Netrankai Upperi and Chakka Upperi(Jackfruit chips)

Banana Chips, Upperi (Kai varuthathu in Malayalam)

Upperi(Plantain Chips)

Plantain pieces

Banana chips (Upperi)

Banana chips usually made in Kerala known as upperi,fried in coconut oil.Buy netrankai, remove the skin and slice into round pieces and deep fry them with salt..

Ingredients

• Raw plantain.......4(nentrakkai)
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Oil to fry.

Method

• Remove the skin of the plantain and cut into round shape.
• Slice them into thin pieces. Heat the oil and when it is hot put the cut sliced bananas into the oil. 
• Stir them .When the noise of the oil is less sprinkle salt water(keep some salt and put water and use) 
• When the chips are cooked remove from the oil and keep them in paper towel (to remove the excess oil)
• Eat the chips with coffee/tea.

Dhokla

Dhokla

Dhokla

DhoklaIngredients

• Besan………...........................2 cups
• Curd…………........................1cup
• Salt to Taste,Sugar......................1tsp
• Soda Bi Carbonate……............1/2 tsp
• Mustard Seeds………..............1 tsp
• Oil……………………...........,2 tbsp
• Green Chili……………............4
• Grated Coconut…....................2tsp
• Chopped Ginger………........…2tsp
• Coriander Leaves Chopped…… 3tsp
• Asafoetida…………….............1/2 tsp

Method

• Mix besan, beaten curd,sugar,oil, soda bi carbonate, salt in a bowl. 
• Add little water if needed.Whisk nicely with out any lumps.
• Cover and keep it for 2 hours.
• Make a paste of ginger and chili and add to the batter. 
• Mix it well. Grease a plate..(can use the dhokla mould)
  and pour the batter evenly and steam it for 15 minutes. 
• Heat a pan add oil and mustard seeds. When it crackles add asafoetida chili and little water.
• Pour this over the dhoklas. Garnish with grated coconut ,coriander leaves on the top.
• Cut into pieces and serve with green chutney.
  You can make dhoklas with the ready made dhokla mix (Khaman)

Mumbai Sandwich

sandwich

Mumbai Sandwich

Sandwich

 Sandwich(White) Bread ......1

• Cucumber............................1
• Tomato................................2

Butter to apply in bread
For chutney

• Grated coconut.............1 cup
• Green chilies.................5
• Asafoetida....................1tsp
• Tamarind......................1 tsp
• Ginger..........................1 small piece
• Coriander leaves...........few
• Salt to taste

Method

• Cut the tomato and cucumber thin round slices.
• Grind coconut,chilies, tamarind,asafoetida, coriander leaves and salt. to make chutney.
• Take the bread, apply the butter and spread the spice chutney. Place the cucumber tomato slices.
• Take another slice of bread apply butter put on the bread slice and press lightly and cut the sandwich into triangle pieces.(steamed potato, beetroot and onion can be used for sandwiches.)
• Serve the sandwiches with ketchup

Bread sandwich(with Dhal and Podhina)


Ingredients

• Turdhal,masoor dhal and chana dhal....... 1/2 cup each
• Jeera.......................................................1/2 tsp
• Bread..slices............................................6
• Chili powder...........................................1tsp
• Podhina leaves........................................1packet
• Salt to Taste 
• Butter
• Oil
  

Method

• Soak the dhals for an hour.
• Grind them with salt coarsely. No adding water. 
• Clean the podhina leaves and cut them into pieces.Heat a pan with oil add jeera. 
• Put the ground dhal paste. Keep in a low flame and stir it. 
• Fry it till they becomes separate.
• Add podhina leaves and fry 5 more minutes.
  
• Cut the bread in round shape. keep the dhal mixture in the center. 
• Cover with anther bread slice .Block all the sides with little water. 
• Heat a pan and. keep the bread sandwich with little butter. 
• When one side becomes crisp turn to other side.
• Serve this hot sandwich with chutney.

