsp oil and saute the onions along with tamarind.
• When onions turn soft and pinkish , transfer to a plate and cool.
• Blend the onions, fried chillies with salt to make a coarse chutney.
• Heat remaining oil in a pan and temper with mustard and urad dal.Finally add in the curry leaves.
• Pour this tempering over the chutney.

 

Fattit al hommus | Chickpeas in yogurt sauce

Third week of the month means time for a themed post. When Middle Eastern food became the choice, I was kind of clueless as I wonder if I can do something completely vegetarian other than dips and Falafals. With all sort of confusions I gave a rescue call to my sister who lives in Middle East to know about their food culture and that sort.

After hunting for a week I decided to settle on a breakfast item , to keep it simple and much doable . But the big question was what to cook ? Approached a local middle eastern eatery guy to show me some choice for a breakfast item that is completely vegetarian and the result was bamm... he gave me a pathetic look.

Lost almost a weeks time in the hunt but then good thing was some real good books in the local library helped me a lot to understand the food culture over there.Finally settled on a simple Syrian Breakfast item 'Fattit al hommus' translating to chickpeas in yogurt sauce. This resembled like Indian street food aka chat items.

The first attempt on this recipe helped me in understanding the flavors.The second attempt came real good but since that happened at the evening I couldn't capture. Now I made this for the third time to capture and I'm sure this has found it's place in our breakfast menu. Quite simple, if you have some pita bread and some chickpeas in hand then assembling takes hardly 10 minutes to create this healthy and hearty breakfast. This can serve the purpose of quick after school snack or just like that to munch.

To me it was like an intelligent usage of leftover breads and other staples to create an instant breakfast without much to do actually. The flavors from garlic and mint very really doing a fair job when combined with yogurt/laban . The little bit of ghee or butter goes a long way here to add its own taste and flavor to the dish.

Serves 2

Ingredients

Chickpeas/ Channa / Garbanzo beans ...................................... 1 cup, dried, you can use canned one too.
garlic....................................................................................... 4 cloves, crushed and finely chopped
Dried Mint ............................................................................. 1 tbsp
Butter /Ghee.............................................................................1 tbsp
Salt ....................................................................................... to taste
paprika .................................................................................to taste
Pita breads ........................................................................... 2
Labneh .............................................................3/4 cup  

Method for Labneh

• Heat 6 cups of milk in  a pan until boiling.
• Cool it until you can dip your finger and count 1 to 10.
• Add 3  tbsp of plain yogurt and mix well.
• Cover and keep in a warm place for 8 hrs without peeking or disturbing.
• Line a cheese cloth over a strainer and strain the yogurt for 4 hrs in a refrigerator.
• Labneh is ready now.

Method for Fattit al hommus

• Wash and soak the chickpeas overnight, drain and add enough water and pressure cook to 4 whistles. Alternatively you can cook in a heavy bottom pan with enough water until tender. reserve. After this step you can refrigerate the cooked chick peas for a week .
• Toast the pita breads and keep it ready.
• Heat butter / ghee and add garlic and cook until golden brown and reserve garlic and the cooked butter separately.
• Mix this garlic with labneh and salt.
• Place the Pita bread in a deep bowl with a rim and add in the chickpeas with little bit of cooking liquid.
• Add the garlic yogurt sauce and sprinkle some dried mint and paprika.
• Drizzle the butter in which the garlic was cooked .
• Serve immediately.

Note

• You can tear the pita into pieces and use them too.
• If you are using canned beans , drain and wash thoroughly before use.
• Optionally you can add some toasted pine nuts on the top too.

Disclaimer:

This blog post is a part of the monthly "Cooking With Friends" themed blog post challenge.This challenge was started by a bunch of virtual friends united by their love for food , with the aim of  presenting a different theme related challenge each month.If you want to follow our theme of this month , feel free to attach your link in the comments section below and we will be glad to look into yours. Meanwhile check out what others have shared for this theme.


Anjana from At The Corner of Happy and Harried ,Dolphia from The Story Of Cooks,Jyothi from Curry Trail and Meena from Elephant and the Coconut Trees.


Here is a recap of what I've shared earlier here.

Asian Mushrooms in coconut curry

Chamomile tea infused Rice Pudding

No bake berry cheese cake

Crunchy Panko Crused Roasted Asparagus

Strawberry Rose Duo Kulfi

Jil Jil Jigarthanda

Falafal with Roasted RedPepper Thahini

Curried Red Lentil Soup and the the spirit of Fall

 It was weekend and I woke up a bit late and opened my patio door. I could see the my favorite tree starting to loose the rich and dark luscious green and I could feel chillness in the air and a foggy and misty morning it was.All these reminded me 'Summer is gone' and Fall is here.Whether I like or not is a different story.

As the temperature fluctuates, Fall starts and everyone in my family starting to Fall sick. These are the days when light , healthy  food is needed to regain the most needed energy to boost the immunity levels. A big pot of warm soup can do that job pretty well, what do you think?

