Ambalappuzha Pal Payasam

Ambalappuzha is a small town in Alappuzha district of Kerala state, south India. The town is famous for its Sri Krishna temple. The Ambalappuzha temple is one of the three important Sri Krishna temples in the state of Kerala. The payasam served in this  temple is famous among Hindu devotees.  An idol of Sri Krishna, is  "The Lord Parthasarthy idol" .  Usually I make this payasam on Krishna Jeyanthy day. 

Ingredients:

Unnakkal Rice/ Kuthari (Brown rice)              – 1/2 cup

Whole Milk -                                               1 cup

2% milk                                                  – 2 cup

Evaporated milk                                        – 1 tin

Water                                                      1/4cup

Cardamoms                                              – 6 no

Ghee                                                      – 2 tbsp

Sugar                                                        – ¾ cup

Saffron                                                      - a pinch

Fried cashews, raisins                                  – 2 bsp

Method:

• Wash and clean the rice. Fry the rice in 1 tbsp of ghee.
• Add whole milk, water and saffron into the rice. Cook it in the pressure cooker for 3 whistles
• Take out the rice from cooker and transfer into the sauce pan.
•  Mash the rice slightly. Add sugar, 1 tbsp of ghee, evaporated milk, 2 % milk and crushed cardamoms. Stir well until Sugar dissolve into milk. Reduce the heat and cook it for 30 minutes until it thickens to the consistency of payasam. (Payasam will smell like condense milk).
•  Now take it away from heat. Add fried cashews on the top.

Nandran Banana Skin Thoran

In Kerala, both banana and coconut plant is used at its maximum. Whether fruit, leaves, root, anything from both plants is used. After I made Banana chips, I kept the banana skin in my refrigerator. The next day I made this thoran for lunch.

Ingredients:

Nendran Banana skin (finely chopped)         4 cups

Moong dal                                               ¼ cup

Grated coconut                                        ¼ cup

Grated ginger                                          1 tsp

Green chillies                                          5 nos

Cumin seeds (Jeerakam)                          ¼ tsp

Turmeric powder                                     ½ tsp

Dry red chillies                                       2 nos (broken into pieces)

Coconut oil                                            3 tbsp

Mustard seeds                                       1 tsp

Curry leaves                                          A few

Salt                                                     to taste

Method: 

• Wash the chopped banana skin and keep aside.
•  Wash the Moong dal well and cook it separately in a pressure cooker. Make sure you don’t overcook it. Drain the extra water from the dal. We need a thick dal only. 
• Place together the grated coconut, green chillies, turmeric powder, ginger, curry leaves and cumin seeds in a mixer bowl and run it once to make it into a coarse form. 
• Mix together the finely chopped plantain skin, the coconut mixture, turmeric powder and salt. 
• Heat a oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds and sauté dry red chillies, and curry leaves. 
• Add the plantain skin-coconut mixture and mix well. Cover and cook for about five minutes on a low flame. 
• Remove the lid and add the cooked moong dal and mix well. Continue cooking, till done. 

Kaima Idli /Idli Tikka Masala

This is very famous in Saravana Bhavan Restaurant. A visit to Chennai means always a visit to SBR at Mylapore. First I ate this kaima idli. Normally I don’t like idli. But this kaima idli is really good taste. So I wanted to give it a try at home.  It came out very well. Even Paddy likes it. (He is a picky guy). Even you call this recipe as “Idli Tikka Masala” Whatever you name it, it’s really good taste.

Ingredients:

Left over idli’s –      4 nos (cut into square shape)

 Small Tomatoes –    1/2 (finely chopped)

Green chilies –        2 (finely chopped)

Sweet peppers -       3 nos (chopped length wise)

Corn flour-                1tbsp

 Kashmiri Chili powder  -1/2tsp

Sombhu powder –      2 pinches

Turmeric powder –      2 pinches

Salt –                          to taste

Lemon juice –                ½

Coriander leaves –        1 tbsp (finely chopped)

Oil                             for deep fry

Seasonings:

Oil –                            1tsp

Curry leaves

Method:

• Cut the Idli's in square shape, add corn flour, little salt, chili powder ¼ tsp on it and mix well.
• Deep Fry Them. (If you have refrigerated the left over idli's, you have to get back those idli's to the room temperature before frying.)
• In a Pan, Heat oil, add curry leaves and let it pop. Now add Finely Chopped chillies, sweet peppers, tomatoes and sauté it well, so that it get mixed together. Add salt, turmeric powder, Sombhu powder, 1/4 tsp Kashmiri chili powder and mix and fry well.
• Add Your Fried Idli's and mix well with the masala's. Add coriander leaves, before switching off the flame.
• Serve by adding lemon juice over the kaima idli's.
• This is a good evening snacks with tea, too.