Medu Vadai



Medu vada

Vadai is  a traditional South Indian food.  Vadas are typical street food in India  and in railway stations too. Everybody loves this snack. eat with chutney or sambar

Ingredientsdients

• Urad Dhal                                 2cups
• Green Chilies                            5
• Asafoetida                                1/4 tsp
• Raw Rice                                  1tsp
• Curry Leaves                            few         
• Salt to Taste
• Oil to Fry

Method

• Wash and soak the dal, rice for 3 hours. Grind  into fine paste adding chilis (add pepper corns also)salt curry leaves.
•  Do not add water and mix the batter well.
• Heat a pan with oil . Wet your palms and take batter into the palms.
• Shape into balls and make a hole in the center.
• Deep-fry them in oil until golden brown and crisp.
• Serve them with coconut chutney and sambhar

Thenkuzhal

Thenkuzhal
In India appetizer is very popular. We eat this Thenkuzal snack with coffee.

Ingredients

 

 

•  Rice Flour………… 4 cups
• Urad Dhal Powder….1/2 cup(Roast Urad Dhal till reddish,
• Cool it and powder it very finely in a mixer. )
• Butter……………......... half stick
• Salt………………........ to taste
• Asafoetida……….........1/2 tsp
• Pepper/jeera Powder… 1tsp(optional)

Method

• Mix rice flour and dhal powder, salt, jeera melted butter asafoetida and little water and make a thick dough. Heat a pan with oil. 
• When the oil is hot,take a thenkuzhal press(you can buy the press) and fill with handful dough and make circular motion pouring into hot oil.
• When they are fried both sides remove them.

Olive Pickle

• Olive Pickle (like Avakkai)
• Olives..............2 to 2 1/2 measures
• 1: 1/2 : 1/4 measure Chilli Powder : 
• Salt : Mustard Powder

• Chopped or crushed peeled garlic - 4-8 cloves (or do i mean pods? not the whole things....).
•  you can skip them if you want.Grind up a few toasted Methi seeds (1/8th teaspoon?) with the mustard. Drain the olives. Make small incisions on the side if the olives are not pitted. 
• Mix the powders and the olives and let them sit for a few hours (at least two). 
• Add oil (preferably sesame) and bottle! That's it!
• Usually (fresh) green olives with pits are not sour enough like the pitted or marinated kind. If that is the case, add some lemon juice at the end (cut down on the oil). 
• Or, if you can find good amchoor, add some amchoor along with the powders. 
• You can also add a few kala chana but they will need to soak in the pickle for a few days before they are edible. 
• To speed up the process, you can soak them for a couple of ours in warm water, dry them *thoroughly* with some paper towels and then throw them in.
• This is the basic recipe.... you can vary the mustard powder and use it

Tapioca Vathal("javvarisi" Vathal/Karuvadam)

We can make vadam in many ways.We call it vadam, vathal, karuvadam.These things takes usto  our olden days.In our house we make large quantities of vathal koozh.It is very to eat this koozh. we use raw rice and javvarisi (Sago) with chili green paste and salt.We can use flour or rice..


Recipe for vadaam

• Tapioca(Jawarisi)............ 1 cup
• Green Chilies - ................6
• Asafoetida.......................1/4 tsp
• Ajwain - ..........................half tsp
• Lemon Juice....................1tsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 1 tsp

Method



Elai Vadam



• Soak tapioca in water for 2 hours.
• Grind tapioca with chillies, salt, hing to about dosai consistency
• Boil 2 glasses of water with 1 tsp of oil and ajwain
• Add the tapioca dough to the boiling water
• Stir continuously adding water, if very thick(depends on the tapioca-sometimes it 'drinks water' as we say), till the tapioca looks transparent
• Let the mixture cool down[if the mixture is very thick after it cools down, add more boiling water to get it to the right consistency)
• Add lemon juice and mix.
• On a plastic paper, spoon the mixture like vadam.
• When the vadam dries up, it automatically will detach from the plastic.
• 
  

Elai Vadam

Elai Vadam

 Poritha   Elai Vadam

Vadam(It is like pappad, . deep fried in oil and eaten as a side-dish for sambar rice, rasam rice. (can also be used as savory with coffee and tea)While frying they almost triple their original size and can be used as a savory with tea and drinks.

