Aappam- Hoppers

Aappam (Hoppers) aka Aappum is a common food in Tamil nadu, Kerala & even in Srilankan cuisine.

It's often eaten as breakfast
Aappam is a delicacy made out of fermented rice batter. "kallu" (Toddy) is used to ferment the batter.

To make one understand I would like to relate Aappam as "Dosa's" cousin. Ofcourse the cooking techinque & the shape is different. Unlike Dosa it's not crispy but have a spongy center & crispy endges.It is made in a special pan / kadai known as "Aappa chatti". It takes the shape of this pan in which they are cooked in.

Aappam

Raw rice - 2 cups

Salt

Sugar - 10 gms

Water - To grind

Yeast (Substitute for Toddy)(optional) - 5 gms

Coconut milk - 50 ml

Wash & soak the rice over night. Grind it by adding some water. Add salt, sugar, yeast & leave it in room temperature for around 4-5 hours. If desired add coconut milk & mix well.

Heat the "Aappa chatti" & drizzle with some oil. Make sure the pan is hot & cleaned & "seasoned".

Rub oil evenly in the pan by using a clean / soft cloth.

Pour a laddle of the batter & rotate the pan in a circular motion . Place the pan on the stove &

cover it with the lid. Leave couple of minutes & check by using a wet tooth pick in the center of the Aappam. If the tooth pick comes out clean then consider it as cooked. If not leave it for couple of minutes more.

Use a thin spatula around the corner of the Aappam & slowly lift it out. By regular practice it will be easy & fun making Aappams.

Chef's tip :

Traditionally Aappams are made in cast iron pan. Recent years have been witnessing non-stick pans just to make the cooking more enjoyable & easy.
The word "seasoned" means : Cleaning & getting the pan ready. The best way to do it is by heating the pan, rubbing some oil saute some onions or break an egg in to the pan & quickly stir it off. Wipe it off with a clean cloth & again spread some oil evenly.
Variations can be made like Masala Egg Aappam, Chicken Kheema, Lamb Kheema, Fried Egg Aappam

It is a nice dish for the dinner menu aswell because it is very light & not on the heavier side.
Vegetable kuruma, Ishtew, Kadalai curry (Channa) or a meat gravy can be a good accompaniment. Freshly extracted "thengaai paal" (Coconut Milk) will also be an ideal accompaniment.

Paratha

Making Paratha is very simple; if one get the right ingredients(flour). Stuffed Parathas are always special than the normal ones. Again, individual choices are different!

While i'm not busy in kitchen; i cook for my chefs & encourage them to make something.Well, the fact is such things makes the team more stronger & break the shyness of the chefs to try out sumthing new. It can be a rice dish, plain dal, sandwich, snacks. It's fun!

So, here we go with "Paneer Paratha". I just gave a little twist to this recipe by adding mustad seeds & turmeric powder.

Basic for any bread dish is "Good quality of Atta/ Flour". If you have the right one; consider then half your work is done.

PANEER PARATHA

Whole wheat flour - 200 gms

Paneer - 100 gms.

Green Chillies - 4 no's

Coriander Leaves - Few

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tspn

Mustard seeds - 1 tspn

Salt

oil- 2 tbspn

Ghee -To cook parathas.

Make a dough with flour, salt, water & oil. Leave it aside for around 20-30 minutes by covering it with a wet cloth.

Grate the Paneer. In a pan heat oil; add mustard seeds; while it crackles add green chillies followed by turmeric & then paneer. DO NOT ADD SALT. Add chopped corainder after the mixture cools down.

Divide the dough in to equal portions. Slightly press the portioned dough in between your palms. Slowly press the edges of the dough; so that it form in to a bowl shape.Now, add salt to the paneer mixture fill the required amount of paneer mixture in to it & then seal it. Follow the same process to all the portioned dough.

Slightly dust some flour on the table or on the rolling surface. Place the dough & gently press it & then start rolling it out. DO NOT PRESS IT HARD; as the stuffing will come out.

Heat a pan/ tawa wipe it clean; gently rub it with ghee; place the paratha to the hot pan. Turn it over finish it with ghee. Serve the paratha hot with curd / pickle or raitha.
CHEF'S TIP: The secret for adding water to the dough is very simple. Always keep the ratio as 1 cup of flour ; 35% (of the same cup) of water; then add more if needed. Also, the quality of the atta plays a major role in this.Never add salt to the stuffing in advance as it leaves water & it will be difficult to roll the parathas. The first few attempts may not be successful in rolling the parathas but never give up! Always think you are trying something new at home & it will be fun! (Not applicable to professional chefs during the busy service period :D)

Masala Vada & Coconut Chutney

Masala Vada- My all time favourite; especially on a rainy day or a best 'companion' when you dont feel like going out but want to watch a DVD at home with your friends & family.