I've used up some lentils, vegetables and most importantly lots of pepper and cumin to do rescue here. Grab a big pot of hot and spicy soup , snuggle and watch something in TV to cheer up is what I told my Boy. Now you can do the same too.

There is no hard and fast rule here. Just find some healthy veggies and try not to change the natural color of the soup. For me , carrots , tomato and pumpkin were just right enough to get that natural color.

Ingredients

Red Lentils/ Masoor Dal .......................... 1 cup
Red onion ................................................ 1/2 cup , chopped
Plum Tomato ............................................1 big
Carrot ........................................................2 , big or roughly 1 cup chopped
Pumkin.....................................................1/2 cup , peeled and cube
Garlic....................................................  3 cloves
Cumin Powder ......................................... 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder .................................... 1 tsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder/ Paprika......... 1/2 tsp
Pepper Powder ......................................... to taste
Salt ........................................................ to taste
Madras Curry Powder ............................ 1/4 tsp
Water ..................................................... 8 cups
Oil .......................................................... 1 tsp
Extra virgin Olive oil............................. couple dashes, to garnish
Fresh cilantro ....................................... few sprigs , to garnish

Method

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan , choose a pan with lid or use a pressure cooker.
Once the oil is hot add crushed garlic and onions and saute until the onion is translucent.
Add in the vegetables and mix gently.
Wash and add the lentils along with 6 cups of water , salt, cumin, coriander , chili/paprika and lots of freshly cracked pepper.
Cover and cook until the lentil is completely cooked to a mashed consistency.
I used a pressure cooker and cooked to two whistles.
Open the cooker/ pot and blend the vegetables and lentils to a desired consistency using an immersion blender.
Add 2 cups of water and curry powder and cook in simmer for 10 minutes.
Garnish with chilli flakes, couple dashes of olive oil and cilantro.
Serve it right from the stove.

Paneer and Mint Snails | Indian Cottage Cheese , Mint Snails | Savory puff pastry

There are certain combinations that never fails to impress you. Movie with popcorn , Rain with paper boats  ... every one has their own favorites. More than a combination it's kind of an experience I would say.When it comes to food ,apple and cinnamon , lime and mint .... the list is endless. I love to have a  Spicy bajji (pakoras) with piping hot masala chai on a rainy day. And a new entry to this list is paneer , mint and garlic combo.

I had never tasted coffee or tea in my life until I started working. As I was into teaching and when colleagues used to have tea to soothe their throat , I was tempted to try it out there. I started having tea once in a while and  later every day . Sooner or later,whenever some of us had to meet , we will unanimously choose  Arasan Bakery for their signature masala tea and  flaky and spicy puffs. I've spent  many evenings enjoying this tea with my friends ...endless giggles , endless chit chats and endless puffs. I'm super happy to know that who ever I taught those days are now in corporate companies . Don't try to calculate my age ... I'm still young .

 I'm not taking tea any more because of my acidity issues,but then all those precious moments unfolded when a student cum friend from Sweden reached out to me through FB recently after almost 13 years and sharing those good old memories.I was pleased to know that even they all cherish those moments like me.

 Though I know I'm thousands of miles apart from them , I wanted to recreate that experience by making a spicy pastry and a piping hot tea and share virtually with them.

Now coming back to this pastry , this is super quick and party pleaser too. Make this ahead and freeze them until ready to bake. This is a winner with hot or cold drink. Try to pair them with one or two your favorites to entertain guests.

Ingredients

Puff pastry sheet ................................ 1, I used a store bought one
Paneer/ Indian Cottage cheese .......... 1/2 cup  ( If you wonder what is this , please refer notes)
Mint leaves, fresh .............................. 1/4 cup
Green Chili ........................................ 3 (adjust to heat )
Garam masala.................................... 1/8 tsp
Garlic ................................................ 3 cloves
Lime juice ......................................... 1 tbsp
Butter ............................................... 2 tbsp
Salt ................................................... to taste
Chili Flakes .................................... to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Thaw the puff pastry according to package direction.

Prepare the mint leaves and wash them.
Crumble the paneer and gather all other ingredients except butter and chili flakes.
Blend them for 30 seconds.
Flour the working surface and gently roll the puff pastry to a square.
Spread the paneer mixture uniformly leaving half an edge from the ends.
Roll gently to make a log.
Freeze it for 10 minutes to handle easily.
Melt the butter and season it with salt and chili flakes.
Cut the log into 1/2 inch thick discs and brush gently with butter.
Bake in the middle rack for 15 minutes or until golden on top.

Notes

Do not add water while grinding the mixture.
Use homemade paneer for best results , if using store bought one , let paneer stand in warm water for 15 minutes beforehand.
Use the mixture immediately after blending as mint might oxidize.
Have an eye on oven after 13 minutes to achieve perfect color.
You can replace paneer with tofu for variation and also Thai Basil works well here as well.

Paneer

Paneer | cottage cheese  is a fresh cheese used widely in Indain cuisine. You can prepare paneer by boiling milk and curdling it with an acid agent like vinegar or lime juice and separate the whey from cheese by a cheese cloth. Try this paneer recipe to make your own at home in a jiffy.