Plain Hoppers / Appam / Aappam

(Bowl shaped Rice Pancake)

Yield: For 4 persons

The Aappam is a common breakfast dish in South India.
It is referred to as 'Hopper' in English, 'Appam' in Malayalam & 'Aappam' in Tamil.
There are many varieties of Aappam and also several ways of preparation. This is one simple method to make Plain Aappam.




Ingredients:

Rice Flour – 500 gm
Salt – 1 tsp
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) – ¼ tsp
Water – as required
Oil - as required

Preparation:

Keep aside ¼ cup of rice flour.
Add water to the remaining flour to make a dosa batter.
Mix the ¼ cup of flour with 1 ½ cup (approximate value) of water without lumps.
Keep this on a low flame and stir continuously till it is cooked like a porridge or 'kanji'(in Tamil).
Mix the cooked batter and salt to the dosa batter. Keep it overnight.
Next day, add baking soda & little more water and make the batter thinner than a normal dosa batter.
Place a thick bottom kadai (deep frying pan or karahi) in low flame.
When the kadai gets heated, brush some oil and pour 1 ½ ladleful of batter in the centre.
Quickly swirl the kadai so that the batter spreads on all sides.
Note that the appam should be thin on the outer sides & thick in the middle.
Pour 1 tsp of oil over the sides. Close the lid.
Wait for 1 - 2 minutes, the sides of the Aappam must be slightly brown by now.
Take out the Aappam and serve with Egg Stew or simply with coconut milk.

Note:

The Aappam should be cooked in a low flame.
There is no need to flip the Aappam as it is cooked in a closed kadai.

Egg Stew

Yield: For 4 persons

The Egg Stew is mainly prepared in Kerala and is a great side dish for Appam.
Stew is the combination of food ingredients cooked in a liquid and made into a gravy.
Here the vegetables mainly potatoes are cooked in coconut milk & later the boiled eggs are added.
This recipe is contributed by my friend Ruth.



Ingredients:

Egg – 6
Onion – 1
Tomato – 2
Potato - 2
Green Peas - 1 cup
Green chilly - 3
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - ½ tsp (optional)
Coriander leaves - few
salt - 1 tsp or to taste
Oil - 1 ½ tsp
Coconut milk - thin milk - 1 ½ cup, thick milk - 1 cup

Seasoning:

Clove - 2
Cinnamon - 1
Bay leaf - 1
Curry leaves - few

Preparation:

Finely chop the onions and tomatoes.
Slice the green chillies vertically in the middle.
Cut the potatoes into small pieces.
Boil the eggs, remove the shells & keep them as whole.
Soak the peas in salted hot water for 5 - 10 minutes. (This will retain it's natural colour)
Heat oil in a pan and add the seasonings.
Later add onion, ginger garlic paste & green chillies and sauté.
Now add garam masala powder and tomatoes.
Cook a little. Then add peas and potatoes.
Now add the thin coconut milk and salt.
Keep the flame low. Let the potatoes cook completely.
When the gravy starts to thicken, slightly increase the flame.
Add the boiled eggs and the thick coconut milk.
When the stew comes to a boil, switch off the flame.
Add the pepper powder & garnish with coriander leaves.

Note:

Preparation of thick & thin coconut milk:

Grate the coconut. Grind it with atleast ½ cup of water.
Then squeeze this through a seive to get the Thick milk.
Grind the same residue again, this time with more water.
Squeeze it out to get the Thin milk.
We used 1 big coconut to get the 2 ½ cup of milk.

Beetroot Dry Fry / Beetroot Poriyal

Yield: For 4 persons



Ingredients:

Beetroot (shredded) – 500gms
Onion - 2
Green chilly - 3
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt – ¾ tsp
Coconut (grated) – 1 cup or to taste

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Black lentils / Urad dhal – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – few
Oil – 1 ½ tsp



Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and put in the mustard seeds.
When it pops up, add urad dhal and curry leaves.
Then add onion & green chillies.
Sauté till transparent.
Now add the shredded beetroot, turmeric and salt .Mix well.
Sprinkle some water and cover the lid.
Lower the flame & cook for 10 minutes.
Mix the grated coconut.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Vegetable Biryani / Vegetable Pulav / Brinji Sadham

Yield: For 5 persons

Brinji sadham is a common Tamil name for vegetable pulav.
'Brinji' refers to Brinji Elai which means Bay leaf & 'Sadham' means Rice.



