Malabar Aripathiri With Kozhi Roast / Malabar Rice Roti With Chicken Roast

Aripathiri is a thin roti made from rice flour and a speciality of the Malabar region of Kerala. It is so thin that it just melts in the mouth. A healthy roti without oil. It is served for breakfast or dinner and goes well with any masala curries. I like it best with Nadan Varutharacha Chicken Curry or any simple chicken curry or roast.

The only thing to keep in mind when you think of making Pathiri is that you need to be ready to stay long in the kitchen. :) Because no matter how many Pathiris you serve it just disappears in seconds. It is so tasty that you cannot stop eating at just one or two.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and enjoyed the New Year weekend.

I thought to begin the year with a local special which is one of my favorite too.

Ari Pathiri

INGREDIENTS

Rice flour - 1 1/2 cup + more for dusting
Water - 1 cup
Salt - as required

METHOD
Boil water. When it comes to a rolling boil add salt.
Tip in the flour into a wide bowl.
Add water to the flour.
Using a ladle slowly mix it.
When it is a little cool knead it into a smooth dough.
Make small balls.
Place each ball on a chapathi board. Sprinkle little rice flour on it and roll it into thin pathiris.
Cut out perfect pathiris using a lid with sharp edges.
Heat a tawa. When it is medium hot place one pathiri on it.
After about 10 seconds turn it over and let cook well on that side.
When small brown dots start appearing flip it over and with a wooden ladle press it gently on the sides. When the pathiri puffs up remove from tawa.

Tips:
Use very fine rice powder.
The amount of water may differ depending on the kind on flour used. Just remember that you need to knead it like chapathi dough. 
Knead the flour till it is real soft. If you are going to roll out pathiris after a long time sprinkle some warm water and knead again before use.
Do not use too much rice flour to sprinkle as pathiris will get too dry.
Cook pathiris on medium heat only as if it is too high it gets burnt easily and will not cook inside. And if it is too low it gets stiff.

Chicken Roast with 1 tsp Oil
Recipe Source : My own

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1/2 kg (cut into small pieces)
Onion - 2 large (thinly sliced)
Chilly - 1 slit into half
Ginger - 1'' piece
Garlic - 4
Tomato - 2 large
Chicken Masala - 2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp
Vinegar / Lime - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - a pinch
Coconut Milk - 1/2 cup (thin)
Oil - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Salt - as required

METHOD
Marinate the chicken with vinegar/lime, salt and pepper for 1/2 hour or min 15 mins.
Chop the ginger and chilly roughly.
Place the ginger, garlic and chilly in a pestle and mortar and crush it.
Heat oil in a nonstick kadai.
Saute the onions till soft.
Add the crushed ginger, garlic and chilly.
Add chicken masala, garam masala and coriander powder. Saute.
Add tomato. Mix well. Add salt. Cover and cook on low flame till the tomato is well cooked.
Add the chicken and cover. Place a heavy weight on the lid. Cook on slow flame.
After 10 minutes open and stir. Again cover and cook till chicken is fully cooked.
Add coconut milk. Stir well. Check salt and let all the gravy get absorbed in the chicken.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Tips:
Slow cooking helps in absorbing all the flavours in the chicken.
I used Eastern Chicken Masala powder.

Kallumakkaya Upperi / Mussels Dry

Kallumakkaya Upperi is the special dish we prepare at Thalassery (North Malabar, Kerala). This is quite different from the oil fried ones and the stuffed ones. Mussels/ Kallumakkaya/ Kadukka is a shell fish harvested from the coastline rocks. As it is being harvested now even in fresh water they are available throughout the year.