The recipe which am posting here is again not from any of the cookery books or websites...but learned from great chefs back home in Madurai /Kodaikanal where i started my career.

MASALA VADA

Channa dal - 100 gms

Madras shallots (sambhar onions) - 20 gms

Ginger - 1 small piece

Green chillies - 2No's

Saunf (fennel seeds/ sombhu) - 1 tspn

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1/2 tspn

Salt

Coriander Leaves - few

Curry Leaves - few sprigs

Oil - for frying

Chef's Tip : If u have the taste bud for that 'chat pata' then i will suggest you to add a tiny drop of Tamarind Pulp. Also, the amount of chillies can be adjusted according to your spice level. If Madras shallots are not available; then red onions can be a good substitue.

1)Soak the dal for 3- 4 hours & grind it to coarse pasteby adding little water at a time ( Here i must tell that grinding dal for masala vada is like an art. If its ground too fine then there wouldnt be much fun)

2)Chop rest of the given ingredients. Add it to the lentil paste. Mix well. Check for seasoning.

3) Make it in to small shape & start frying it in hot oil.

4) Drain it & serve hot.

To have the best result... never fry the vadas in advance.. try to have it as early as possible.

Chef's TIP : If you find the vada is not crispy enough; probably its due to the addition of more water to the dal while grinding. Adding little bit of rice flour may help you...but watch out adding more rice flour will make the vada hard & while frying it may turn black too.

Coconut Chutney

Freshly grated cocnut _ 1/2 No'

Green chillies - 2 No's

Salt

Garlic - 1 clove

Lemon Juice / Tamarind Pulp - 1/2 No' or 1 tspn

For tempering (tarka / thaalipu)

Mustard seeds - 1 tspn

Curry leaves - few sprigs

Urid dal - 1/2 tspn

Oil - 1 Tblspn

In a blender ; grind the ingredients given for coconut chutney by adding little amount of water.

Add the lemon juice/ tamaring Pulp at the end.

In a small pan ; heat oil add mustard seeds. When it crackles add urid dal & curry leaves. Then add it to the chutney.

Chef's Tip : A small amount of coriander leaves can be added to the chutney while you grind it. As it gives a nice green colour & a twist to it.

Sambhar

(Madras Onions/Shallots/Sambhar Onion)

Hey All,

I'm just trying to share my interests & little knowledge of food what i have learnt in all these years through my experience.

Being a madarasi/ south Indian i would like to come up with few south indian dishes/ recipes & try to add some interesting notes about these items.

Lets begin with sambhar...... Typical one to get people's attention & an all time favourite. No more need for those ready made packet masalas...

Happy cooking.
Also, i would like to remind the visitors that these recipes are not from any books but from my own experience which i learned from few great chefs in India.

SAMBHAR
Hmmm.... how to simply explain Sambhar to Non-indians??
shall i name it as a lentil based broth or chowder?? I think the word chowder closely resembles to it.
RECIPE
Toovardal (Also known as Arhar dal/ Split gram/yellow lentils)- 100 grams
Moong dal (split green gram)- 25 grams
Coconut (optional) - 10 grams
Coriander seeds- 15 grams
Dry red chilles (Kashmiri variety)- 3 or 4 no's
Fenugreek (methi )- 1/2 tspn
Garlic - 2 cloves
Rice - 1 tspn
Channa dal (bengal gram)-1/2 tspn
Asafoetida (Hing) - 1 tspn
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tspn
Curry leaves - few sprigs
Jaggery - 3/4 tspn
Tomatoes -3 no's
Pumpkin (yellow)- handful diced.
Shallots
Salt
Coriander leaves (chopped)- few sprigs
Tamarind - 10 grams
Mustard seeds - 5 grams
Cooking oil - 15 ml

Boil water approx 650 - 750ml. Add turmeric powder & 5 ml of water.
Add pre washed toovar dal & cook for 20 minutes & then add moongdal. Donot over cook the lentil. Mean while in a pan add the ingredients which are in bold letters & roast it for a while.
By using a blender;make a dry powder or make a wet paste if you adding coconut.
Add the peeled shallots & diced tomatoes to the cooked lentil along with the pumpkin. Add salt & then add the tamarind

CHEF'S TIP : NEVER ADD ANY SOURING AGENT TO THE LENTILS; TILL IT GETS COOKED. AS IT DELAYS THE COOKING PROCESS.

In a small pan; heat oil & then add mustard seeds. Once its cracked then add one dry redchilly, curry leaves & hing then add this tempering (tarka in hindi) to the sambhar.
Finish it with chopped coriander. It can accompany with Idly/ dosa & steamed rice.