Shanthi Krishnakumar's cook book

Unniappam has almost the same ingredients as neiyappam, with a slight variation of adding mashed ripe bananas and fried in coconut oil. It can also be deep-fried in ghee. Unniappam is a traditional kerala prasadam in temples and also offered to the Lord during festivals.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice flour - 1 1/2 cups
Small ripe bananas - 2 (I used elakki variety)
Crushed jaggery - 3/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup (or as needed)
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Dry ginger powder / Sukku podi - 1 tsp.
Sesame seeds (white or black) - 1 tsp. (optional)
Chopped Coconut bits - 3 tsp.
Coconut Oil / Ghee - to deep fry

METHOD:

Dry roast the rice flour until hot. Heat a ladle of water, melt jaggery, strain the impurities, keep aside. Mash the bananas. Ghee fry the coconut bits. Dry roast the sesame seeds.

Mix rice powder, jaggery syrup, mashed banana and grind together to form a semi-thick, smooth batter. (Add water as and when needed). Add fried coconut bits, sesame seeds, dry ginger powder, cardamom powder and mix well. Heat coconut oil or ghee in an "appakaral"(appam mould), pour the batter to 3/4th of the holes. Ensure medium heat. When the bottom portion is light brown in colour, flip with stick or spoon to the other side and cook until golden brown on both sides. Take them out and drain in a kitchen towel. Pour some more ghee / oil while doing the next batch. Kerala unniappam is ready to offer to the Lord.

NOTE:
Do not keep the stove in high flame. Be careful not to burn the appams.
Make sure to have ghee/oil in each of the hole while making the other batches.

                                           
Picture courtesy: http://vedabhavan.org

Upākarma also called as "Avani Avittam" is an important ritual associated with the Brahmin community. This is an important festival for brahmin gents. The day is of great significance to Rig, Yajur, Sama Vedic Brahmins. On this day, the sacred thread (Poonool) worn by the men/boys is changed chanting mantras. The old poonal is also removed by chanting some manthras. After the gents change their sacred thread (poonal), ladies at home take aarathi and invite them into the home. On the next day, "Gayatri Japam" is observed. The first 'Avani Avittam' after the 'Upanayanam' is called as "Thalai Avani Avittam". You can ask the priests of your family about the significance of "Upākarma/Avaniavittam" or google for it. 

Click here to view the sankalpam for this year (2016) in english and tamil.
Click here to download PDF and Audio files (2016).

Home made ghee has an exotic flavour and a good aroma. I do not compromise this ghee with the store-bought ones. My mom makes nei varutha maavu from the residue and there will be a tough fight in our home for this maavu. The recipe for the nei-varutha maavu is in the end. Do try it.

INGREDIENTS:

Butter - 1/2 kg.

GADGETS:

Metal strainer



METHOD:

The Collage is self - explanatory and in order, yet a quick explanation. Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pan( I use pressure pan), ensure medium - heat. When it starts melting, stir with a ladle. When melted well, the melted butter turns out to a creamy consistency. Within a minute or two, the creamy substances will subside and there will be bubbles all over, be careful stirring is important. The next step is the bubbles will turn out to BIG bubbles, with a hissing sound and slowly the bubbles reduce to 3 or 4 BIG bubbles. At this stage, switch off the stove. Immediately, it will start foaming. Stir it quickly and wait for the foam to subside. Do not keep the pan on the same hot burner after this process. Take the pan off the burner too and keep it somewhere on the kitchen-top. Strain it with a metal strainer (metal strainer and not a plastic tea strainer because the plastic strainer will not withstand the heat), to a container, leaving out the kasandu (residues). When cool, it will be grainy and aromatic. HOME MADE GHEE IS READY.

RECIPE FOR NEI VARUTHA MAAVU:

After straining the ghee, the residue in the pan will be brown in colour. Heat the pan, add in a ladle of rice flour to the kasandu(residue) alongwith 1/2 ladle sugar ( OR as per your tastebuds). Saute in medium heat till the sugar crystals dissolve and mixes with the flour. When you smell a good aroma,transfer to a small cup and have it hot.

Poli (Boli) is a traditional indian sweet stuffed with coconut, jaggery, channa dal and rolled into a flatbread. It is one of the special dishes prepared during the Tamil festivals Bhogi, and Avani avittam.

It is also known as Puran Poli (North India), Obbattu (Karnataka).

Poli / Bholi

Total Time: 2 hours
Prep Time: 1.5 hour
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Variation: 50:50 flour ratio 

INGREDIENTS:

Curd - 2 cups (slightly sour)
Lady's finger - 6
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Toor dhal - 1 tsp.
Jeera - 1 tsp.
Green chillies - 2 or 3
Raw rice - 1/2 tsp.(optional)
Coconut(scraped) - 2 tablespoons
Ginger - 1/2" piece
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Hing - a pinch
Curry leaves - few
Oil- 2 tsp.
Ghee-1 tsp.
Salt - as per taste

METHOD:

Blend curd with a little water. Mix turmeric powder and salt to curd. Keep aside.

