Ela Ada

Banana leaves and coconuts are readily available items in all households in Kerala.Thus Ada used to be the popular breakfast/snack item in Kerala.

Ingredients:

For dough:

2 cup rice flour(roasted)

3 cup water(may vary)

1/2 tbsp ghee

1/2 tbsp sugar

salt to taste

For filling:

2 cup grated coconut

1 cup grated jaggery

1 tbsp ghee

1 pinch sesame seeds

1 cardamom pod

1/4 tsp jeera powder

2 shallots sliced

Method:

Preparing the dough:

1.Boil the water with ghee,salt and sugar. Add rice flour and mix thoroughly.Switch off the flame.

2.When the mixture cools down mix thoroughly with hand until you get a smooth dough.

Preparing the filling:

1.Heat a pan and add ghee and sesame seeds.

2.Throw in the grated jaggery and let it melt.

3.Add grated coconut,jeera powder,cardamom and shallots. Mix well.

Assembling and cooking:

1.Make small balls out of the dough and spread them into circles on banana leaves.

2.Keep one or two spoon full of filling on one side of the circle and seal with the other side.

3.Steam cook the adas for 10- 15 minutes and serve hot.

PS: Adas can be frozen after assembling and can be steamed just before serving.

Stuffed Bun

Amma saw this recipe on surya tv taste time and tried it. It turned out to be a hit.

Ingredients:

For bun:-

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1 egg beaten

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1/4 cup refined oil

2 1/2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp warm water

For filling:-

1 lb Boneless chicken finely chopped

2 onions finely chopped

3 green chillies finely chopped

2 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp chilly powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

Method:

Preparing dough

1. Soak 1 tbsp yeast,1/2 tbsp all purpose flour and 1/2 tbsp sugar in 2 tbsp warm water.Keep aside and let rise for 10 minutes.

2.In another bowl mix 1/2 cup milk,1/4 cup refined oil and 2 tbsp sugar.Mix well till the sugar dissolves completely.

3.Mix in one cup flour and one beaten egg.

4.Pour in the yeast and mix well.

5.Add one more cup of flour and 1/2 tsp salt.Knead well for around 10 minutes.

6.Keep aside and let the dough rise to double the size.

Preparing filling

1.Heat 2 tbsp oil in pan and add 2 tsp ginger garlic paste.

2.Throw in the chopped onions and green chillies.Saute till the onions turn light brown in color.

3.Add chicken and salt.Let cook for 10 minutes.

4.Add coriander powder,chilly powder and garam masala.

5.Cook for 5 more minutes until the chicken is cooked thoroughly and the mixture is dry.

Baking:-

1.Make 15 equal portions out of the dough.

2.Flatten the dough and spoon some filling into it. Shape the dough into balls with filling inside.

3.Keep the filled dough balls on baking tray and let rest for 15 minutes.

4.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the buns for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Vishu Katta

Vishu katta brings back childhood memories of vishu celebrations. The night before vishu will be filled with the excitement of playing with crackers and fireworks. After seeing the 'vishu kani' early in the morning the next wonderful thing to do is to burst another round of crackers and fireworks. 'Vishu kaineetams' and new dresses will be gifted to everyone in the morning. Vishu katta will be served as breakfast. Vishu katta is usually eaten with jaggery syrup or maanga curry. As a child i used to love to eat it with jaggery syrup. After having breakfast run around and play for another two hours and soon it will be time to have the grand vishu sadhya. Fireworks + Vishu kani + Kai neetam + New dress + good food - No wonder i loved vishu more than onam :)

Ingredients:

2 cups raw rice (unakkallari)

4 cups thin coconut milk

1 cup thick coconut milk

1/2 tsp dried ginger powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

salt to tatse

Method:

1.Boil the rice in 3 cups of thin coconut milk.Add thin coconut milk slowly until the rice is cooked and thickens.

2.Mix the dried ginger and cumin seeds in thick coconut milk.

3.Add the thick coconut milk to rice.Mix well and Switch off the flame when vishu katta is thick enough.

4.While the mixture is still hot spread it on banana leaf. Even it out and let it cool.

5.Cut into diamond shapes and serve with jaggery syrup.

Jaggery syrup:

1.Prepare a spice mix by mixing dried ginger,cumin seeds and cardamom.Keep aside.

2.Heat 1/4 cup water and add 100 gm jaggery.When jaggery melts add 1 tsp of spice mix.

