Nan Khattai - Indian Shortbread

 A trip to Supreme Bakery in Kollam, my hometown, was always a much looked forward to treat. Amma got us delicious treats from there right through to the time her grand children came along. In my youth I remember amma cooking and baking a lot. But after appa's death, she didn't make so many treats at home - as it was just her at home a lot of the time. But when we came home for holidays, she got us all our favourites from the bakery.  This practice continued till the grand children came along.

One of the best things you can buy at Supreme is their nan khattai. Crumbly white biscuits shaped like a tiny bun with a few crushed nuts on top and smelling of cardamom with every bite. Delicious! Amma used to bake them at home in her round electric oven - slightly bigger than an air fryer but much smaller than what is commonly seen as a "regular" size oven in Australia.

So apparently, the nan khattais were brought to India by the Dutch in the 16th century - and then updated to suit Indian tastes.  It is essentially a shortbread made of plain flour, semolina and chickpea flour - some ghee and flavoured with cardamom. This recipe makes about 30 nan khattais.

Makki Ki Roti - Cornmeal flat bread

 Sadda Pind is a cultural museum in Amritsar, India. On our recent visit we got to experience some amazing rustic food in the museum. Sadda Pind means "My Village".  The museum is set up amongst beautiful mud cottages, colourful artwork across the walls - artisans busy working on their craft and women of the village gathering together to cook food.  yes, its true, I did not see any men of the village cooking!  But anyway, I got to experience life in a village all in one day, tried my hand at weaving, embroidery, listened to music, saw dances - and tasted some amazing food.  As you walk into Sadda Pind you are welcomed with a glass of lassi and as you go past each mud hut there is something new to taste in each home.

One of the things I tried was Sarson Ka Saag and Makki ki Roti. Mustard greens with cornmeal flatbread.This is an iconic Punjabi dish - and its essence is to take you to the lush fields and farmlands of Punjab and remind you of the hardworking farmers and the delicious food from the fields to your plate, literally. 

A couple of years back I actually grew mustard in my back yard so I could experience the authentic flavour of the leaves. At that time, I did not make the cornmeal rotis. I used tortillas instead.  This time I thought I would try my hand at making the rotis because the ladies in the Pind (village) showed me how to do it. This recipe is completely vegetarian and gluten free.  If you want to make it vegan, just use oil instead of butter.

The ladies in the Pind simply used the palm of their hand to get the dough into shape - but I was not able to do it as well as them.  So I have used a rolling pin instead.

Appam - Hoppers - Rice bread from Kerala

 The appam is a common breakfast food in Kerala.  It is gluten free and you can pair it with a lot of curries, or have it with a sweetened coconut milk.  This is a repeat recipe; I posted this along with the commonly served stew in an older post.  

You do need to get an appam wok with a tight fitting lid to make this dish.  I have not tried making it in a normal wok. With the appam wok, the non stick version is not my favourite.  This is because the batter doesn't stick to the sides and tends to lump together in the middle spoiling the aesthetics.

Ideally, it should be like a spongy bun in the middle and a lacy edging around it.

Potli Biriyani - Biriyani in a bag

 A potli is a drawstring bag used by a lot of Indians to carry their cash /spices / medicines since ancient times.  The cash is placed in the bag, the strings pulled tight and the bag tucked into the pleats of the sari or the dhoti. There are lots of different types of potlis.  They are made to match the colour of your sari and usually they are well decorated too.  As kids, we used to have little potlis to carry our spending money and we used to carry them to the fairs in our street and but lollies, icy poles, toys and dolls.  The potlis have  kept evolving with the times and the current day potlis come equipped with pockets for mobile phones - which has become the most important accessory for most people.  These days potlis have become more of a fashion statement and you can expect to pay a lot for them if you happen to pick one up from a boutique. They are also heavily embellished - with pearls, crystals, mirrors or exquisite hand embroidery.

Today we are going to check out how to make a potli for carrying food - in this case, biriyani!  This was trending on instagram and so this post is more about making the actual potli rather than the biriyani itself.

