Karthigai Appam/Rava Paniyaram/Appam

This is a simple and easy to make appam or paniyaram which is made for Karthigai Deepam in my in laws place.My mom makes Karthigai appam with soaked raw rice which I  share later whereas this is an instant method of making appam which doesn't need any grinding except the soaking time.Originally it is deep fried in ghee but to make it more healthier instead of deep frying I make it in paniyaram pan and used wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.In some places it is made like a thick pancake in a griddle with ghee.Now on to the recipe....

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Wheat flour	1cup
Rice flour	1/4cup
Semolina/rava/sooji	1cup
Coconut(grated)	3tbs(optional)
Cardamom/ellakai Powder	1tsp
Jaggery/vellam	1cup
Milk	11/2cups
Salt	a pinch
Baking soda	1/8tsp
Ghee	as needed

Method

• Mix in wheat flour,semolina,rice flour and add the milk.Let it soak for an hour.

• Add 1/4 cup of water to the jaggery, make the syrup and pass it through the strainer to remove the impurities. Now mix in the sugar syrup to the soaked mixture.Add in the cardamom powder,salt,baking powder, grated coconut and mix it well.

• Heat a paniyaram pan and add 1tsp of ghee to each hole,once the ghee becomes hot fill each hole with the batter.

• Cook it in a medium flame till golden color and flip it to the other side.Cook it for a minute and remove it from the pan.

• Appam is ready.

Enjoy....................................................

• The batter should be in pouring consistency,if it is not add little more milk and adjust the consistency.if the the batter is too thick the appam will be hard.
• Adding grated coconut or coconut bits is purely optional  original recipe doesn't have it but can also be added for extra taste and flavor.
• Instead of jaggery sugar can be used and the soaking time is important to get  fluffy and soft appams. 
• Be generous with the ghee to get a tasty appams.

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Pavakkai/Pakarkkai/Bittergourd Podi

Pakarkkai podi is a slightly bitter,tangy mouthwatering  podi which an be mixed along with the rice or served as an accompaniment for curd rice.
I got this recipe from a T.V show and tried this one and it came out so delicious and tasty.Since then I started it making it frequently.This podi can be made with readily available ingredients and stored in room temperature for a week,now to the recipe.......

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Bittergourd/pavakkai	5nos.
Coconut(grated)	1/4cup
Red chilly	8-10nos.
Shallots/chinna vengayam	6nos.
Cumin seeds/jeergam	2tsp
Tamarind/puli	gooseberry size
Salt	2tsp
Oil	4tbs
Mustard seeds/kadugu	1tsp
Curry leaves/karivepillai	2sprigs

Method

                     

                      Grate or coarsely grind the bittergourd and add a tsp of salt and keep it for 30 minutes.After 30 minutes squeeze the excess water and keep the bittergourd aside.
Heat the oil and crackle mustard seeds and curry leaves then add the bittergourd.Fry it until it turns light brown,stir in between every two minutes to prevent burning.

Meanwhile grind coarsely coconut,small onion,red chillies,tamarind and cumin seeds without adding water.Add it to the fried bittergourd and salt,cook it in a medium heat until it turns brown and crumbly.

Bittergourd podi is ready.Store it in a container.

• Squeeze the grated bittergourd completely to remove the excess moisture.
• Fry the grated bittergourd in a medium flame to prevent burning.
• After adding the ground coconut fry it in a low flame and stir in between. 
• Use the fresh tamarind not the paste otherwise it won't become dry.
• Instead of grating the bittergourd in a grater use a chopper or pulse it in a blender to make it quicker.

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Maida Biscuits

                            

      Wishing You all Happy and prosperous Deepavali

Maida biscuit is one of my childhood favorite and we call this as chappathi biscuits since the dough is rolled into a chappathi and cut it to a desired shape.My mom makes this one for snack when we were kids and myself and my sister used to help to cut the biscuits in different shapes.This biscuits can be added to the mixture also.Here is the recipe...........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Butter/vennai	1/2cup
Sugar	1/2cup
Milk	1/3cup
Baking soda	a generous pinch
Salt	1/8tsp
All purpose flour/maida	31/2-4cups
Oil	for frying

Method

• In a wide bowl take the butter,sugar,baking soda,sugar and rub it till it becomes creamy.
• Now add the milk and mix it well,to this add the all purpose flour and knead it to a dough.
• The kneaded dough should be in a poori dough consistency.Divide the dough into equal portions.
• Roll the divided portion into a 1/4inch chappathi and cut it into diamond or square shape.
• Spread the cut diamonds in a plate or paper and dry it for 5 minutes,then deep fry it in the oil in a medium flame till it becomes golden color.
• Maida biscuit is ready.

Enjoy...............................................

• The amount of maida given is approximate it can be added till the dough gets thick(for me it took 33/4 cups)
• While frying in the oil turn one or two times only otherwise the biscuits will break.
• The biscuit needs to be fried in a low to medium flame otherwise it will turn brown without cooking.
• If the kneaded dough is not thick the biscuits will absorb more oil.
• Instead of butter,vegetable shortening such as vanaspathi can also be used.The biscuits will not be crispy when it is hot but after cooling it will be crunchy and soft.

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Rava Urundai/Rava Ladoo

Hello friends I am back after a small break and settling down to the new routine.Hope everyone is getting ready for Deepavali.
Before getting into the recipe I would like to share that my blog has reached 1 lakh hits last month and like to convey my heartfelt thanks to my blogger buddies,friends and readers.
Coming to the recipe rava urundai is a simple and easy to make sweet which can be made in a jiffy.
For every Diwali my mom makes rava urundai and pasiparuppu urundai(recipe coming soon) since its our family's favorite.But after marriage I tried couple of times and it didn't come out as good as my mom makes.As my mom is here for this Diwali I wanted to learn from her.
My mom makes two versions of rava urundai one is with the coconut and the other one without coconut which has a longer shelf life.Today's recipe is the later one and here goes the recipe.........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Rava/Semolina	1cup
Sugar	1cup
Ghee/nei	5tbs
Cashews/mundiri(broken)	2tbs
Cardamom/ellakai	4nos.

Method

                            Fry the cashews in a tsp of ghee and keep aside.In the same pan roast the rava in a medium flame till the aroma comes.Once it cools down powder the rava and cardamom in a blender or mixie to a fine powder and set aside.

Now take the sugar and powder it to a fine powder.In a wide mixing bowl mix both the powdered rava and sugar,add the fried cashews and mix it well.

Meanwhile melt the ghee and add it to the powder,mix it well,at this stage the mixture looks crumbly.Take a small amount of mixture in the palm and make a small ball.

Easy to make rava urundai/ladoo is ready.

Enjoy...........................................................

• While adding the ghee to the mixture it should be hot.
• If  your are not able to make the balls add couple of tbs of warm milk to the mixture but the shelf life will be less if milk is used.
• Powder the rava to a fine powder and do not over roast the rava otherwise the color will change.
• When you are making larger quantity add the hot ghee for a small amount of mixture and make the balls.

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