Adukkupathiri – Traditional Malabar dish with layered rice flour batter and eggs

Ramadan Kareem to all  !!!   May Allah accept our prayers and good deeds in this blessed month of Ramadan .

I was pretty excited when Lubna of Yummy Food ,  asked me to do a guest post for her Joy from Fasting to Feasting event.  Lubna has been hosting this event for the previous 6 years. This year Lubna has invited  Muslim Food Bloggers round the globe to share their favourite or traditional Ramadan Recipes  . Thank you Lubna, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this event …

I have been following Lubna’s beautiful blog for quite some time. Especially her  tutorial section on food photography … The photography series on her blog has helped me a lot to improve my photography skills.

Coming back to the dish.. Adukkupathiri is a traditional Malabar dish . In Malayalam, adukku means layers and pathiri means pancake made of rice flour. It is a sweet dish made by steaming alternate layers of rice flour batter and eggs.

To get the recipe do hop on to Lubna’s blog event Joy from Fasting to Feasting

 

 

 

 

 

Chattippathiri

My brother n family was here from Qatar  for the Eid holidays.. We had a few trips , shoppings , get togethers with friends..  My niece who is in 9^th grade has become as tall as me.. only a few more inches and I will have to ‘look up’ to her !!  And she was telling me smugly to buy high heels the next time we meet ..  !! The younger one is as cute as a doll.. infact  among the kids in my family, she is the only one who never gets into any fight,  always adjusting.. and she is only six !!  🙂

The day before they left to Qatar , we had a nice dinner at our friend’s home..  Azna is a superb cook.. Though a vegetarian, she prepares awesome non veg dishes..

Biriyani, mutton curry, chicken fry , vegetable stew from Azna’s kitchen ..

and the delicious semiya paayasam by Praseeda..

While having dinner, our  friend asked me to make Chattipathiri the next time we meet…  Two of my friends , whom I hadn’t met for 16 years were coming over the next weekend..  so I thought of making chattipathiri when all of them were there ..

Chattipathiri is basically layers of pancake and minced chicken.. The pancakes can be dipped in beaten eggs and arranged.. or you can use coconut milk instead of the eggs.. I found coconut milk more flavorsome..

Everytime I do the editing of the snaps for the blog, I ask feedback from my dear hubby.. and almost always the reply is the same,  “ But I don’t remember you making this dish for me !!”   …  For the last post Nutella Custard Pudding, I was editing the snaps and asked  my hubby whether the snaps look good?? .. He said,  “The snaps are good, but isn’t this made  by someone else?? So why are you asking for feedback??”  I replied “Dear, this pudding was prepared by yours truly  , a few days back.. and you had your share too… !!”  Well , so much for the interest my hubby shows in my cooking and blogging !!  And this time, while editing the snaps for this post, he saw me at work.. to set right the earlier slip ups  , he said , “Ohh that’s a nice cake !!” ..  Though I understood his good intention, I couldn’t help laughing and replied “Dear, that’s not a cake, but the chattipathiri I made a few days back.. !!”

Today it’s my dear sister in law Zareena’s birthday .. Here’s wishing you lots of luv n happiness, dear !!

So.. here goes the recipe…

For the chicken mince

• Chicken  – 500gm
• Onions , large – 3
• Ginger – 1 inch piece
• Garlic –   6 cloves
• Green chillies – 3
• Chilli powder – 1tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
• Pepper powder – 1 tsp
• Garam Masala – 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves, chopped – a  few sprigs

Method..

• Cut the chicken in to big pieces. Rub the chilli and turmeric powders on the pieces and keep aside for 15 minutes.
• Cook the chicken pieces in a little water and salt .(You can use pressure cooker.. If there is water remaining, cook with the lid open till water evaporates).
• Remove the bones and shred the chicken into small pieces. (Can use food processor)
• In a  medium sized non stick pan , heat oil.
• Add the chopped onions and saute till it turns soft. Add the chopped chillies, ginger and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes .
• Mix the shredded chicken and saute well for 10-15 minutes. Toss in the pepper powder and garam masala.  You can adjust the pepper powder and garam masala acc to how spicy you need.
• Stir in the chopped coriander leaves .
• Turn off the flame and let the mixture cool.