Soak toor dhal, jeera and rice in water for 15 minutes. Grind it with coconut, ginger and green chillies to a fine paste. (If the blended curd is thick, need not add rice while soaking).

Cut ladysfinger into long pieces.

Heat a pan, add oil and ghee, temper with mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves and saute the okra well alongwith little salt. Now add the ground paste and allow it to cook till the raw smell goes. Pour in the blended curd and heat till frothy. (Do not bring it to a boil. When boiled it will curdle). Generally, ladysfinger and ashgourd is used for this kozhambu. If using ash gourd, cook it with salt and add to the kozhambu.

VARIATIONS:

MOR CURRY OF KERALA

Toor dhal is not used and chilli powder and dry red chillies are used alongwith green chillies.
Coconut oil is used. Onion mor curry, kumbhalanga mor curry, cheera mor curry etc. are the different names named after the vegetables used in that.

GUJARATI KADHI

Besan flour and ajwain is added to the curd. Chilli powder is also added. Pakodi kadhi (besan flour fritters) is popular in North India. Kadhi is also made without pakodis.

Avani Avittam is an important festival for gents. They change the sacred thread (PooNool) and wear a new one on this day. The next day they do Gayathri Japam. In addition to general pandigai menu for the lunch, we also do idli and appam for breakfast. This is also made on thirukarthigai festival. As we make it with ghee it is called neiyappam.

INGREDIENTS:

Raw rice - 1 cup
Crushed jaggery-3/4 cup
Cardamom - 4
Ghee - for frying

METHOD:

Soak rice in water for about three to four hours.

Crush cardamoms to powder.

Grind the soaked rice with very very little water to a thick batter. Then add the jaggery, and grind it to a smooth batter(like dosa batter). Add the cardamom powder and mix well. Set aside for 2 hours.

Heat an "appakaral" or "paniyaram mould" to a medium-heat, pour ghee upto 3/4th in each mould and pour in a small ladle, preferably a tablespoon of the batter in each mould.

When cooked, flip to the other side, using a small rod, add more ghee if necessary, and cook till both sides are golden brown.

Note: You can also mash a plantain and add scraped coconut to the mixture. And for those who do not have a mould, heat oil or ghee in a pan and pour a ladle of batter in it and take out when done. In this way, you should do it one by one.

Paruppusili (Paruppu usili) is a different kind of karamudhu and is very tasty.

Ingredients:

Fresh Beans - ¼ kg. (cut very finely)
Mustard seeds - ¼ tsp
Urad dal – ½ tsp
Curry leaves
Oil

To coarsely grind:
Toor dal - 1 cup
Dry red chillies – 2
salt

METHOD:

Soak toor dal and red chillies in water for ½ an hour drain and grind coarsely with salt without adding much water. Steam it and keep aside.

Boil beans with salt and turmeric powder, drain it and squeeze out the excess water.

Heat oil in a non- stick pan, temper with mustard seeds , urad dal and curry leaves. Add the ground paste and stir fry till golden brown. Add the boiled beans mix well andsaute for 3 more minutes.

Paruppusili is ready to serve.

RICE

Raw rice – I cup
Water – 3 cups

Use a pressure cooker, or rice cooker or boil water in a utensil using excess water and drain the water after the rice is cooked. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Idli rice - 4 cups
• Whole white urad dhal - 1 cup
• Methi seeds - 1 teaspoon(optional)
• Salt - 3 level teaspoons

METHOD:

• Wash well and soak rice for 3-4 hours.
• Wash well and soak urad dal along with methi separately.
• Drain and reserve the soaked water from dhal. Put dhal in grinder, add half a cup of water and grind until fluffy. Grind by adding the soaked water little by little. Do not add all the water at once. Grind until you can see air bubbles when you take the batter in hand, that is the consistency for urad dhal batter for idli. Transfer the batter to a vessel, keep aside. Now grind the soaked and drained rice separately. Add enough water and grind to a smooth batter. Transfer this to the dhal batter vessel. Add salt and mix both the batter using hands (this helps in fermentation). Allow it to ferment for 7-8 hours. The consistency of the batter should be like this after fermentation.

• Make idlis using idli plates. Grease the idli plates , pour in a ladle of the batter and steam for 8 minutes. 
• Unmould and transfer the idlis to a bowl, serve hot with sambar or milagai podi or any chutney of your choice.

NOTE:
(For spongy idlis) :
1. Wash the dhal well and soak it in 3 cups of water.
2. Grind with the soaked water itself until fluffy.
3. Methi seeds can also be separately soaked. If soaked separately, grind methi seeds in half a cup of water for 5 minutes and then add soaked urad dhal to it.
4. Use less water while grinding. Adjust the consistency while mixing.
5. The batter should not be watery.