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.

Vegetarian Rice Noodles

Ingredients

1. Rice Stick/Noodles – 1 packet 250g approx
2. Diced Onions – 1 small
3. Diced Tomatoes – 1 small
4. Diced Beans – 1/2 cup
5. Diced Carrots – 1/2 cup
6. Diced Bell Peppers – 1/2 cup
7. Cashew halves – 10 to 12
8. Curry Leaves – a sprig
9. Slit Red/Green Chillies – 2 (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
10. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
11. Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
12. Garlic Powder – 1/4 tsp
13. Oil – 2 tbsp
14. Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
15. Lemon Juice/Vinegar – 1 to 2 tsp
16. Sugar – 1 tsp
17. Salt – to taste
18. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Bring water to a boil and cook the rice noodles in salted water according to the instructions on the packet. Keep an eye as these noodles cook in 3-5 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
   Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and splutter mustard seeds.  Add the onions, cashews and chillies and saute until the onions are translucent.
2. Throw in the curry leaves along with the chopped beans. Saute for a few minutes.
3. Next, throw in the carrots and stir fry for a few minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and bell peppers along with salt to taste.
5. Continue sauteing until the vegetables are cooked.
6. Reduce heat and add turmeric powder, chilly powder and garlic powder. Stir fry for a minute and add lemon juice or vinegar along with 1 tsp sugar.
7. Add the cooked rice noodles and toss everything together and remove from stove top.
8. Serve with any pickle or chutney of your choice.

Pearl Couscous with Chicken

Pearl Couscous with Vegetables & Chicken make a healthy & filling meal. Go ahead and try this simple & easy recipe.

Ingredients

1. Pearl Couscous – 1 cup
2. Diced Onions – 1 small
3. Diced Tomatoes – 2 small
4. Diced Red Bell Peppers – 1 medium
5. Cooked Chicken Breasts (diced) – 1 cup
6. Curry Leaves – A small sprig
7. Chopped Cilantro (Malliyella) – A few
8. Ginger Garlic paste – 2 tsp
9. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
10. Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
11. Oil – 2 tbsp
12. Salt – to taste
13. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Cook couscous according to the instructions on the packet. For 1 cup of Couscous, I used 1 and 1/4 cups of water. Bring lightly salted water to a boil in a saucepan. Add couscous, cover the saucepan and simmer for 8-10 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and then fluff the couscous with a fork.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and saute onions until translucent.
3. Add tomatoes, bell peppers, cilantro and curry leaves and continue sauteing until the tomatoes are mashed and the bell peppers have been cooked.
4. Dice the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and add it to the pan. Add salt to taste.
5. Reduce heat and add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2 minutes.
6. Reduce heat and add turmeric powder and chilly powder. Stir fry for a minute.
7. Add the cooked couscous and toss everything together and remove from stove top.

Note

1. Feel fry to add any vegetables of your choice.
2. You can use Boiled, Grilled, Roasted or Sauteed Chicken Breasts. I used Grilled Chicken Breasts.

Microwave Apple Bread Pudding

Ingredients

1. Bread – 5 slices (White or Wheat)
2. Apples (Peeled & Diced) – 2 Nos. (I used Golden Delicious Apples)
3. Raisins – A handful (Optional)
4. Milk – 1.5 to 2 cups (Skim Milk is fine)
5. Brown Sugar – 4 tbsp (Alter according to your desired sweetness)
6. Vanilla Essence – 1/2 tsp
7. Cinnamon Powder – 1/4 tsp
8. Crushed Honey Roasted Peanuts – A handful
9. Butter – 1 tbsp

Preparation Method

1. In a microwave safe dish, melt the butter by heating it for half a minute or so.
2. In another bowl, whisk the milk, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla essence and cinnamon powder.
3. Remove the edges from the bread and cube it roughly.
4. Spread the bread, raisins (optional) and apple at the bottom of the greased microwave safe dish.
5. Pour the milk mixture and allow the bread to soak in for a few minutes.
6. Microwave the dish for around 6 minutes checking every 3 minutes.
7. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts and continue microwaving for another 3-4 minutes until the pudding appears set.
8. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes and then serve with Whipped Topping.
9. Alternatively, you can steam the pudding for around 15 minutes or until set. The texture will be slightly different from the microwaved version.

Steamed Apple Bread Pudding

Bread Masala Stir Fry

Ingredients

1. Bread Slices – 5
2. Diced Onions – 1 small
3. Diced Tomatoes – 1 medium
4. Slit Green Chillies – 2 small
5. Curry Leaves – A small sprig
6. Finely Chopped Cilantro (Malli Ella) – A few
7. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
8. Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
9. Ginger Garlic Paste – 2 tsp
10. Tomato Ketchup – 1 tbsp (optional)
11. Oil – 2 tbsp
12. Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
13. Salt – to taste
14. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Remove the edges from the bread and slice it into cubes.
2. Heat oil in a non stick pan and splutter mustard seeds. Saute onions until translucent.
3. Add curry leaves, green chillies and tomatoes along with salt and continue sauteing until the tomatoes are cooked.
4. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes.
5. Reduce heat and add cilantro, turmeric powder and chilly powder. Stir fry for a minute.
6. If using ketchup, add it to the pan. Add a few tablespoons of water and mix the masala.
7. Throw in the bread chunks and toss everything together and remove from stove top.