Ingredients 

• Raw Rice .............1cup
• Boiled Rice...........1 cup
• Green Chili..........3
• Asafoetida...... pinch
• Salt to Taste

Method

Soak both rice for 3 hours and grind finely with chilies and salt .

• Take the vadam Thattu apply oil in all plates.
• Take 1 tsp batter in each plate and spread it thin and put them in the stand.
• Steam the for 5 minutes.



• Let it cool. Peel each and put them in plastic sheet inside the house.
•  Next day the elai vadam will be ready to fry..

Dried Vadam

Adai

Adai

Adai With All Grains

Batter

Adai (with all grains) Adai Dosa is a very popular South Indian dish.

Ingredients 

• Raw Rice...........................3 cups
• Whole Black Urad dhal.... 1/2 cup
• Tur Dhal............................1/2 cup
• Red Beans................... ....1/4 cup
• Chick Peas..................... .1/4 cup
• Whole Moong dhal...........1/4 cup
• Red Chili........................ .10
• Curry Leaves....................few(cut into small pieces)
• Asafoetida.......................1/2 tsp
• Salt to Taste

Method

• Soak all grains separately for 5 hours and grind with chilies, salt and asafoetida coarsely. 
• Add curry leaves. Heat a dosa griddle ( a flat tawa/frying pan) on medium heat, pour 1 tea spoon of til(sesame) oil ,when it is heated, add the batter and spread it like dosa and pour 1 tsp oil or ghee on it..
• When it turns golden , turn it and cook the other side.Serve hot with chutney/ jaggery or mulakai podi.( you can add finely chopped cabbage or onion with the batter .This dosa is very good for health)

Karadayan Nombu Adai

iNombu Adai

Karadayan Nombu : (March 14th) Karadayan nombu is a religious function observed by women in memory of Savithri who saved her husband Satyavan from the clutches of God of death-Yama. This special Adai is made and offered to God on this day (March 14th) 

Ingredients

• Fried rice flour................2cups
• Powdered jaggery..........2cups
• Water .......................... 2cups
• Coconut pieces..............quarter cup
• Cardamom powder........1 tsp
• Karamani payaru
• (Lobhiya in Hindi
• and small brown beans ), ........quarter cup

Roasted rice Flour, Karamani and coconut flakes

Method

Nombu Adai

• Cook the payaru in cooker
• Fry the rice powder. Add water , jaggery mix well and boil.
• Strain the jaggery syrup . 
• When it boiled add cooked beans, coconut rice flour and cardamom powder. 
• See that it does not form lumps.
• Take little oil or ghee grease the idli vessel. 
• Take a lemon size dough and flatten in a round shape and make a hole in the centre. 
• Steam them for about 10 minutes. Eat them with butter.

Kara Adai(salt Adai)

Ingredients

• Fried rice flour................ ........2 cups
• Cooked small kidney beans.... 1/4cup
• Pieces of coconut................... 1/4 cup
• Water......................................2 cups
• Hing....................................... a pinch
• Water..................................... 2cups

Seasoning

• Mustard ........ ........................1 tsp
• Urad dhal............................... 2 tsp
• Green chillies........................... 3
• Chopped.ginger....................... 1 tsp
• Curry leaves.............................few
• Red chilli.................................1
• Oil..........................................2 tsp
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat a pan with oil add mustard , dal ,chilli, ginger and curry leaves. 
• When the mustard splutter , add water,cooked kidney beans,, salt and coconut. 
• When the water boils add the rice powder . 
• Mix it with out forming lumps. 
• Take lemon size dough(wet your hands) flatten it in plantain leaf or idli vessel and steam them.
• Tips
• Add the flour when the water boils. If the dough is very thick add little hot water and mix it.