Kerala Recipes

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Homemade Vegetable Pizza

December 17th, 2011

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My husband and I love Pizza but the store-bought ones are so full of cheese and sometimes the crust can be chewy and tough. I have begun making Pizzas at home. I feared homemade Pizzas would be a flop but surprisingly they are quite easy to make. You can make it for a quick dinner or even breakfast.

Here is the easiest version of Pizza I have made so far using All Purpose Flour. This is a good choice for beginners though there are healthier Pizza crusts like Whole Wheat Crust, Cauliflower Crust, Coconut Flour Crust and so on.

Home made Vegetable Pizza

A perfect crust can be obtained by baking the Pizza on a Pizza Stone at the highest oven temperature. If you don’t have a Pizza Stone, you can use a Pizza Pan or Baking Sheet. I have used pie pans and cake pans for making my pizza.

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour – 2 cups
Yeast – 1 tsp
Warm Water – 1/2 cup
Salt – to taste
Sugar – 1 tbsp
Corn Flour/All Purpose Flour – for dusting
Canned Tomato Sauce/Puree – 1/4 cup
Dried Parsley Flakes – 2 tsp
Garlic Powder – 1/4 tsp
Barbeque Sauce – 2 tbsp (optional)
Thinly Sliced Tomatoes – 1 medium
Thinly Sliced Mushrooms – 4 or 5
Thinly Sliced Bell Peppers – half of one small bell pepper
Chopped Fresh or Frozen Spinach – 1/4 cup or less
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – 1/4 cup (You can use Low Fat Cheese)
Olive Oil – 2 tsp + 1 tsp (for coating the pizza pan)

Preparation Method

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of lightly warm water along with 1 tbsp sugar. Keep it aside for ten minutes so that it becomes foamy.
In a bowl, combine flour, little salt, 2 tsp olive oil and the yeast solution. Knead lightly to form a smooth dough and leave it aside for ten minutes. You may have to add a few tablespoons of water while kneading.
Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup of the canned tomato sauce, parsley flakes, garlic powder and salt in another bowl. You can also add 2 tbsp of barbeque sauce for an extra kick.
Dust your working surface with little corn/all purpose flour and roll the dough into desired shape. The crust shouldn’t be too thin but should be atleast 1/4″ thick. You can roll it into 10-12″ diameter approximately. Brush the top of the dough with little olive oil.
If using frozen spinach, defrost it. If using fresh spinach, wash it thoroughly and then chop it.
Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Lightly grease a pizza pan, stone or baking sheet with olive oil and dust with all purpose flour or corn flour.
Transfer the rolled out dough to the pan and press lightly. Pinch the edges to keep the toppings inside.
Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the crust. Top the crust with all the vegetables and shredded cheese.
Bake for 10-12 minutes on the lowest rack until the cheese melts. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Note

For a thin and crispy crust, roll the dough into a thinner circle and bake for 12-15 minutes on 450 degree F.
Feel free to top the pizza with vegetables of your choice like olives, basil, onions and so on but do not overcrowd the pizza with too many toppings.
You can also lightly saute toppings like onions and mushrooms in little oil before adding it to your pizza base.
Be careful with the amount of tomato sauce you spread on the base or else the pizza will become soggy.

Vegetable Pizza

Palappam (Kerala Rice Crepes)

December 14th, 2011

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Here is a long overdue post. Palappam (Rice Crepe) is a common Breakfast food in Kerala which is served with Vegetable or Meat Curries. I have been getting many requests for the traditional Palappam recipe made by soaking and grinding Rice. I used to make Palappams with Rice Flour but after having laid my hands on a lovely Preethi Mixie, I started grinding rice for Palappams. The recipe for Palappam varies from region to region or probably household to household.

Some use Grated Coconut, while other use Coconut Milk. Some use Whole Dairy Milk instead of Coconut Milk. Some use Yeast for fermentation while others use Coconut Water or Toddy.

Palappam is often served for Christian Weddings. It goes well with Fish Molee, Vegetable Stew, Egg Roast, Kerala Chicken Curry and so on.