Ingredients:

Basmati Rice – 500 gms (2 ½ cup)
Onion (Thinly sliced) – 3
Tomato (Finely chopped) – 6
Potato (small) – 1
Vegetables (chopped) – 1 ½ to 2 cup
(Carrot, Beans, Cauliflower, Green Peas)
Soya nuggets / chunks – ½ cup
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Mint leaves – ½ cup
Coriander leaves – ½ cup
Water – 4 cup
Clarified butter / Ghee – 1 tbsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Red chilly powder – 2 ½ tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Biryani masala powder – 1 tsp
Salt – 3 tsp or to taste

Dry Masala:

Bay leaf – 2
Cinnamon (small stick) – 2
Cardamom – 3
Clove – 4

Preparation:

Soak the rice for half an hour.
Heat some water in a vessel. When the water boils, switch off the flame.
Put the soya chunks and close the lid. After 10 minutes, rinse the chunks in cold water and squeeze out the water.
Keep the soya chunks aside.
Heat ghee and oil in a pressure cooker and fry all the dry masalas.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry till it is slightly brown in colour.
Now add the onions and sauté.
Stir fry the vegetables and the soya chunks.
Later add the tomatoes with mint and coriander leaves.
Fry for 2 minutes.
Then add chilly powder, turmeric powder, biryani masala powder and salt.
Add the rinsed rice and fry till the rice is coated with the masala.
Pour water and mix well.
Pressure cook for 2 whistles.
Garnish with paneer crumbs or coriander leaves & cashew nuts.
Serve with Onion Raita.



Note:

Potato and soya chunks are optional.
Use water as per the quality and quantity of the rice.

Okra Dry Fry / Lady’s finger Sabji / Vendaikkai Poriyal

Yield: For 4 persons



Ingredients:

Okra / Lady’s finger - 500 gms
Onion (big) - 2
Gram Flour / Besan (optional) - 1 tbsp
Chilly powder - ½ tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Salt - 1 tsp or to taste

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Black lentils / Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - Few to taste
Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch

Preparation:

Cut the okra and onion into small pieces.
Heat oil in a pan; add mustard seeds & urad dhal.
When the mustard seeds crackle, add curry leaves & hing.
Then add the okra and fry.
Add the onions while the okra is half cooked and fry for 2 minutes.
Now you can add the chilly, coriander and turmeric powders.
Add salt and mix well.
Close the lid and keep the flame low.
Let it cook for 2 minutes.
Sprinkle the gram flour & stir fry for a minute.This will make the okra crispy.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Note:

It is better to fry the onions after the okra, so that it will not be over fried.

Italian Toreno

(Crunchy Cocoa Biscuits)

Long before, when we were in Chennai, my Mom learnt this dish in a ‘Parents Teachers Get-together’ held at my school.
I couldn't figure out why this name is given to this dish. But it is very easy and tasty. Children's will love it.



Ingredients:

Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Butter - 100 gms
Powdered sugar - 100 gms
Marie Biscuit - 1 pkt (200 gms)
Almond & Pista - 50 gms

Preparation:

Mix the cocoa powder, butter and sugar at room temperature.
Crush the almonds & pista coarsely, break the biscuits into small pieces and add them all to the butter mixture.
Transfer the mixture to a tray and press them evenly.
Freeze it for 15 minutes.
Later cut into pieces and serve.

Egg Biryani

Yield: For 5 persons

This will make a wonderful dish on a cold Sunday afternoon.
I specially thank my friend Ruth for this delicious recipe.



Ingredients:

Egg – 6
Onion (Thinly sliced) – 5
Tomato (Finely chopped) – 3
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Coconut milk – 4 cup
(Not too thick)
Basmati Rice – 2 ½ cup
Coriander leaves – ½ cup
Mint leaves – ½ cup
Curry leaves – ¼ cup
Garam Masala powder – 2 tsp
Pepper powder – ¼ tsp or to taste
Chilly powder – 1 ½ tsp or Green chilly – 5 to 6
Cumin powder – ¼ tsp
Lemon Juice – 2 tsp
Oil – ½ cup
Salt – to taste

Whole Masala:

Bay leaf – 2
Clove – 2
Cinnamon – 2
Cardamom – 2
Fennel seed – 1 tsp

Preparation:

Boil the eggs, Remove the shells and keep them aside.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the whole masalas.
Add onions and sauté it.
Add the tomatoes and cook them till the oil separates.
Now add chilly powder, pepper powder, garam masala powder and cumin powder.
If you are using green chillies, put them as whole. Do not slice them.
Add curry leaves & ginger garlic paste and Fry.
Then add rice and mix well.
Add lemon juice, eggs, coconut milk and salt.
Finally add mint leaves and coriander leaves.
Keep the flame high and close the lid.
After one whistle, lower the flame.
Switch off the flame, after the second whistle.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Note:

For additional taste, garnish with some sautéed onions and roasted cashew nuts.
Keep the eggs as whole. Do not cut them.
You can also use some ghee for frying.
Add water with coconut milk in the ratio 1:3, totally making 4 cups.



