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

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

Preparation Method

1. Soak the rice for atleast 6 hours or leave it overnight.
2. Wash and drain the rice and keep aside.
3. Dissolve the yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in 1/2 cup of lightly warm water. Keep it aside for ten minutes until it foams.
4. 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.
5. Transfer the batter to large bowl. Continue doing this with the remaining rice.
6. While grinding the last batch, add the yeast solution to the mixie.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Add sugar as per desired sweetness (3-4 tbsp) and salt to taste. Mix everything together.
10. 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.
11. Heat a Palappam Chatti and lightly grease it with oil.
12. 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.
13. Keep it covered and allow the Appam to cook for a few minutes.
14. 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.

Spicy Chicken Bites

Ingredients

1. Skinless & Boneless Chicken Thighs – 1 kg/2.2 lbs
2. Diced Onions – 1 large
3. Finely Minced Ginger – 1 tbsp
4. Finely Minced Garlic – 2 cloves
5. Curry Leaves – A large sprig
6. Hot & Sweet Chilly Sauce – 2 tbsp (Alternatively, you can use 2 tbsp Red Chilly Sauce and 2 tsp sugar)
7. Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp (Alter according to your Spice Tolerance)
8. Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
9. Garam Masala Powder – 1/2 tsp
10. Chilly Garlic Sauce – 1 tbsp (Optional)
11. Salt – to taste
12. Water – as needed
13. Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

For the Marinade

1. Corn Flour – 2 tbsp
2. Chicken Masala Powder – 1 tbsp (I used Eastern Chicken Masala Powder)
3. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp (Alter according to your Spice Tolerance)
4. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
5. Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
6. Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp
7. Salt – to taste

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ingredients

1. Fresh Broccoli Florets & Stem (Chopped) – 4 Cups approx
2. Chopped Onions – 1 small
3. Chopped Garlic – 2 cloves
4. Slit Green Chilly – 1 (optional)
5. Vegetable Broth – 1 cup
6. Water – 1/2 to 1 cup
7. Milk – 1 cup (Alternatively, you can use Whipping Cream)
8. Butter – 2 tbsp
9. Salt – to taste
10. Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp

Preparation Method

1. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a pan and saute onions until translucent.
2. Add the garlic and slit green chilly and saute for a minute.
3. Throw in the chopped broccoli and stir fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add 1/2 cup of water and 1 cup vegetable broth to the pan. Cover and cook for around 10 minutes until the broccoli is tender.
5. Remove from heat and allow it to cool. Blend everything in a blender or food processor until smooth.
6. Transfer it back to the pan and reheat.
7. Slowly, add milk or cream and simmer for a few more minutes. Do not boil.
8. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with slivered almonds.

Note

• If you want to thicken the soup, stir in 1-2 tbsp plain flour after Step 3. Saute until the flour turns light brown.

Kerala Style Fish Cutlets

Ingredients

1. Canned Tuna Fish – 2 cans ( I used Chunk Light tuna in water)
2. Potato – 2  medium
3. Very Finely Diced Onions – 1 big
4. Finely chopped Green Chillies – 2 or 3 (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
5. Finely Minced Ginger – 2 tbsp
6. Finley Minced Garlic – 3 to 4 cloves
7. Curry Leaves (finely shredded) – A few
8. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
9. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
10. Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
11. Garam Masala Powder – 1/2 tsp
12. Fennel Seeds Powder – 1/4 tsp (optional)
13. Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
14. Fish Masala Powder – 1 tbsp (Optional – I used store bought Eastern Fish Masala brand)
15. Oil – 2 tbsp
16. Salt – to taste
17. Egg – 1
18. Bread Crumbs – 1/2 cup approx
19. Cooking Oil for frying – As needed

Preparation Method

1. Boil the potato along with salt until well cooked. Allow it to cool and then remove the skin. Mash it thoroughly until there are no chunks (Alternatively, you can pressure cook the potato until cooked).
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and saute onions until translucent.
3. Add green chillies, ginger, garlic and curry leaves and saute for a few more minutes.
4. Add red chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, fish masala powder (optional), pepper powder, fennel seeds powder (optional) and garam masala powder. Saute for 2 minutes.
5. Drain the water or oil from the tuna and add it to the pan along with salt to taste. If using fish fillets instead of canned fish, see the note section.
6. Mix everything well and saute the tuna for around 10 minutes. Allow it to cool.
7. In a large bowl, combine the cooked fish and mashed potatoes using your hands. Do a taste test and add more salt if needed.
8. Make lemon sized balls using your palm and flatten the balls to form cutlets of any desired shape. Place it on a plate or tray.
9. Beat the egg in a bowl and keep aside. Take bread crumbs in a plate and keep aside.
10. Take one cutlet at a time and dip it in the beaten egg and then roll it in the bread crumbs until the cutlet is fully coated with bread crumbs.
11. Once all cutlets have been coated with bread crumbs, heat a non stick frying pan and add oil as required for deep frying or shallow frying.
12. Place the cutlets slowly in the pan and fry each side on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Drain onto paper towels.
13. Serve these tasty fish cutlets with ketchup, onion salad, mint chutney or any dip.

Note

1. You can use Fish Fillets instead of Canned Fish. I have made these fish cutlets with Tilapia Fillets and it tasted good.
2. If using skinless & boneless fillets, wash it thoroughly and cut it into medium sized pieces. Follow the same procedure. While cooking the fish, stir frequently with a spatula so that the fish breaks down into small pieces. You need to saute the fillets for around 15 minutes.
3. Alternatively, you can microwave the fillets for 4-5 minutes until tender. Shred the fillets using a fork and then saute it with the other ingredients in the same manner. This will reduce the cooking time.
4. If using Fish with bones like King Fish, boil the fish with salt and turmeric until done. Remove the bones and shred the fish. Saute it with the remaining ingredients.
5. You can easily make 20 cutlets with 2 Cans of Tuna.

Peanut & Jam Bread Bites

You just need 3 ingredients to make these beautiful crunchy rounds – bread, jam & peanuts. You can use White Bread, Wheat Bread, Multi-grain or anything you prefer. These yummy bread rounds taste more like a jam roll and you will love it for its simplicity.

Peanut & Jam Bread Bites

Ingredients

1. Bread Slices – 4 (I used Whole Wheat Bread)
2. Jam – 3 to 4 tsp (I used Plum Jam)
3. Crushed Roasted Peanuts – 8 to 10

Preparation Method

1. Cut out discs from each bread using a glass & knife or a cookie cutter.
2. Spread jam on one side of each disc and sprinkle the crushed peanuts.
3. Arrange on a plate and serve these sweet bread rounds.

Casual Cracker Canapes

Your daily canapes don’t have to be fancy like the ones served at formal dinner parties. Grab a few ready-made Toppings and a few crackers of your choice and you are ready to assemble your canapes. I like salsa and relish on my crackers. You can try mayonnaise, cheese, bacon, ham, tuna, shrimp, fruit and so on. Kids will definitely love these colorful canapes.

Casual Cracker Canapes

Ingredients

1. Keebler Club Crackers (Original/Reduced Fat/Multi Grain)
2. Spicy Chunky Salsa
3. Sweet Pickle Relish

Preparation Method

1. Spread 1/2 tsp of salsa or relish or even both on each cracker.
2. Arrange it on a serving platter.