You can make the potli to hold pulao rice or vegetable biriyani too. The best part is you can eat the potli later with your favourite curry once you have eaten the rice.

Wholemeal Naan

 After the family's huge tick of appreciation for the plain flour naans, I embarked on the wholemeal naan recipe as it is a bit more healthier than the plain flour one. I found that the dough for the whole meal flour gets drier and is not quite as soft as the plain flour.  This is the reason I have used milk as the wetting agent rather than water.  Never the less, it tasted absolutely great and if I had not made the plain flour naans first, I would not have been able to distinguish the minor differences.  I have also become much more adept at cooking these by myself and did not need an assembly line like the first time! Obviously you can dress them up whatever way you want - and I just wanted to use nigella and sesame seeds this time.

Naan Bread

 I have been following Eitan Bernath (https://www.eitanbernath.com/about/) for a while now, a young, energetic and enterprising young chef from New York.  I started following his fun videos on tik tok and then got drawn into some of the more complex recipes that he executes with ease.  I have made naan at home once before and was not happy with the outcome and never bothered trying it again - until Eitan came along with his recipe and fun technique using an age old Indian fry pan or Tawa.

I got myself a tawa and decided to embark on the Naan journey.  Nobody needs an introduction to naan - most Australians I know love Naan and Butter Chicken. We already have a great recipe for butter chicken:

http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2017/07/butter-chicken.html

Today we will look at Eitan's recipe for the garlic naan.  My children and Sam worked together on recording this recipe - so we have photos from different cameras!  But this is definitely one recipe I am going to be making more of, for sure.  The naan itself is spongy, fragrant, looks fantastic and even has the tandoor burn marks.  Once you make this at home, there will be no more going to the restaurant for a naan.

Appam with sweetened coconut milk - Rice pancake with sweetened coconut milk

 My children love to have pancakes with maple syrup. My first taste of maple syrup was in the 1990s after I came to Australia. What I had as a child with my rice pancakes was sweet coconut milk.  Freshly grated coconut, blended with water and the milk squeezed out of the coconut, sweetened with sugar or jaggery is the "syrup" I grew up with.

Today's recipe is a rice appam - that I made the cheat's way to test out the pancake mixes available in the Indian store. I was pleasantly surprised to get a good result.  The wait time is about 2 hours - and there is practically no clean up afterwards.

Normally, when I make it the traditional way, I have to soak the rice, grind it along with the other ingredients and then clean up my grinder - which is a lot of work. Fermenting time is the same which ever way you do it.  Recipe for traditional appam is here: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2018/12/appam-and-stew.html 

Of Puttu and Old Fish curry - a tale of lost traditions

You know that fish curry tastes best after a couple of days - for that matter most curries taste better the next day.  But with fish curry, the older it gets the tastier it gets. I have spent last couple of weekends with the family painting our back fence and I am exhausted.  I made a pot of curry on Friday night and today I had it with puttu on my ever silver platter.  

Have you ever heard of the word "ever silver"? Back in the 20's or 30's most of the women who got married in my community started off life with a whole bunch of brass, copper and silver utensils.

As they were used, these utensils used to oxidise and get blackened with the wood fire stoves and coal fires that the women used as well. They subsequently spent a lot of time cleaning these utensils with tamarind and lime - which are naturally acidic and dissolved away the Verdigris and black stuff.  It was a lot of hard work and scrubbing, to keep them shiny and nice.

With the progress of the stainless steel industry and the arrival of new shiny utensils that did not need so much of scrubbing to keep clean and bright, my grandmother and many of my grand aunties and relatives traded in their copper, brass and silver utensils and even silver jari saris for stainless steel.  

I remember watching the hawkers come in with their scales and weights and exchanging utensils and all the haggling that happened in patti's home.

The stainless steel utensils got a new name - "Ever Silver" - they remained forever silver and bright!

Today's meal is old fish curry and fresh puttu served up in an ever silver plate with an ever silver bowl.