We had this biryani along with Dum Aloo and Onion Raita.
The mild flavour of egg biryani and the spiciness of dum aloo make a very good combination.

Spicy Dum Aloo

(Spiced potatoes in gravy)

Yield: For 4 persons.

This is a very popular North Indian dish.
The potatoes are cooked under pressure so that it retains the flavour of the gravy. Hence the name ‘Dum Aloo’. (In Hindi ‘Dum’ means Pressure & 'Aloo' means Potato)
This dish goes well with Roti, Paratha or Naan as well as with Egg Biryani.



Ingredients:

Potato (small) - 10
Tomato - 1
Onion (medium) - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Curd / Yogurt - 1 cup
Milk or coconut milk - 1/4 cup (75ml)
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

For Masala:

Bay leaf - 2
Cinnamon - 1
Black pepper - 6 or to taste
Cardamom - 3
Clove - 3
Coriander seed - 1 tsp
Cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

Fry all the masalas without oil and grind it to powder.
Scrape the potatoes skin and cut into halves.
Heat oil in a frying pan and shallow fry the potatoes till it is
light brown in colour. (You can also use pressure cooker for frying).
Remove the potatoes from pan and keep them aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a pressure cooker and fry the onions & curry leaves.
Add ginger garlic paste.
Later add the grinded masala powder and milk. Stir continuously.
Keep the flame low.
Now add the curd while stirring. Make sure that it does not become watery.
Then add the potatoes, tomato and salt.
Close the lid and cook for one whistle in low flame.
Garnish with curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Note:

If the potatoes are too small, you can add 15 – 20 of them.
In the end, if the gravy is not thick, let it boil for sometime without the lid.

I will be posting the South Indian version of Dum Aloo shortly.

Onion Raita

(Onions in cold yoghurt sauce)

Yield: For 4 persons



Ingredients:

Curd / yoghurt – 1 cup
Onion (large) – 2
Salt – ¼ tsp
Sugar – ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves - to garnish

Chop the onions finely.
Mix the curd with onions, salt and sugar.
Refrigerate and serve cool.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Chocolate Plum Cake

Yield: 16 servings

I was gifted an oven for my birthday and wanted to try my first cake. Since Christmas was nearing, I opted for a plum cake.
When I searched for plum cake recipes, I came across the information that in olden days, they used dried plums or prunes for the plum cake or pudding.
Later the plums are replaced by raisins and dry fruits but the dishes retained the name 'plum' till now.
The traditional recipes for the plum cake use raisins and dry fruits soaked in red wine and rum for a period of one month.
I wanted to use fresh plums itself in the cake and to my surprise; the cake came out really well and tasty.



Ingredients :

All purpose flour / Maida - 1 cup
Butter - 150 gm
Powdered Sugar - 1 cup
Chocolate - 100 gm
Egg - 2
Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Plum - 3 (finely chopped)
Instant Coffee powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch

Preparation:

Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl at room temperature, till it becomes fluffy.
Melt the chocolate in the oven at the highest temperature for about 2 - 3 minutes.
Now mix the melted chocolate into the butter mixture.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs till it's fluffy.
Add vanilla essence and plums to it.
Pour the eggs into the butter mixture and mix well.
Sift the flour and baking powder. Add cocoa & instant coffee.
Preheat the oven at 180 C (356 F) for 15 minutes.
Fold the flour into the butter mixture gently.
Grease the baking pan with butter and dust with flour.
Pour the cake mixture into the pan and bake for 30 minutes.
Leave it to cool in the pan for some minutes & take it upside down in a plate.
Spread some melted chocolate over the top of the cake and serve.

As this was the first time, I just used melted chocolate for frosting. You can use chocolate with fresh cream or icing sugar with butter for decoration.

Refrigerate the cake for about 2 hours and serve.



Note:

Instant Coffee and Vanilla essence are optional.
Always sift the flour and baking powder to avoid lumps while folding.
You can also use tuity fruity with plums.



I have a simple oven, so I baked two cakes with this amount of ingredients. The taste of the plum cake was so tempting that the first cake soon vanished from the plate before the second cake was ready!!!

Try and send your opinion.