Achappam / Kerala Rosette cookies

Achappam...haa...brings a lot of childhood memories. The brightest being the image of my grandmom making tins and tins of these fried goodies before every Christmas and Easter. But we see these tins only on the day of making them; after that they vanish. Then a much smaller tin appears - which can hold hardly 8 -10 achappams or kuzhalappams..now thats the ration for a week. Can't blame her.. in a house of 3 (always) hungry kids, 3 adults and (atleast 2) helpers, one need to ensure these tins lasts atleast a month. So for the next one month the evening tea-time snack will be these beautifully shaped achappams.

This is the first time I am trying my hands at these. Got hold the achu (mould) from my nneighbor..Thanks Madhoo!! Then straight away called up my grand-mom, got the recipe along with the tricks to handle achu and the batter consistency. Some of the tips below.

- For making the achappams, always use freshly ground rice powder. Never use roasted rice flour.
- The ground flour should be sieved well, and only very fine flour should be used.
- The rice - egg ratio is 4 big cup (naazhi) : 4 eggs (I used 1 naazhi equivalent to about 3 normal measuring cup and 1 egg). For this amount, about half of a coconut should be used
- 3 cups of rice gave me about 4 cups of very flour
- Before using the achu, dip in hot salted water for sometime (about an hour). Then wipe it clean.
- When the oil starts boiling, dip the achu in this oil for atleast 5 minutes. The achu should be hot enough, else the batter stick to the mould. When the mould is dipped into the batter, you should hear a sizzling sound.
- The batter thickness is very important. It should be of the thickness of vattayappam - semi thick that should be.
- If the batter is too thick, add little more coconut milk or water. If its thin, then add little more rice flour or even little maida will work.
- The mould should be dipped only 3/4th in the batter. If you dip completely, then the achappams will not get released from the mould
- There should be enough oil for deep frying. And it should be really hot.

 Now on to the recipe..

White rice - 4 cups (I used sona masuri rice) - when ground you should have about 7-8 cups of fine flour
Coconut milk - about 2 cups (extracted from 3/4th of a coconut grated)
Egg (beaten) - 1
Salt - as needed
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Black sesame seeds - 1 tsp

Making the rice flour : Soak the rice in enough water for atleast an hour. Drain well, spread it on newspaper and allow to dry (for about half hr). Once dry (it should not be too dry, should be slightly moist), put it in mixer (in batches) and grind to fine powder. Sieve them and measure.

Take the rice flour in a bowl (steel recommended, as you will be dipping hot iron mould into this, and you do not want the plastic to melt).
Add enough salt and sugar (if using)
Add the coconut milk, 1 cup at a time. Ensure you get a semi-thick consistency.
Add the beaten egg
Sprinkle the cumin and sesame seeds and give a good stir.
Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel. Dip the mould in this oil for atleast 5 min, till the oil is really hot. Now dip the mould in the batter and immediately transfer it to the oil. It will sizzle for a while. Now using a fork, slightly push the (now firming up) achappam into the oil. Cook both sides. Once done, drain the oil and let it cool on a kitchen towel
Repeat for the whole batch. Once all the achappams are cooled well, transfer them to an airtight container.

PS : It is time-consuming!! and might test your patience. The batter will sometimes show an attitude and will not remove itself from the mould...But still be patient..your efforts will be paid off..

Eggless Rum-less Dry-Fruit Cake

I don't know where to start with this cake..I am not so much a sugary person, an occasional slice of cake is more than enough for more. Even when I bake, I normally don't eat more than one small piece..just that I can't take in so much sweetness. But this particular cake broke all norms!! I was addicted to this one. It had such an earthy overtone, majorly from the use of muscavado (very similar to our jaggery) sugar in it. 

So I am not sure how many of you will like it. It was much sweeter compared to other cakes, and much more dense, li'l chewy and full of deep flavours. More than half of it was consumed by me, and the other half by hubby. Got the recipe from here. I am sure to make it again, just that I will need reduce few inches before I make it again.

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 1.5 cups

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Vegetable oil - 150 ml

Water - 200ml

Dates (pitted and chopped) - 100 g

Raisins - 100g (Original recipe called for 150g, but I found it slightly overpowering)

Cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts (broken) - 100g

Jaggery or Dark muscavado sugar - 150g

Sugar - 150g

Fruit jam - 3 tbsp (if possible use sugarless jam, as this makes the batter very sweet

Spice powder - 2 tsp

Grated rind of 1 lime (I omitted this)

Method:

1. Grease and line the bottom of an 8” square or 9” round cake tin with greaseproof paper/baking parchment/butter paper. 

2. In a mixing bowl, assemble the flour, baking powder and baking soda, mix with a spoon and sieve once to make the mixture uniform. 