RAVA DOSA

Rava Dosa" is a popular south Indian Dish typically made out of "Bombay Rava”. .

The rava dosa is a quick and easy to cook dish which is made delicious and tastes best with sambha and chutney. Unlike the ordinary dosa, dough does not need to be fermented. For Rava Dosa, the ingredients need to be soaked for just 30 minutes to 1 hour. This is apt for the jiffy tiffin making. My mom makes restaurant type Rava dosa. Paddy loves it.  I tried a lot of times, but failed. He always says that you cannot make like your mom’s dosa. I took the challenge ( a new griddle and after $20) I tried it and I succeed. Here is my Rava dosa recipe: 

Ingredients

 Rava (Shoji, semolina)                  – 1cup

Rice powder                                  – ½ cup

Maida                                           – ¼ cup

Grated ginger                                 – 1tsp

Chopped finely green chillies            – 3no

Chopped finely curry leaves               – 2tbsp

Cumin seed                                     – ¼ tsp

Sour curd                                       - ¼ cup  (buttermilk)

 ghee, butter or oil                          1 tsp

Pepper crushed                                -1/4 tsp

Salt                                              to taste

Method:

• Mix Bombay Rava, Maida, Rice flour, curd and salt together in a bowl.
• Add 3 cups of water to the above mixture. Batter should be very thin. Now keep this mixture aside for 30 minutes.
• Mix the chopped green chilies, cumin seeds and Curry leaves to the flour mixture.
• Take a flat griddle or TAVA and spray oil on it and heat for 1 minute. Sprinkle the batter and apply butter or oil. Leave for it few minutes.
• When dosa turns brown, spray oil on it. Wait until dosa turns crispy. Fold the dosa and serve with Chutney and Sambhar.

Rava Dosa

Tomato Rasam

Rasam is quite easy to make and also it is tasty. It can be taken as soup, or as a side dish to dosai.

Ingredients

Tomato (Medium Sized)                           – 3

Turmeric Powder                                    – 1/2 tsp

Rasam Powder                                      – 1 tbsp

Tamarind                                             – a small lemon size

Chili Powder                                          – 1 tsp

Curry Leaves                                          – A few

Coriander Leaves/Cilantro                        – A few

Green chilies                                        – 1 silted

Salt                                                – As required

Water                                                 – 2 cups

Hing                                                     – ½ tsp

For seasoning:

Ghee                                                   - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies                                      2

Mustard Seeds                                      – 1 tsp

Black Pepper                                         - ¼ tsp

Jeera                                                    – ¼ tsp

Method:

• Soak the tamarind in hot water and make a tamarind extract.
• Wash and pressure cook the dal and keep side.
• Take a heavy bottom pan; add tomatoes, tamarind extract, curry leaves, turmeric powder, and Hing, ginger, chili powder, and Salt and rasam powder in it.
• Lower the heat and boil for 5-6 minutes. Now add the cooked dal, sliced green chillies and 2 cup of water and bring to boil.
• Heat  ghee in a frying pan add seasonings and fry . Add to the rasam.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

MYSORE RASAM

This is one of my favorite rasam. When I visited Bangalore we went  to Daspraksh hotel. Their Mysore rasam is very famous.  Here you go!

Ingredients:

Tamarind                                – 1 small lemon size

Toovar dhal                              – ½ cup

Small tomato                           – 1 (finely chopped)

Green chilies                            – 1 (cut silted)

Hing                                        – ½ tsp

Sea salt (Kal uppu)                     – to taste

 Chopped Curry leaves                 – 2 tbsp

Mysore rasam powder                 - 3 tbsp

Chopped ginger                            – ½ tsp

Jaggery                                         – 1 tsp

For seasonings:

Mustard seed                                  -1 tsp

Curry leaves                                     – 1 tbsp       

Urdh dhal                                       – ½ tsp

Method:

• Soak the tamarind in hot water squeeze out the juice.
• Boil the Toovar dhal with turmeric powder in a pressure cooker and keep aside.
• Take a heavy bottom vessel add cooked dhal, salt, green chillies, tamarind juice, tomato, jaggery, Hing and curry leaves.  Let it boil for 5 minutes.
• Now add rasam powder, chopped ginger and boil for 5 minutes.
• Heat the ghee in frying pan adds seasonings and fry and pour into the rasam.
• Serve hot with rice, some karaiamuthu, applam and vadaam.

MYSORE RASAM POWDER

Ingredients:

Coriander seeds                            – 500gm

Red chilies                                   – 750gm

Fenugreek seeds                             – 75gms

Urdh dal                                      -100gms

Jeera                                          -100gm

Hing                                             – 2 tsp

Curry leaves                                 – 1 cup

Oil                                                 - 1 tsp

Method:

Roast all above ingredients in oil.  Grind them coarsely in a mixer. Store it in an air tight container.