Maundy Thursday Specials - Pesaha Appam & Pesaha-paal

For the Easter season, I would like to share certain recipes which are commonly prepared in the Syrian Catholic homes of Central Kerala. On Maundy Thursday, a special type of appam known as Inriappam/Pesaha appam (Pesaha is the malayalam word for the Passover festival) and Pesaha-paal are a must for ancient Syrian Catholic families.  

Inriappam/Pesaha-appam

Ingredients:-

1. Roasted, ground rice powder-1 cup
2. Coconut grated -half
3. Cumin seed -a pinch
4. Garlic-3 or4 flakes
5. Urad Dal - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method

Boil 2 cups of water, Add salt and enough boiled water to the rice powder to get a thick dough (similar to idiyappam). Grind coconut with urad dal, cumin seeds and garlic. Add this to the dough and some water if needed so that the dough gets the consistency similar to that for idli. Pour this in a steel dish. Make a cross with tender coconut leaves received on Palm Sunday and place it in the middle of the dough. Cook it in steam.

Pesaha-paal.
Ingredients:-

1. Coconut milk from one coconut.
(First second and third exracts can be taken together)
2. Jaggery (sharkara)- 2
3. Roasted, Powdered raw rice - 2 tbsp
4. Dry ginger, cumin seeds powdered - half tea spoon each

5. "Njalipoovan" banana

Preparaion of raw rice powder:-

Roast half cup of raw rice(i.e.the chemba rice ) in a tawa. When it gets roasted, remove from fire, cool and grind it fine and if needed sieve it.

Slice jaggery into the coconut milk, stir it so that it dissolves. Sieve and take it in a new earthen pot or an aluminium pot of required size. Boil the coconut milk stirring continuously. When it boils, heat in a small flame. To the boiling milk add 2 or 3 "njalipoovan" banana sliced (optional). Add the prepared rice powder while stirring the milk so that it is uniformly mixed. When both the banana and the rice powder are cooked add the dry ginger and cumin seed poders and remove from fire when the whole gets the required consistancy. This is served with inriappam or bread in the evening after prayer.

Since these are prepared only on Maundy Thursday, I am unable to share images now. Hope to get few pictures on Thursday after we make them.

Easy Kabuli Channa Curry

 

 

Ingredients:-

 

Kabuli Channa - 1 cup

 

Kashmiri chilli powder -2 tbsp

 

Coriander powder -2 tbsp Big onions -1 no

 

Tomatoes - 1  no

 

Garlic-4 nos

 

Green chillies -2 nos

Method:-

 

Soak channa overnight and cook this channa in a pressure cooker along with big onion (whole), garlic, tomato (whole), chilli and coriander powder along with enough salt and water. After the first whistle, slow down the fire and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from fire, cool and open the cooker.

 

Take the onion, tomato and some channa and grind it well in the grinder. Add the ground masala to the rest of the channa and mix well. Then heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and thinly chopped small onions. When it turns brown put coriander leaves and the whole of channa mix. Boil. Add water if needed. Finally add a pinch of garam masala powder.

 

Serve hot with bhattura, chapathi or poori...!