Javvarisi Vadam / Sabudana Pappad

Making your own Pappadom is a very fulfilling art. While Sabudana / Javvarisi is used to make upuma/khichdi, Vada and Payasam; it can be made into yummy snack to be had with tea/coffee or as an accompaniment for your meals.

Please make the batter when you are confident of ample sunlight for 3 consecutive days.

Yield: 40 pieces

Ingredients:
Sabudana / Javvarisi - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Green chilly - 1
Asafoetida powder / kayam / hing - 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Optional:
Additional ingredients can be added like red chilli powder, Pepper, chopped onions, ground tomato.
Some people add lemon juice to the batter after it has been pressure cooked.
If you wish to add the ground tomato - measure and add to the cooker and reduce water accordingly.

Method:
Wash and soak the sabudana in 2 cups of water overnight.
Next morning, transfer the puffed Sabudana with all the water it was soaking in overnight + 1/2 cup more into the cooker. (Water to Sabudana ratio is 5:1)
Add salt (very less) and let the cooker give out 3 whistles. Reduce and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off flame.
When the pressure releases and it is still warm, grind either the whole lot or 3/4th of the pearls.
(I have ground all the javvarisi)
If the mixture cools down too much before you grind it, use warm water only to grind; never cold/tap water.
Add the green chilli either ground or pounded, the asafoetida powder and oil. Mix well.
When the batter cools, it will thicken.
Take a clean white cotton cloth and place tablespoon full of batter on the sheets and allow to dry for 2-3 days.

After drying in the sun, it will be quite hard to remove from the cloth.
Wet the underside of the cloth with some water and peel off the poppadom.
Dry the underside to remove all traces of water the next day.
Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place.
Deep fry required amounts and enjoy your pappadom with tea/ coffee or rice.

Tapioca dosa

Tapioca / Kappa / Cassava is a very important source of carbohydrate in Kerala. And the most famous dish of Kappa is the steamed version served with a fiercely spicy curry usually made with fish.

Today we will make a dosa with tapioca. Dosa is usually made with rice and Urad dal, soaked in water and ground to a fine paste, fermented and then spread on a hot flat iron pan.

Tapioca dosa has rice, tapioca and coconut ground together and can be made immediately. no fermentation required. And it tastes very good without any accompaniments. I seved with Mango chutney, but that is not required.

Ingredients:

Rice - 3/4 cup soaked in water for 2 hours
Measure this quantity of soaked rice and take the same amount of raw Tapioca.
Coconut - 1/2 measures of the soaked rice quantity

Method:
Grind the rice into a fine paste and add the coconut and raw tapioca. Grind well.
Transfer to a vessel and add salt to taste.
Make dosa on a hot iron tava and use gingelly oil for cooking.
Serve HOT

Do not serve cold as it does not taste as good.

Sharkara upperi / Kerala's own sweetened banana chips

Any Sadya (Daawat) or feast in Kerala is unfinished if they do not serve this sweetened banana chips.
It is very crunchy and has a sweet coating which is made with jaggery syrup. They also add some spices to it.
Making this is not easy and is a precision job.
I have made this once before and it was a disaster. Last weekend I was lucky to see a professional cook make this. I assisted her and my reward was watching her prepare it in close quarters.

Important points to note.
The chips need to be fried to the right amount of crispiness.
The jaggery syrup must be heated to the right consistency.

Ingredients:
Nenthirakkaya / Raw banana - 1 1/4 kgs
Sharkara / Jaggery - 3/4 kgs
Dried ginger / chukku - 150 gms
Jeera / Cumin seeds - 75 gms
Oil for frying (preferably Coconut oil)
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp

Method:
Remove the skin from the Nenthirakkaya and place in a large bowl filled with water.

Slit each kaya lenghtwise. Then cut into 1/2 inch size semi circles.

Heat oil to boiling point and remove the froth by frying a piece of tamarind in it.

Now add the cut Banana pieces and reduce flame.

Keep stirring often and cook on a low flame for 20 - 25 minutes......or until all frothing stops.

Then move this batch to a colander.

Look how it snaps and it is completely dry inside.

Fry the next batch the same way.

Boil the Jaggery with 2 cups of water and strain to remove all impurities.

After sieving, keep it for boiling in a heavy bottomed vessel and add 1 tbsp ghee.

Dry fry the chukku (dry ginger) and pound before getting it ground in the mixer.

Dry fry the Jeera.

 Add this to the powdered ginger powder and add 1 tbsp sugar.

The ginger + jeera powder will look like this.

Sieve this to remove the unpowdered bits. Keep aside in a closed container.

Continue cooking the jaggery till it passes the 'thakkali' or tomato stage.
This stage is when you drop a tsp of jaggery syrup into a vessel containing cold water, jaggery forms a soft ball.

Look how much the jaggery has reduced...

When it passes this 'tomato stage' and reaches the next stage (thickens further) add the fried chips and about 6 tbsp of the ginger + jeera powder.

Turn off flame and move from the stove top.
Mix well and stir continuously for 5 minutes till it cools a bit.

Stir occasionally until it cools completely.
After it cools down, the chips would be evenly coated with the jaggery mixture.
Store in an air tight container.

There will some powder in the bottom; a mix of jaggery and the spices. This can be used to make 'puli-inji'.

Panikoorka Karpooravalli Bhajji / Spanish Thyme fritter

Panikoorka in Malayalam, Karpooravalli in Sanskrit has the scientific name : Plectranthus amboinicus.

This leaf is a great medicine for mild cold / cough and fever. It's juice is administered to (even) new born babies when they have phlegm in their system.

I never knew Bhajji could be made with these leaves.
Thanks to my aunt Mrs. Radha Sreeram for telling me that it was / can be done.

I got a potted plant from my uncle, Mr.Ananthakrishnan.

You can find the quantity of ingredients and basic recipe of Bhajji here.
Batter is made with Besan / chickpea flour, rice four, salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, dosa batter (optional) & asafoetida powder.
Oil for deep frying.

Enjoy as a snack with tea, or with your dal-chawal.

Pictorial: