Kumbilappam (Steamed Jackfruit Cakes)

 Kerala's own cake, close to any malayalee's heart. The smell of this cake brings fond memories of my grandmother and also my childhood.

Chakka Varattiyathu- 2 cups

(Blend the jackfruit and boil the pulp till it is reduced to half and all the water is evaporated)

Coconut Grated: 2 cups

Sugar: 1 cup

Rice Flour: 3 cups

Cardamom Powder: 1 tbsp

Vazhanayila (Bay leaf) : as needed

Mix all the ingredients together and make a soft dough

Make cones out of the Bayleaf (like shown in the picture below)





Take the dough and fill the cones

Steam the dough filled cones in an Idly cooker till done (about 20 minutes)

Insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean, then your Kumbilappam is ready to eat.

Mambazha Pulisserry/ Ripe Mango Curry

I love mangoes and this is a tasty curry that goes well with rice and red fish curry.

Ripe mangoes- 4
Green chillies-4
Salt and water - as required

Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp
Chilly Powder- 1/4 tsp

Curd: 1/4 cup
Fenugreek Powder: a pinch

To Grind

Coconut grated- 1/2 cup
Cumin- 1/2 tsp
Garlic- 2 cloves
Green chilly-1

To Temper:
Mustard; 1/2 tsp
Dried Red Chilly: 2
Curry Leaves: 2 sprigs
Pearl Onion; 3




Place the mangoes in a kadai.
Add required water and salt, 4 green chillies, turmeric powder,chilly powder and cook keeping lid closed
Grind coconut grated, 1 green chilly, garlic, cumin.
Add the ground mix to the cooked mango and let it cook.
Mix Fenugreek powder in curd with a little salt and add to the boling mixture.
Keep stirring for half a minute and then turn off the stove

Heat oil and splutter mustard, curry leaves and dried chilly and pour over the curry.

Neyyappam

This is another favourite snack of mine. Some people make it just like Unniappam (adding banana and jaggery) but my Mom says this is the authentic way (Karipetty and no bananas). Well, it could be regional!!! This is how my Mom makes.

 Raw rice - 2 cups
(soak it in water for 3 hours, drain and powder it)




Chakkara/Karipetty/- (a form of Jaggerry)- 1/4 cup grated



Salt - A pinch
Cardamom powder - 1tsp
Oil for frying

Blend the Karipetty and the raw rice without adding water and you will get a brown colour paste as seen in the picture. Add the Cardamom and salt when you blend the ingredients.

Keep it aside for 6 to 7 hours (it is better to keep it overnight to ferment)

Now mix water to get idly batter consistency- check the picture below

Heat oil, take a ladle of batter and pour it in the oil and deep fry it.

Drain it on an absorbant paper and serve with Tea/Coffee

Unniyappam

This is an all time favourite snack of Keralites. Mom makes it often when there is an abundance (wink) of banana (palaymkodan pazham). My mom in law calls it Pazham Peechi and I dont know if it has any other name. It looks like the Tamil Nadu Paniyaaram but tastes entirely different. 

Raw rice: 2 cups

Wheat flour: 2 cups

Jaggerry: 300 gms

Banana: 300 gms

Cardamom Powder: 1 tsp

Salt: as required

Oil: for deep frying.

Soak the raw rice in water for 2 to 3 hours. Drain and blend it adding just required water.

Peel the bananas and mash properly.

Melt the jaggerry in water on medium heat.

Now mix all the ingredients, adding a pinch of salt. The consistency should be that of Idly batter.

 

Now in an Appakara, fill oil till rim and heat it.
Pour the batter in each of the holes and fry both sides till brown.

Take from fire and drain on an absorbent paper.
Serve warm with Coffee or Tea.

Green Papaya (Omakka/Kaplanga)Thoran

Unripened papaya: 1

Shallots: 6

Green chillies: 4 (you can use kanthari instead)

Grated coconut: 1 cup

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Garlic: 4 pods

Curry leaves: a few

Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp

Oil and salt: as required

 

Peel the papaya skin

 

Cut it into two halves and deseed it.

 

Grate the papaya.

 

Coarsely grind the coconut, shallots, garlic, cumin and green chillies.

 

Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard. Add the grated papaya and the ground coconut mix and sprinkle water.

Add required salt and cook on low heat covered for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve hot with rice.

Banana Jam

While growing up, this was the only Jam I used to eat. I can finish one whole bottle just like that. It is that tasty but unlike other jams, this is a bit time consuming but worth the effort.

Ripe Bananas: 4 kg

Sugar: 3/4 kgs

Cinnamon: 2 sticks

Peel the skin of the bananas and place it in a big pan

Add 4 cups water and let it boil on medim heat for sometime

When it reaches a light pink shade remove from fire and let it cool.

Sieve the bananas through a clean cotton cloth. You will have to squeeze properly, so be ready for a hand workout!!!

Now pour the syrup in a big vessel and add sugar and cinnamon and let it cook on medim heat and break an egg into the boiling syrup. This is to remove the banana stain.

After a few minutes, remove the egg and shell and you will see the stain on the egg shell.

Now let it boil till one thread consistency is reached.

Let it cool and then store it in sterilized bottles.

Spread on bread and serve.

This is an update- answer to a question asked in the comment.

The pulp cannot be used, it has to be thrown away.

The egg shell has to be completely removed from the boiling syrup. It is very easy to remove it with a slotted spoon. You can omit this step if you are not comfortable with adding the egg. It is just to remove the the banana stain that we add the egg with the egg shell.

Sukhiyan

When I was in school, my mom used to make some snack or the other every evening. This was one of my favourites and here is a step by step instruction of how to make this delectable treat.

Green Gram: 2 cups

Jaggerry: 400 gm

Coconut grated: 4 cups

Salt: as required

Cardamom Powder: 1 tbsp

Maida: 1 cup

Oil: for deep frying

In a pressure cooker, cook the green gram till soft (four whistles on high flame) 

In a wide bottomed pan, melt jaggery and then add the coconut and mix well on medium flame 

When it reaches one thread consistency, add the green gram and required salt.

Add the cardamom powder and mix everything on low flame for a few minutes till it reaches the consistency where you can make balls out of it.

Allow it to cool and then make balls out of it

Mix the maida with water to get a batter(the consistency should be that of Dosa Batter)

Dip each ball in the batter and deep fry in oil

Drain on a tissue paper and serve warm with Tea or Coffee.