"Very pedestrian" - as Matt Preston would proclaim, adjusting his cravat and speaking in his English accent. "Very very tasty" - I would reply in my very Indian accent.....

Today's post is about old lost traditions and respect for my forefathers. Old fish curry is something that is available in most Nagercoil or Kerala households.  And puttu can be whipped up in under 10 minutes.  Together it is a marriage of flavours made in heaven.

Pani Puri

 I am unable to translate Pani Puri to English - they are little puffed up breads (Puri) that you make a hole in and stuff with fillings of your choice, add the thin sauce (Pani) - and pop into your mouth.

When you stand on the street popping these into your mouth - with the juices running down your arm in the hot and humid weather it is a joy that is hard to convey. You have to experience it for yourself!  The fusion of flavours and textures, the salt, sugar, sourness of the tamarind, the heat of the chilli, crispiness of the puri and the ice cold pani is just heaven in your mouth.  

As you keep popping them one after the other - the only stress is how quickly can I finish the one in my mouth so I can have the one in my bowl because the vendor has the next one ready to go....Phew! pressure!!!! 

Since being in isolation we haven't been out to have this in Melbourne.  I decided to make it myself. Thank you Hebbar's Kitchen (https://hebbarskitchen.com/) for making this possible.

I would buy the puris from the Indian store as they are locally made and just the right size for popping into your mouth.  I did do it the hard way - and since I did not have a cookie cutter that size I used the lid of a vegemite jar to cut out the puris and they are a little too big.

Dosa - Rice Crepes

 I have long had an "on again - off again" relationship with my cast iron griddle. My mother got it for me about 25 years back and she seasoned it for me and cooked dosas for me on it.  I have never cooked dosas in my life and struggled to get the dosa out clean and crisp from the griddle.  Over the years I have tried non stick pans, crepe pans and so on but I have now come full circle and gone back to the trusty old griddle.

What I did different this time was I cleaned it with salt and baking soda and seasoned it again.  I think I have finally got the hang of the thickness of the batter - not too thick, and not too thin.  And loads of patience, very little oil, some helpful tips from my friend Cholena and small dosas first, before graduating to larger ones.

I still haven't managed to get them paper thin like my mother - but they are crisp and golden.  With practice I will be able to put up updated pictures, I am sure!

Instant Ragi Idlis - Finger Millet Steamed Muffins

 Finger Millet (Ragi) is a cereal cultivated widely in India.  I have read that it came to India from Ethiopia, Africa over 2000 years ago.  It is very common in my part of the world - but my interest in it was renewed just recently after finding out it has a low glycaemic index and keeps you fuller for longer - making it the ideal choice for diabetics and people who want to shed a few kilos..

The only finger millet food I remember having from childhood is the porridge and puttu - so today I decided to road test the instant idlis made with ragi.  I call them instant as they have not been fermented.  Before doing the "real" thing I wanted to be sure that I would like the taste and texture of a ragi idli.

The only thing is if you make an instant idli, it is not gluten free.  So I will post a gluten free version another time.  The ragi idlis are denser than normal idlis but they are quite tasty and very filling.  

Finger millet grains look very much like mustard seeds / quinoa. I have a feeling I will be cooking a lot more with them! So watch out for more recipes.

Spinach Roti / Beetroot Roti

Melbourne has moved into stage 4 lock down which means we cannot go out that often.  I have been washing, cutting and freezing vegetables to save us from going out. One of the vegetables I got was a fresh and beautiful bunch of baby spinach that I washed and microwaved for two minutes, pureed and saved or later.

I decided to make some green rotis with some of the spinach.  The recipe for rotis is the same - the green just adds a bit of colour and something different on the table.

The spinach rotis came out looking so beautiful that I did the same with beetroot leaves the next day.

Cut leaves off a bunch of beetroot, wash and chop, microwave for 2 minutes, and puree. 

