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...!

 

 

 

Tomato Rice

Here is a recipe for my vegetarian readers.  

Ingredients:-

Biriyani or jeerakasala rice - 2 cups

Tomatoes chopped- 5 large

Green chillies-10 numbers

Spring onions(optional) -2 bunches, chopped

Fennel Seeds/Somph(perum jeerakam)-a pinch, crushed

Big onions chopped- 2

Coriander leaves-a big bunch

Chilli powder-1 tbs

Oil-2 tbs

Method:-

Take oil in a large container. Saute the big onions and spring onions.
To this, add crushed fennel seeds, chilli powder and tomatoes. When all these are done add 4 or 5 cups of water and salt.  Bring to boil. 

To the boiling mixture, add coriander leaves and the washed rice and cook in low fire. When the rice is cooked, remove frome fire and serve hot with salad, pappad and pickle.
 

Fish Moilee

Fish Moilee garnished with fresh tomato slices

Ingredients

1. Fish, 1.5 inch pieces - 20nos

2. Big Onion -1 chopped

3. Ginger - 0.5 inch piece thinly sliced

4. Green chilly, slit into two -6 nos (or as per your taste)

5. Garlic - 4 small pieces

6. Coconut milk from 3 or 4 cups of grated coconut:  first(thick) milk 1 cup, second and third(thin) milk together-2 cups

7. Tomatoes chopped-1 large or 2 small

8. Turmeric powder-half teaspoon

9. Coriander powder-3 teaspoon

10. Oil-1 tbspoon

Curry leaves

Method:-

Take oil in a suitable pan, add mustard seeds and fenugreek (uluva). Then saute big onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves. When it becomes thin, add turmeric powder and coriander powder. 

Saute for a while, then add chopped tomatoes and stir for a while. Add the second and third coconut milk (or the thin milk). When it begins to boil, add the fish pieces and allow it to boil. Reduce the heat and cook in a small fire. 

When the gravy thickens, add the first coconut milk and a teaspoon of gram masala. Allow the whole thing boil for half a minute. Do not allow to boil for a long time. If required, one teaspoon of vinegar can be added for a fine punch. 

Serve hot with Appam/Chappathis/Nan etc.

 

PS: Apologize for the long gap in blogging! 

Meen Pappas (Semi fried fish in coconut milk gravy)

Fish/Meen Pappas can be made using Karimeen (Pearlspot), Akoli (Pomfret), Parava (White fish/false trevally) or Neimeen (Seer Fish). 

Fish/Meen Pappas

Ingredients:-

1.  Fish pieces - Half kilo

2. Turmeric powder - Half tsp,  Chilli powder - 1 tbsp,  Pepper powder - Half tsp, 
    Ajwain - a pinch if needed,  Salt to taste

3. Coconut oil- 1/4 cup

4. Big Onion - 1 big, nicely chopped

5. Small Onion - 6 nos chopped

6.  Ginger - 1.5 tsp finely chopped

7. Green chillies sliced - 6 nos (or as per your spice level)

8. Garlic - 6 nos chopped

9. Curry leaves

10. Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

11. Coriander powder - 2.5 tbsp

12. Coconut milk from 2 cups of coconut
       1st extract (thick milk) - 0.5 cup
       2nd & 3rd extracts together (thin milk) - 1.5 cup

13. Tomato - 2 medium size chopped

14. Vinegar - if needed

15. Garam masala - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Fish/Meen Pappas

Method:- 

Marinate the cleaned and sliced fish with ingredients 2 and set aside for half an hour.

Pour oil in a pan and fry the fish slices in a slow flame until it is just cooked, and not fully fried. Remove the fish pieces.

To the same oil, add the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies. When it is done, add turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder and saute for some more time. Add chopped tomatoes, heat for 2 more minutes, while stirring. Then add the 2nd and 3rd coconut extracts (thin milk). When it boils, add the semi-fried fish pieces and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or till the gravy thickens. Then add the first coconut milk and the garam masala powder and allow it to just boil. Remove from fire, add fresh curry leaves and 1 tsp of vinegar if you prefer a slightly more tangy taste. 

Uppu-manga palu curry

A simple and tasty curry using salted mango or 'uppu-manga'!

The typical preparation of uppu-manga is pretty tedious. But you can also do it in a simple way - get some fresh raw mangoes during the mango season, cut it into 2cm square pieces and place it in a glass bottle, adding salt in between. You can add salt according to your taste. If you add more salt, the mango will remain hard; on the other hand, if the salt is less mango pieces will be soft and you need to place it in the fridge to use when required.

After one week, the mango will be ready for preparing the curry.

Ingrdients:-
 
Uppu-manga - 3 or 4 tbsp

Small Onion - 4 or 5 nos

Green chillies - 4 or 5 (adjust according to your preference)

Oil - 1 or 2 tsp

Coconut milk - 1 cup of thick milk and 2 cups of thin milk (2nd and 3rd extraction)

Curry leaves

Method:-

Slice small onions and green chillies. Take oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, green chillies, onion and curry leaves. When it becomes slight brown, add the mango pieces and the thin milk. Allow to boil and then simmer till the gravy thickens. Then add the thick milk and just when it boils, switch off and remove from stove.

A great accompaniment with hot kerala red rice!
 

Minced Meat Pulao

This is a delicious and easy alternative for a meat biriyani. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me and since then has been one of my family's favourite dish! The pulao consists of alternating layers of rice, minced meat gravy and coriander chutney.

For the Rice layer:-

Basmati Rice/Jeera Rice – 2 cups

Water – more than 4 cups

Cinnamon – 2 inch piece (optional)

Clove – 3 or 4 (optional)

Cook the rice with cinnamon and cloves with a little more water than required. Keep checking, when the rice is as soft as you prefer, remove from fire and drain the excess water.

For the Minced Meat layer:-

Minced Chicken or Beef – ½ kilo

Oil – 2 tbsp

Big onion – 3 chopped

Chilli powder – 2 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tbsp.

Garlic – ½ a pod

Ginger – 1inch piece sliced

Green chillies – 5 nos

Tomatoes – 4 sliced or chopped into small pieces

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Put oil in a pan, sauté big onions with some salt and till it lightens and becomes brown. Add chopped green chillies, garlic and ginger. Then add chilli powder and coriander powder. When the fresh taste of chilli and coriander vanishes, add tomatoes, minced meat, garam masala and the stock (if available from previous cooking of meat). Cook well to a gravy form.

For the Chutney layer:-

Coconut – ½ grated

Ginger – 1inch piece

Green chillies- 6nos

Coriander leaves – a large bunch

Lime juice – from 1 lime/lemon

Sugar – 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Grind all the ingredients except lime juice. Then add just enough lime juice to get a tangy flavour.

Final Layering:-

Take a baking dish or glass bowl. Grease it with butter.  Spread half the minced meat and above that half the cooked rice. Now spread all of the chutney over the rice. Over the chutney layer, add the remaining rice, and on the top, the remaining minced meat. Garnish with slices of boiled egg, coriander leaves and lemon slices. Bake for few minutes or heat in microwave just before serving. Sprinkle few drops of lime juice on top.

Serve hot with raita and pappad.