Kerala Palappam

I make Appams for parties and whenever we have guests. Though it is time consuming, the end result is well worth the effort.

Ingredients

Raw Rice – 2 cups (Use any short or long grain rice)
Cooked Rice – 3/4 cup approx
Yeast – 1.5 to 2 tsp
Sugar – 1 tbsp + 3-4 tbsp or as needed
Salt – to taste
Thick Coconut Milk – 1/2 cup
Ice cubes – as needed
Water – as needed

Preparation Method

Soak the rice for atleast 6 hours or leave it overnight.
Wash and drain the rice and keep aside.
Dissolve the yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in 1/2 cup of lightly warm water. Keep it aside for ten minutes until it foams.
Next, you need to grind the rice in several batches. Grind around two handfuls of raw rice along with a few tablespoons of cooked rice and very little water. I add 2-3 ice cubes while grinding each batch to prevent the mixie from overheating. Grind until you get a smooth batter.
Transfer the batter to large bowl. Continue doing this with the remaining rice.
While grinding the last batch, add the yeast solution to the mixie.
Leave the batter in a warm place for 6-8 hours. I usually leave it overnight. Enusre that the bowl is large enough to prevent the batter from overflowing after fermentation.
The batter would have risen after fermentation and will look foamy. Stir the batter and check the consistency. Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of coconut milk to make a batter of medium consistency. If the batter appears thin after fermentation, skip the coconut milk.
Add sugar as per desired sweetness (3-4 tbsp) and salt to taste. Mix everything together.
At this stage, you can start preparing the Appams with this batter or for extra lacy appams, leave the batter untouched for half an hour. The batter will froth and rise again. Spoon the foamy layer from the batter and transfer it to another dish. Use this foamy batter for making Appams.
Heat a Palappam Chatti and lightly grease it with oil.
Once the Palappam Chatti is hot, pour a ladle full of batter and swirl the pan in one direction so that the batter spreads to the edges.
Keep it covered and allow the Appam to cook for a few minutes.
Once cooked the edges of the appam will start separating from the pan. Remove the appam carefully with a spatula.

Note

You may need to adjust the amount of cooked rice used in this recipe. If you use too much of boiled rice, the appams will become sticky. If the rice used is less, appams won’t be soft. Try using 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cooked rice but not more than that.
While grinding the rice, try adding very little water. The unfermented batter should be thick as it will rise and thin out after fermentation.
To make appams with brown laces, increase the amount of sugar.

Asain Style Fried Brown Rice

December 14th, 2011

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I recently found Brown Basmathi Rice at a health food store and I have become a fan of it. Brown Rice is more healthy since it’s a whole grain and has a lower Glycemic Index. If you haven’t tried Brown Rice, start using it in salads and stir-frys and you will get accustomed to its taste. I like any kind of Pulav or Fried Rice made using Brown Rice.

Here is the recipe for a Chinese Style Fried Rice using Brown Rice. You can use any type of Brown Rice preferably Brown Basmathi Rice.

Chinese Style Brown Fried Rice

Ingredients

Brown Rice – 2 cups
Diced Spring Onions – 1 small bunch (Separated into whites and greens)
Diced Carrots – 1/2 cup
Finely Chopped Beans – 1/2 cup
Diced Broccoli Florets – 1/2 cup
Chilly Garlic Sauce – 1 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
Soy Sauce – 2 tbsp
Vinegar – 1 tsp
Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 tbsp
Water – as needed

Preparation Method

Cook the brown rice in salted water according to the instructions on the packet. To reduce the cooking time, you can soak the brown rice in water for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Drain and keep aside.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan or wok and saute the spring onion whites until translucent.
Throw in the beans and stir fry for a 2-3 minutes on medium high heat.
Next, add the carrots and continue sauteing for a few minutes.
Add the broccoli florets along with salt to taste. Stir fry until the vegetables are cooked but crispy.
Reduce heat and add chilly garlic sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper powder and 1 tsp sugar.
Add the cooked brown rice and toss everything together. Garnish with spring onion greens and remove from stove top.