Kozhukattai - Rice and Jaggery Dumplings

I got introduced to scones, cream and jam here in Australia. What we had back home that was sort of comparable - an afternoon sweet snack was Kozhukattai - rice flour dumplings with jaggery and coconut scrapings. Similar concept - a flour base dumpling served with a rich sweet gooey filling.  It is easy to make and used to be a common after school snack when I was a kid.

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Kallu Appam - Appam made with Toddy - Toddy Hoppers

Toddy or Kallu  is fermented coconut water and Appam is a South Indian bread made with rice.  Combine the two - and it is a heady combination!  When you wake up in the morning and you smell appam being cooked - it literally gets those digestive juices flowing.  I do not often make this for breakfast - but with COVID and my recent discovery of how to make toddy at home, I decided to give this a go!  (Refer to my post on how to make toddy at home:  http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/06/kallu-toddy-alcoholic-coconut-water.html)

Amma used to make this quite often but since I never got toddy in Melbourne, I never even tried to make it. All that is going to change now!

For this to work, your toddy has to be prepared and ready ( that takes 24 hours or more if you live in a cold place) - and you have to give the batter time to ferment about 8 to 10 hours.

Idli - Steamed Rice Buns

Idlis are the most common of all South Indian breakfasts. And it is one of the healthiest. Made from fermented rice and dal batter, these spongy little buns need no oil and are steamed and served with a sauce or sauces of your choice.  In Melbourne I usually make them as a weekend breakfast, but during the COVID isolation period we have been having them even during the weekdays.

Though I say it is a breakfast item, you can have it for lunch or dinner and it all depends what you want to pair it with.  For example you might like to have it with honey or a chutney for breakfast and a chicken curry or kurma for lunch.

Idiappam - String Hoppers or Rice Noodles

String hoppers are rice noodles that people of Kerala and Tamilnadu have for breakfast.  This is an easily available item from most Sri Lankan grocery stores in Melbourne. I have been so used to just picking up a packet of 25 very thin string hoppers for $5.00 that I never bothered to learn how to make it.

All that changed with Covid and with the beautiful tool given to me by my dear friend Claire.  Claire is part of my family - we grew up together, have known each other for five decades, we went to the same school and we know each other's families.  When Claire asked me what I would like to take back to Australia from Kerala, I asked for an idiappam maker.  Today is the first day I have tried to use it and I must say the result is awesome!!!!!  Thank you Claire.

Chappati - Indian Unleavened bread

The commonest of all Indian breads - and made by people all over the country.  It is quick and easy and nutritious.  There are several variations to the ordinary chappati like adding in a couple of teaspoons of dry fenugreek leaves while mixing the dough for flavour, or using water that you have cooked a beetroot in for a red chappati.  This dish can be experimented with as you please.  The beauty is there is no yeast, oil or salt - so it is very healthy.

Bombay Toast

It is one of those dishes that can be a quick breakfast or a quick afternoon tea snack that satisfies you and keeps you going till the next meal.  It is a take on the French Toast - and this post is for my foodie friend Sharmeen - thank you for those lovely before work breakfast mornings at Cafe Veloci; you with your boiled eggs and me with my French Toast and jam! Yummm!!!!

As a kid I have had many of these usually after school as I came in ravenous, I would gulp down three or four slices a glass of milk and rush right out to play!

Coconut Flat Bread

This is an adaptation of Jamie Oliver's Fluffy Coconut Bread.  I came across the recipe and decided to use it for my pork vindaloo as it was fluffy and would soak up the beautiful juices of the pork dish.

Pooris and Potato Curry - Indian puffed bread with potato curry

"I don't like pooris" said no Indian kid ever! My husband and I were the same and so are my children.  What I also know is that my baby girl came back from school one day and said that her friends made fun of her lunch but she ate it all anyway.  It was years later that I found out though she ate the pooris, she was really traumatized by the experience and wrote about her experience in an article which came to my attention.  In her article she calls the potato curry a florescent yellow curry - and so this is what I think of it as in my mind as well!

But fluorescent or not, she still loves them and  will eat them in the blink of an eye if I made them.  So without further ado, let us see how to make this curry!