Pesaha Appam and Paalu

Pesaha Appam is usually made in Christian families on Maundy Thursday/Pesaha Vyazhazhcha. Maundy Thursday is marked by a holy mass in Churches which usually ends by tea time.  On returning home, the family gather around the dining table when the head of the family prays and cuts the pesaha appam, dips it in the paalu and passes it on to the family members.  They all then dine together. This is done as a commemoration of Jesus's Last Supper with his Apostles(disciples), on which he shared unleavened bread and wine with them. The story of the crusicifaction and the last supper is usually told to the little ones this day as an answer to their endless curious questions.  The appam is made with great respect and is decorated with a small cross made from the palm leaves received from church on Palm sunday.  Appam is an Indianised unleavened bread which is made as soon as we grind the batter and is not allowed to ferment. Good Friday followes Maundy Thursday and is supposed to be a fasting day. So the leftover Pesaha is the only lifeline on Good Friday and is usually fought over by the younger family members when hunger strikes... :D

You will need...

For Pesaha Appam:

Rice - 1 glass

Urid dal -1/3 glass

Garlic - 1 clove

Jeera - 1 pinch

Grated Coconut - 1 handfull

Salt - to taste

Soak rice and urid dal separately in water overnight or for 6-8 hours. Grind rice and keep 2 tbsp aside from this.  Grind urid dal and mix into the ground rice.  Grind coconut, garlic and jeera together and mix this into the batter. The batter should be of medium consistency as for idli.  Pour into a greased shallow vessel or idli moulds and decorate with a palm cross on top.  Steam cook for 10-12 minutes.

For Pesaha Paalu:

Melted Jaggery(Sarkkara paavu) - 3/4 cup-1 cup

Coconut milk(thick) - 1 cup
Coconut milk(thin) - 2 cup
Cardamom - 3-4 crushed

  

Mix the melted jaggery and the 2 tbsp ground rice kept aside from appam batter. Let it boil. Add thin coconut milk and boil.  Switch off the heat and add thick coconut milk. Keep stirring and do not let it boil.  Garnish with crushed cardamom. Serve hot with appam. 

Note : 

To melt jaggery, boil jaggery with 1/2 cup water, until melted fully with no lumps.  Strain and use.

Cheers!!!

Kozhukatta/Steamed Rice and Coconut Dumplings

Kozhukatta is usually made as a tea time snack.  Back home it is a tradition among Christians to make kozhukatta on the saturday which preceds Palm Sunday.  I'm not sure whether it's the same all over Kerala but it is so in Cochin.  As a child I used to make sure to be an early bird in Church on Palm Sundays and pick the longest palm leaf to make a massive cross with it!!! With the smell of fresh palm leaves and the Hosana singing, Palm Sunday remains special and is called 'Osana Njayar' in Malayalam.  Palm Sunday is the begining of the Holy Week(the week preceding Easter), which is supposed to be spend in good thoughts, prayers and sacrifices.  Reached nowhere in my attempt to find the relevance of kozhukatta on Palm Sunday, but from the time I remember, it is made on the preceding saturday for tea.  Hence that saturday is called Kozhukatta Saniyazhcha which is today!!!

You will need...

For the Coconut Filling:

Melted Jaggery - 1/2 cup

Grated coconut - 1/2 coconut

Cardomom - 3-4 crushed

Add grated coconut into a non stick pan in meduim heat.  Add jaggery and mix well until the coconut is coated well and all the moisture gone.  Sprinkle crushed cardomem and mix well.  Keep it aside.

For the Dough:

Rice Flour - 2 cups

Water - 1 - 1 1/2 cups

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Bring water to boil.  Add salt and ghee. Remove from hob.  In a mixing bowl add rice flour.  Pour boiling water into rice flour stirring continously to prevent lumps.  Knead well to form a smooth dough. 

Assembling and cooking:

Take a lemon sized ball of dough with greased hands, mould as shown in figure and stuff with coconut filling(approx 1 tbsp). Close the dough around the filling making a smooth ball.  Add few bay leaves or cinnamon sticks into the water used in the steamer(idly cooker). Steam cook for 15-20 mts. Can be served hot or cold.

Note:

-There can be slight variations on the amount of water needed to make the dough depending on the rice flour used.  I used idiyappam flour. Add water until the mouldable consistancy is reached.

-Usually fresh cinnamon leaves are used in the water used to steam to give the aroma.  I used sticks instead. 

-I have used fresh coconut here which tastes the best. Can use desicated coconut instead. 

-Jaggery can be melted with li'l water and should be strained to remove sediments.  

Ethappazham Appam/Steamed Plantain Cake

A very simple, steamed breakfast/snack(naalu mani palahaaram) which makes me nostalgic.  During my schooldays, Mom would always try to keep my breakfast simple and easy to eat, without any 'accompaniments', which makes it easy for her to shove into my mouth. This was my breakfast often. Gosh  :(  Those days of getting pampered are long gone..sniff...sniff... If a combo like dosa-chutney or appam-stew  which needs eloborate eating time were offered on a school day, I would duely skip making an excuse of not being hungry.  How I repented later when I had to confront the 'delicacies' of the hostel mess, which transformed me from a picky eater to an 'I eat everything homemade' person for good. And now I can hardly wait to shocktreat my li'l picky one with a hostel menu!!! Cruel pleasures of a mom...Now coming to the Appam...

It is simple and mellow, with coconut, rice flour and plantain/banana(ethappazham), which kids would love.

You will need...

Rice flour - 1 cup

Grated/Decicated coconut - 1/2 cup

Cardamom/Elaichi - 3-4

Sugar - to taste

Salt  - to taste(very less)

Banana/Ethappazham - 2

Cut banana lengthwise into four and then chop into pieces breadthwise.  Grind coconut and cardamom with some lukewarm water into a smooth paste. In a mixing bowl, mix rice flour, sugar, salt and coconut mixture to form an idlylike(meduim consistancy) batter.  Add banana pieces into it and mix well.  Spoon into greased shallow trays and steamcook.  Alternatively you can use idly mould. Good when served hot or cold. 

Note:

Let  the appams cool down a little before you unmould it to prevent it from breaking.