Naadan Kappa Puzhukku

Naadan Kappa Puzhukku

Kappa puzhukku…God’s own country’s gift to all the foodies out there and thus leaving its very own mark in the world cuisine overall. Equally appreciated by all, Kappa Puzhukku needs absolutely no intro to those familiar with Kerala cuisine. An extremely popular name in Kerala households, it is one of my personal favourites too. And it seems that this dish has in fact been formulated to suit all palates; irrespective of all ages and class. And so rightly it does!!!

Puzhukku, to a layman, can be basically described as cooked mushy veggies or tubers or fruits in a mildly spiced coconut base. Though the most common puzhukku are the ones made with Kappa (Tapioca) and Jackfruit (Chakka), there’s also a third naadan version of puzhukku made with all the mushy tubers on the special occasion of Thiruvathira popularly known as “Thiruvathira puzhukku”. Kappa puzhukku is relished at its best when served with its finest accompaniment…yes of course…our own naadan fish curry. And for vegans, I believe we have to settle on a small or rather a liberal helping of simple Ulli chammanthi or Kanthari mulaku chammanthi. But no complaints as long as it continues to be heavenly….:-P

So, here’s how the simple recipe for this great dish goes….

                   You’d require

• 500 gm Kappa(Tapioca)
• 3 – 4 nos green chillies
• ½ cup grated coconut
• ½ tsp Cumin seeds
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 4 – 5 garlic pods
• A few curry leaves
• Salt – As required
• A tbsp of Coconut oil

              Method:-
1)Chop kappa into pieces.
2)Cook it along with salt in a pressure cooker, till done.
3)When done, drain off the excess water using a colander/strainer.
4)Grind together grated coconut, cumin seeds, garlic, curry leaves and turmeric powder along with a little water into a coarse form.
5)Heat up a pan or a kadai.
6)Add the cooked and mashed kappa pieces along with the coconut mixture and allow it to cook.
7)Stir well.
8)Check for salt and adjust accdgly.
9)Simmer till all the water gets evaporated and it becomes dry.
10)Top it with coconut oil and a few fresh curry leaves.

Pls note that you can also make it in gravy like consistency, in which case, you need to add a little more water and stir, making sure you don’t make it too dry. And since I don’t like it in a gravy form, I’ve made it quite dry as shown in the pic.
You can also alter the quantity of coconut and garlic accdgly. The procedure for Chakka Puzhukku is almost the same except that you need to cook the jackfruit’s fleshy pieces (Chakka chola) in a pan (not pressure cooker) along with a little turmeric powder and salt; then add the coconut mixture and when done, top it with coconut oil. Your puzhukku is ready within no time to be served with your favourite side dish.

Kerala Paratha (Kerala Porotta)

I have been trying to come up with the way to tell you about one of our favorite food, Kerala Paratha. It is flaky doughy flat bread that is tender, soft and chewy at the same time. The outside skin of paratha is crispy brown and crunchy while the inside is so oozy moisten and warm. It soaks up your rich curry so delicately and perfectly making every bite seems like heaven.

Paratha or Porotta may not be the healthiest food in the world because it made with plain flour and a lot of oil and you surely don’t want to eat it everyday. But every now and then indulging in some paratha with spicy curry can make you feel so good, alive and satisfy. So you might want to make a deal with yourself to exercise more or eat a little bit healthier with the next meals.

I know if I show you how to do it myself, it will be merely imperfection and you wouldn’t be able to imagine how wonderful it really is.

So we visit a Paratha Guru, the master of paratha maker in a small restaurant a busy street in the city. He agreed to show us how it’s done. Watching he worked on the dough and turned it into crispy brown flatbreads was another experience a food lover like me couldn’t resist feeling super overwhelmed.

Kerala Paratha

Ingredients: (Make about 8 parathas)

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs- beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil

2 tbsp milk

3/4 cup lukewarm water (adjust accordingly)

More oil for kneading

Method:

Combine flour, baking powder, beaten eggs, salt, milk, water, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Mix well with your hands until formed sticky mass.

Transfer the dough to the cleaned and oiled working surface.

Knead the dough for 5 minutes, and add a little oil whenever feel stickiness, until the dough is smooth and pliable.

Cover the dough with the oiled cloth and rest it for 30 minutes.

Knead the dough again for few minutes and divide it into 8 equal parts. Rest the dough for another 5 minutes.

Roll each dough ball out as thin as you can. If you can, flip and flap it gently to a thin sheet.

Now cut the dough into 2-3 stripes, and twist and coin them into one ball.

Repeat other dough ball to finally have flower like coined balls.

Press the coined balls into a flat circle sheet with the rolling pin.

Heat the skillet over the medium heat.

Toast paratha in the skillet until golden brown both sides.

Serve hot with some curry or stew.

We bought some of these parathas home that afternoon and enjoyed it with fish curry and fried spiced meat. It was so delicious and perfect. Yaseen loves dipping them in some condensed milk…. do whatever you want, it always delicious!

Appam and Kadala curry

     Appam and Kadala curry

Appam and kadala curry is one of the important breakfast item in Kerala. Usually i don’t use coconut for preparing kadala curry but today i roasted the coconut for making a paste as a base for the curry. Kabuli chana is best tasted for this base. The other breakfast combinations are puttu and kadala curry, dosa and kadala curry. Try this, definitely you will also like it
Ingredients:

• Kadala or Chana – 1 cup soaked overnight

• Small onion – 1 cup, sliced

• Green chilly – 2 no’s, cut into 3

• Coconut grated – 1 cup

• Red chilly powder – 2 tsp

• Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp

Whole spice:

• Cinnamon – 1” piece

• Clove – 4 no’s

• Cardamom – 2 no’s

• Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp

• Coconut oil – 1 tsp

• Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Seasoning:

• Coconut oil – 2 tsp

• Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp

• Red chilly dried – 2 no’s, halved

• Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Method of Preparation:

• Pressure cook chana with half cup water, pinch of salt and turmeric

• Roast coconut over simmer with onion (2 no’s), curry leaves and whole spices until coconut turns brown

• Add chilly powder and coriander powder after coconut is removed from stove

• Let it cool to the room temperature and make a fine paste with little water

• Heat oil and season with mustard seeds, dried red chilies and curry leaves

• Fry onion with a pinch of salt till the oil separates and add the coconut paste with enough water

• Add cooked chana and bring to boil for the required consistency