For the pancake..

• All purpose flour – 2 cups
• Water – 4 cups
• Salt –  a pinch

Method

• Beat the flour and water in a blender to get a lump free batter. Add the salt.
• Heat  a non stick pan.
• Pour about a big ladle of batter and cook on one side on low flame. Do not toss the pancake. The pancake should not be too thin , or else it might tear while layering.
• Transfer the pancake to a greased plate or newspaper.
• Make the pancakes with the rest of the batter .  Do not keep the pancakes on top of each other as they will stick to each other .

To  Dip…

• Thick Coconut Milk – 2 cups
• Garam Masala – 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves – a few sprigs

• Mix all the ingredients

To assemble

1. Take a deep bottomed non stick pan and grease with ghee.
2. Take a pancake. Dip it in the coconut milk and keep in the pan.
3. Spread about 2 tbsps of the chicken mince over the pancake.
4. Repeat the process of adding layers of pancake and chicken mixture . The last layer should be pancake.
5. When all the pancakes are arranged , pour the remaining coconut milk over the layers.
6. Sprinkle a few drops of ghee around the sides of the pan.
7. Cover the pan with lid and cook on medium flame for around 20 minutes, till the coconut milk is absorbed.
8. Your Chattipathiri is ready now …
9. Transfer to a plate upside down and cut into slices to serve..

 

Kinnathappam

Kinnathappam is a Muslim traditional dish. Basically it is steamed sweet rice batter.. There are many variations for this dish from place to place… This recipe uses basmati rice  and sugar.. Another version is using matta rice and jaggery. Will be posting that some other day…

 I love the kinnathappam my aunt used to make when we were kids.. Actually  her preparation was a main specialty dish during weddings at our home.. It was so soft , melt in the mouth treat..yum .. But she never used an exact measurement while preparing..

During Ramadan this a constant dish at our table..  It can be served as a tea time snack also..  The main thing to get the soft texture is the batter should be sieved through a fine muslin cloth or cheese cloth . And the batter will have a watery consistency, but that makes the kinnathappam softer..  So go ahead and try these out..

Ingredients

• Basmati Rice – 1 cup
• Coconut Milk powder –3/4 th cup
• Water – 2 ½ cup
• Sugar – 1 1/4 cup
• Cardamom – 4
• Eggs – 2

Method

1. Soak the rice in water for about 4 hours.
2. Grind the rice with the required amount of water (from the 2 ½ cups) in a grinder/ mixi into a smooth batter.
3. Add the coconut milk powder and beat again. Add the remaining water to this batter .
4. Beat the eggs, sugar and cardamom in the mixer.
5. Add this to the batter and mix well.
6. Sieve the batter using a fine strainer/muslin cloth .
7. Grease a steel plate/ pyrex dish with a small amount of ghee.
8. Pour the batter into the dish until ¾ th full.
9. Cover with aluminium foil  and steam for around 45 minutes on high flame. (The cooking time may vary depending on the size of the dish).
10.  Steam the remaining batter also.
11. Cool and serve into desired shapes.

Sending this to the “Show Me Your HITS” event by Spicy Treats

Kerala Kitchen hosted by Roshan’s Cucina

Ethakka Pineapple Pachadi

My friend, Zareena called me up yesterday to ask if we would like to join her for the Onam sadhya , at ISC. Eagerly accepted the invitation, no way was I going to  miss a sadhya.. And at the back of my mind, I wanted to let the kids see and feel the festive atmosphere. Festive is the word… a really nice sadhya with Onam songs in the background and most of the people wearing traditional Kerala dress…. took me back to the days in Kerala… Onam with pookkalam and sadhya, especially paaysam… Though my eldest son wasn’t quite thrilled to eat from a banana leaf , the younger one was quite happy and even enjoyed the vanchippattu  ..  Thanks Zareena, for the invitation.