3. Heat the oil in a pan and add the fruits and nuts. Stir in the jaggery, sugar, jam and 100 ml water. Heat on a low flame until the sugar and jaggery melt, stirring all the while. Don’t overcook the mixture. 

4. Allow to cool and add the reamaining 100 ml water, rind and spice powder. 

5. Mix in the sifted flour mixture and beat with a spoon or a wire whisk until there are no lumps. 

6. Transfer the contents to the greased and lined tin and bake in a preheated oven at 150 degree centigrade for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean.

Prawns Stir fry / Chemmeen Olarthu

I am a prawns person...I can eat this species in any form, except with life....One of my quick fix olarthu recipe.

Ingredients

To marinate
Prawns (de-shelled, de-veined. washed) - 1 cup
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - as per taste

To saute
Small onions - 1 cup, thinly sliced
Green chilly - 2 , slit lengthwise
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, crushed
Garlic - 2 cloves, curshed
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp (if its above your tolerance, then add kashmiri chilli powder)



Method

1. Marinate the cleaned prawns with items mentioned in "To marinate". Allow it to rest for atleast 30 min.
2. Heat a kadai or manchatti, add the coconut oil. Once its hot enough, add the crushed ginger - garlic and saute till raw smell goes (about a min).
3. Add the sliced onions, chillies and curry leaves and saute till they turn light brown. You can sprinkle some salt at this stage to expedite the browning process.
4. Now sprinkle the chilli powder and saute till raw smell is gone (approx 30 seconds) and add the marinated prawns.
5. Stir well, so that the masala coats on the entire dish.
6. Close and cook for about 2 minutes. Open the lid and give a good stir.
7. Adjust the salt. Let it cook, with lid open, for another 4-5 minutes. Your prawns should be done by now. Prawns should not be cooked for too long, as it would become rubbery then. It need to retain its juices and tenderness.



Serve it along with hot rice.

Porkkum Kayayum / Pork with Raw Banana

This post is a dedication to all pork lovers, and who does not make a fussy face in front of a pork dish!!

Hailing from a place known for pork & pork dishes, I will not let go a chance of cooking pork for guests who enjoy it. Recently we had a Goan friend visiting us, and me and my husband were thrilled at the chance of getting to cook & eat pork.

The recipe below is adapted from Mishmash's, however adjusted to our taste. I love my grandmom's idea of adding raw banana to the pork dish, as it gives something other than meat to chew on in between. The sight of raw banana skin cooked & coated with pork fat itself makes me drool.

So straight into the recipe..

Cubed pork - 1 kg (it should be a good mix of meat & fatty chunks, as the fat adds an un-explainable flavor to the dish. Moreover, it is this fat that is used for sauteing the onions...no other oil is used).

Coriander powder - 4 tbsp
Chilly powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 1 big pod
Ginger - a 4 inch piece
Salt - as per taste

Raw banana (pacha ethakkaya) - 2

Big onion - 2 big, thinly sliced
Small onion - 8 - 10, thinly sliced (this is optional, as small onion adds flavor, as well as good for health)
Chilly - 5-6 nos, slit lengthwise
Black pepper powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 3 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Method

Wash the pork thoroughly and marinate the meat with slightly roasted coriander powder, chilly powder, salt & turmeric powder. Now add crushed ginger & garlic to the meat and mix thoroughly with hand. Set aside this for 30 min.

Wash & clean the raw banana, cut into cubes and cook with little salt, turmeric powder & enough water. Once cooked, drain excess water and keep aside.

Pressure cook the marinated pork with around half cup water (I normally cook it for 1 whistle in high flame & 3 whistles in low flame). Let all the pressure gets released.

Meanwhile, keep a heavy bottomed kadai or manchatti (manchatti is the best!) on the stove and let it get hot.
Once the pressure has been released from pressure cooker, open the cooker & drain the pork fat into the chatti. Let the fat boil in the chatti for sometime. This is to remove the water traces from the fat.
Once the fat is hot enough, add thinly sliced big & small onions and saute well in the fat.
Once the onions are translucent, add the slit chillies, and throw in some curry leaves. Let them get sauteed well, stirring in between.
Now add half the black pepper & 1 tsp of freshly made garam masala and saute for a min.
Add the cooked meat & raw banana to this mixture and combine well.
Let the meat get cooked in the masala for atleast 7-8 min. Don't forget to stir in between (This stage is a dangerous one, as a nice aroma starts filling your kitchen, and you just cannot stop yourself from tasting the erachikashanam and the neykashanam alternately).
While the meat gets soaked & sauteed in the masala, sprinkle rest of black pepper & garam masala and mix well so that all masalas gets absorbed by the pork.

Serve hot with kuthari choru or even with chapathis...they taste great!!