Easy Idiyappam recipe
Ingredients
2 cups rice flour (dry roasted)
boiling water, as required
1/2 cup grated coconut
salt to taste
Method:
Add the boiling water and salt to the flour and knead to a soft dough.Put in one portion of the dough to the iddiappam mould and press out the dough to form small circular mounds onto each of the iddiappam stands,top each with 1tsp grated coconut. Steam for about 10 minutes till the iddappam is cooked. (I use a microwave idli maker to steam the idiyappam,it takes only 3 minutes!)
Tips :Roast the rice flour nicely before making idiappam and use hot boiled water to make the dough.
Chicken Fried rice--Chinese Style
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked long grain rice
1/2 tablespoon refined oil
1 onion
1 1/2 pounds cooked, cubed chicken meat
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 carrots, chopped
1/2 cup green peas
1 bunch spring onions finely chopped
2 eggs
1/4 cup soy sauce
Method:
Beat the eggs lightly , add a dash of salt .Heat a pan ,add little oil, pour half of the egg mixture into the pan and cook over medium heat, turning over once.Cook the other half the same way. Cut the egg into thin strips, and keep this aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft,Stir in carrots, peas and stir-fry another 5 minutes. Now ,add spring onions,chicken,2tbsp soya sauce and saute for 2 minutesThen add rice and stir thoroughly. Finally, stir in scrambled eggs and 1/4 cup soy sauce, heat through and serve hot with a spicy side dish.
Tips:Use cold, cooked rice. Freshly cooked or hot rice will only produce a sticky mess.
Spicy Yucca (Kappa) and Beef fry
Ingredients
Yucca (tapioca) - 2 lb
Turmetic Powder - 1/2 tsp
green chilli - 1
Garlic chopped – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Grated cocunut – 2 tbsp.
Grind together grated cocconut ,Cumin seeds, garlic, green chilly and mix with chilli powder and turmeric powder. Keep aside. Wash and clean yucca,if frozen thaw it to room temp.,cut into small pieces and boil till soft (around 15 minuts)in sufficient water after it become soft, drain the water. Now mix the Coconut mix,and heat in a low heat for a minute ,remove from heat and mash and mix with a spatula.
Beef fry -preparation
Beef cut into small pieces- 1.5 lb
Shallots split to halves or red onion chopped - 1 cup
Green chillies (split) - 3 nos
Ginger - 1 small piece
Garlic(chopped) - 1 tsp.
Cinnamom - 1" piece
Cardamom - 5 nos
Cloves - 4 nos
Fennel - 1 tsp
Black pepper seeds - a few
Chilli powder - 4 tsp
Corriander powder - 2tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
oil - 2 tbsp.
Fresh coconut sliced into small pieces ('Thenga kotthu')
Curry leaves - 1 stems
Salt - As reqd
shallot chopped - 1
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Prepare `GHARA MASALA` by grinding together cinnamom, cardamom, cloves, black pepper seeds and fennel.
Saute the coconut slices, till it turns light brown,add onions ,ginger and garlic,green chilies and saute again.
Now, add the beef followed by turmeric, chilli powder,corriander powder and mix well .continue stirring till all the beef gets coated in the powder,Add some water and cook in a low flame till the beef is cooked.
Heat another pan ,add 1 tsp oil and add mustard seeds ,chopped shallots and curry leaves .Now add the cooked beef ,stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
Banana flower Cutlets
Banana flower - 1
Red gram(toor dal) - 1/2 cup
finely chopped Onion, – 1 cup
Finely chopped ginger - 1 tsp.
Finely chopped garlic - 1 tsp.
egg -1
turmeric powder - a pinch
Breadcrumbs
Salt
Remove the outer layers from the Banana flower,wash and chop finely.Add salt and a pinch of turmeric powder to this.Mix well and keep aside.
Heat a pan,add the onion, ginger, garlicand green chillies .Saute till onions turns light brown. Add the chopped banana flower.Mix well and cook for sometime on low flame.when it is cooked ,remove from heat and let it cool.
Meanwhile,Cook the dal in little water and mash it to a fine paste.Now mix this with the banana flower mixture.Divide this into 6 portions.Take each portins roll out to the desired shape.Dip the cutlets in the beaten egg, and coat well with breadcrumbs and fry.
Serve hot with Tomato sauce and raita.
Tips-to make bread crumbs:take 2-3 slices of bread microwave for 2-minutes in high power.let it stand for a few seconds,now it would become hard,crush and grind in a blender.I made the bread crumbs in this way and it was good ,if you want you can store this too!
Vegetable of the Week -- Banana Flower
Banana Flower, which may also be called banana blossom or banana heart, grows on the end of the stem holding a cluster of bananas. This vegetable is available in Indian and other Asian food markets.
Banana Flower Thoran Recipe
Banana Flower(Vazhappoo) - 1 whole stalk
Green gram – ½ cup
Grated cocunut - 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 stem
Garlic pods - 2 nos
Salt - As reqd
Dry red chillies - 2 nos
Chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder –1/4 tsp
Veg.oil - 1/2 tsp
Preparation Method
Cook the green gram in 1 cup of water and keep it aside.
Peel the outer tough layers banana flower and chop into fine pieces.
Grind together the grated coconut ,garlic ,and cumin seeds in a chopper or mixie (dry without water,just to mix don’t make it a paste).Mix with the chopped banana flower.
Add the chilli powder,turmeric and salt and cook covered till it is completely cooked.
Now add the cooked green gram.stir well and remove from heat when it becomes dry.
Heat oil in a pan.Add mustard seeds and when they start to splutter, add chopped shallots or onion, dry red chillies (broken into two pieces), curry leaves and stir.Transfer this to the cooked banana flower and mix well.
Palappam
This is one of my favourite breakfast item which needs some time for preparation but the result is worth the time.Traditionaly palappam is made in a different way but my version is simple and very easy to make.
Basmati rice - 4 cups
Coconut milk - 1 can
Cooked rice - 5 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Active dry yeast - 1/2 tsp
Soak basmati rice in water for 4-5 hours.
Add little lukewarm water to the yeast and sugar and keep till it rises.
Grind together basmati rice and cooked rice along with coconut milk into a very smooth batter.Add the yeast solution into the batter and mix well.Leave it overnight for fermentation.
When the batter is ready,heat a non-stick 'appachatti' or any other kadai which has a lid.Pour a ladle of batter into it and spread it a bit by twisting the pan with your hands.
Cover and cook on medium heat for 2 - 3 mins or till it has cooked well.
Palappam can be served with Chicken stew or egg curry.
Organics to Me
. Fresh fruits and vegetables are most nutritious and best tasting when they are picked at their peak. That's why it is important to recognize the signs of good quality and freshness.
It is always smart to observe the environment where produce items are located. Some fruits and vegetables need to be kept at a certain temperature to maintain peak freshness.
Picking your own selection of fruits or vegetables tends to increase quality when compared to buying prepackaged fruits or vegetables that have already been bagged for convenience.
If you don't always have time to make frequent trips to the grocery store using frozen fruits or vegetables is another option. Frozen fruits and vegetables are a convenient way to store produce items for extended periods of times. It might also be more practical to buy frozen fruits that may not always be available fresh. For example, cherries, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are not always in-season, but they can almost always be found in the freezer section.
Few preservatives are used in frozen foods. Frozen foods are nutritious because most nutrients are retained during the process. Soon after being picked, the foods are quickly blanched in water and then frozen. This helps to preserve freshness.