[A modest Sadya that I made for Onam… As it was a last minute decision the number of curries was less, nevertheless managed to make Parippu Paayasam..]

My favourite among the sadhya dishes – Madhura Curry/ Ethakka Pineapple Pachadi – a tasty combo of fruits in ground coconut. Though the name mentions only ethakka and pineapple, this one has mango and grapes added which adds a really nice flavour. I think the curry should be called Fruit Salad Curry, (courtesy my sister in law) . What do you say?

Here’s the recipe

Ingredients

• Banana (frying variety) , cubed – 1 cup
• Pineapple , cubed – 1 cup
• Mango , cubed – 1 cup
• Black grapes – 5
• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
• Chilly powder – 1 tsp
• Sugar – 1 1/2 tbsp
• Coconut, scraped – 6 tbsp

For tempering

• Coconut oil – 3 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Red chillies – 4-5
• Curry leaves – a few

Method

1. Keep the grapes in hot water . After 10 minutes remove  from hot water and keep them aside.
2. Mix the banana, pineapple and mango pieces with the chilli and turmeric  powders. Cook the pieces adding about 1/2 cup of water and salt.
3. When the pieces are cooked well and all water is absorbed, add the sugar and mix well.
4. Grind the coconut into a smooth paste and add to the fruits mixture.
5. Add the grapes.
6. Heat a pan for tempering. Add oil . When oil gets heated , add the mustard seeds. When it starts to splutter , add curry leaves and red chilies.
7. Pour the oil over the curry.

Sending this the events- Food Palette Series- rainbow colours , Life is Green , Kerala Kitchen hosted by Easycooking, and Anyone Can Cook events

Banana Fritters

This a variation of Keralites’ own  Ethakkappam (Fried Bananas)…  Here, we saute the bananas and then mash them lightly , then roll them and finally fry them.. Now as I type this, I wonder why should we make a dish complicated if there is a comparatively easier version.. May be that’s the Mallu way of doing things 🙂  .. But I can vouch for their taste… So when you have  time on hand go for these fritters instead of  Ethakkappam..

Ingredients

• Bananas (frying variety) -3
• Cashew nuts, chopped – 1 tbsp (about 10 cashews)
• Raisins – 1/2 tbsp
• Ghee – 3 tbsp
• Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp

For the batter

• All purpose flour (Maida) – 1 cup
• Rice powder – 1 tbsp
• Egg – 1
• Sugar- 4 tbsp (can increase the amount if the bananas are not too ripe)
• Water- 1 cup

Oil – for frying

Method

1. Cut each banana into cube shaped pieces.
2. Heat a non stick pan.  Add 1 tbsp of ghee.
3. On a low flame,saute the cashews until golden brown. Keep them aside.
4. Next saute the raisins till golden. Keep them aside.
5. Add 2 tbsp of ghee to the pan.  Saute the banana pieces till they turn golden brown in colour. (Remember to keep the flame low)
6. Lightly mash them with the back of a spoon.
7. Toss  the cashews and raisins back into the pan and mix everything together. Add 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder.
8. Transfer the contents to a plate and allow it to cool slightly.
9. Now roll them into lime sized balls.

To Make The Batter

Mix the flour and rice flour with egg and water to form a smooth batter. Add the sugar and stir well.

To Deep Fry

1. Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan.
2. Dip the balls into the batter.
3. On a medium flame, fry them in batches and remove from fire when you get a nice golden brown colour.

Note: The  banana balls can be prepared in advance and freezed for around 2 weeks.  I make them in advance for Ramadan. When required , take them out of freezer and allow to thaw for around 1 hour. Then prepare the batter and fry them..

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen hosted by Magpie’s Recipes

and to Iftar Moments at Taste of Pearl City