Paniyaram

Paniyaram is a popular tiffin item of Tamil Nadu. Paniyaram can either be sweet or savory. The recipe that follows is of savory paniyaram that goes well with chutney. Paniyaram can be made in a jiffy if you have the 'unniappa chatti'  and some dosa batter in hand.

Ingredients: 

For Batter:

1/4 cup urad dal

1/2 cup white rice

1/4 cup boiled rice

salt to taste

For tempering:

1 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp urad dal

1 onion chopped

4 green chillies chopped

1 sprig curry leaves

1/4 tsp asafoetida powder

Oil for frying paniyarams

Method:

1. Soak the ingredients for batter for more than 4 hours. 

2. Prepare dosa batter by grinding the ingredients and adding salt to taste.

3.Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds. Let it splutter.

4.Add urad dal. Add onion,green chillies and curry leaves.Saute for 5 minutes.

5.Add asafoetida powder.Switch off the flame and let it cool.

6.Add the mixture to the batter once it is reaches room temperature.

7.Heat oil in kuzhiyappa chatti. Pour the batter into it and cook till done.Serve hot with chutney.

Boli

Boli is a kind of sweet chappathi. Its known by the name Holige in Karnataka and Puran poli in North India.

Ingredients:

2 cup channa dal

4 cup water

1 pinch turmericpowder

To make dough:

2 1/2 cup maida 

salt to taste

1 tsp oil 

To Grind:

1/2 kg cooked channa dal

½ kg sugar 

1 pinch cardamom powder 

1 pinch nutmeg powder

Preparation:

1.Cook the channa dal with four cups of water and 1 pinch turmeric powder.

2.Make dough with maida,salt and water similar to chappathi dough. 

3.Apply oil on the dough and let it rest for 20 mins.

4.Grind the cooked channa dal with sugar,cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.

5.Make small balls of the dal mixture.

6.Make small ballsof dough and roll them a bit.Place the dal balls in middle and close the dough completely.

7.Roll the dough by using rice powder for dusting.

8.Roast the Bolis by turning both sides till done.Apply ghee and serve.

Ribbon Sandwich

My friend Jerry had requested for recipes using bread as main ingredient. This one is for him.

Ingredients:

6 slices of bread

1 tbsp butter

4 tsp tomato ketchup

one pinch fresh ground pepper

To Grind:

1/4 cup grated coconut
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup coriander leaves
2 green chillies
1 shallot
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Method:

1.Grind the ingredients and add 1/2 tbsp butter to it.Mix well.Keep aside.

2.Add 1/2 tbsp butter and pepper to tomato ketchup and mixwell.

3.Make sandwich with red sauce and green sauce as shown in the pic.

Pazham Pori

Pazham pori/Banana fritters is a very popular snack item of Kerala. You can get them even in the smallest tea shops on the streets. Pazham poris taste the best when the plantain is very ripe.

Ingredients:

One ripe plantain cut into 8 pieces
Oil for deep frying

For batter:
3/4 th cup of all purpose flour
2 pinches of turmeric powder
3 spoon sugar

Preparation:

1.Prepare thick batter by mixing the ingredients with water.
2.Dip the plantain pieces in the batter and fry.

PS: Adding one or two spoons of rice flour to the batter will make the pazham poris more crispy.

Paripu Vada

Parippu Vada brings back the memories of old days in Kerala when my amma used to entertain me with mouth watering 'palahaarams' and a cup of chaaya in the evening.Paripu vada used to be one of my favourite snacks during childhood.

Me and my hubby being foodies always try out new recipes and enjoy eating out. But being away from home we hadn't got Paripu Vadas to savour in the recent past.So when amma landed here for a visit the first thing that he wanted amma to make was Paripu Vada. Here goes amma's recipe.

Ingredients:

1.Kadala Paripu (Chana Dal) - 3/4 cup

2.Sambar Paripu (Toor Dal) - 1/4 cup(optional)

3.Inji (Ginger) - 1 inch piece

4.Veppila (Curry Leaves) - 2 stems

5.Kunjulli (Shallots) - 10-15

6.Green chillies - 3 or 4

7.Salt - to taste

8.Oil - to fry

Preparation:

Step1: Soak the dal in water for 3 hours. Drain well and keep aside for 2 mins. Grind the dal to make a coarse paste. Dont make a smooth paste. Grind for about 2 mins only.

Step2: Chop the ingredients 3 to 6 and add to the dal mix. Mix them well and add salt.

Step3: Now shape the vadas and fry in oil till brown.

PS: 1.Toor dal is optional. You can use 1 cup of chana dal itself instead.

2.Onion can also be used in the place of shallots.But be ready to compromise the taste.