This was the first time I tried shooting outside my home. It was quite cloudy and I loved the look I got in the snaps. It started drizzling in b/w and I had to run for cover and when I came back again I just loved the wet look which you can see in the last snap. Totally enjoyed it!! Hope everyone of you enjoy the recipe as well as the photographs.. :)

INGREDIENTS
Recipe Source: Reshma (My sweet sister)

Kallumakkaya/Mussels - 1/2 kg
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - As required
Onion - 1 large chopped finely
Chilly - 2 Split into 1/2
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Coconut oil - 1 1/2  tbsp
Water - 1/2 cup

METHOD

Wash and clean the mussels.
Add chilly, turmeric and salt. Keep aside for half hour.
Mix the mussels well. Add water and cook.
Let cool and then chop mussels into small pieces.
Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. When it splutters add curry leaves.
Add onions, chilly and stir well for 10 - 15 secs.
Add the mussels and keep stirring for 1 minute.
Check salt.
Add coconut and remove from heat.

Tips:

Add salt sparingly as mussels have salt in it.

Kinnathappam / Malabar Style Rice Cake in an Uruli

It is yet another famous tradional dessert famous in the Malabar region. Kinnathappam is served on all major occasions like weddings, house warming, baby shower...the list goes on. 

Kinnathappam is a rice cake cooked in rich coconut milk, enriched with ghee, sweetened with jaggery and spiced up with cardamom. The texture is very soft and the color is deep brown.

'Kinnam' refers to the vessel or plate in which it is transferred to and 'Appam' is the rice cake.

I have always seen people buying it from bakeries and wondered how this soft and tasty appam is prepared and decided to find the traditional way of preparing it. The first reaction I got from all was ''ohh..that is very time consuming and takes a lot of heavy stirring.'' But I was still for it to learn a very authentic dish. Finally I got the recipe and here it is for my dear readers.

Coming to the preparation part it is very tedious but the end result just makes us forget the time taken to prepare this yummy rice cake. It requires a minimum of 3 people just to stir. And since it requires lot of  effort it is usually prepared in bulk. Home prepared kinnthappams stay longer compared to the ones at bakeries. Here are the step by step preparation of Kinnathappam. Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS

Raw Rice	1 kg
Jaggery	¾  kg light + ¾ kg dark
Chana Dal (Kadala Paripu)	¼ kg
Coconut	5 large
Cardomom	5
Sugar	2 tbsp + 1 cup
Water	7 litre
Ghee	3 tbsp

METHOD

Melt jaggery by adding 200 ml water. Filter it in a sieve to remove impurities. Let it cool.

Cook Chana Dal  with one piece of Jaggery in a pressure cooker. Add water just enough so that it sinks and cook till 1 whistle (half cooked).

Grind the rice to a thin paste form.

Powder the cardamom along with 2 table spoon sugar and remove skin from the mixture.

Grate coconut and sqeeze to remove the first milk(Onnam Paal). Keep aside.

Add 200 ml warm water to the coconut and squeeze to remove the second milk (Randam Paal) and third milk (moonam paal).

Keep a thick bottom vessel/ Uruli ready to start the cooking process.Mix the rice batter, second and third coconut milk, jaggery, remaining water and start stirring on high flame.

This has to be continuously stirred using a long steel spatula. It has to be steel or a heavy duty stirrer as the mixture will thicken as you stir and it will be difficult to stir otherwise.

When the mixture starts thickening (it will take about 2 hours) add the first milk and cardamom powder. Take a small portion and hold it b/w your thumb and index finger, press it and pull. A strand consistency is formed.

After about 15 minutes add ghee to the sides of the vessel. Add the chana dal and mix well.

Add sugar at this stage as per your taste/or you feel the sweetness is not enough.

This is the tradional kinnam. Keep the kinnam/vessel/ any other dish ready

 Keep scrapping off any mixture that sticks to the sides with a knife.

The mixture will start leaving the sides and start wobbling like a jelly and leaving the sides of the Uruli.

By this time keep the Kinnams /Brass vessels/ any dish ready with ghee smeared on it.

The right consistency is when you hold a small portion in between your thumb and index finger and roll, it forms a ball shape without sticking to your fingers.

Remove from fire and quickly transfer it to the vessels and flatten it so that it takes the form of the vessel.

Cool, invert it on a plate, cut and serve.

Easy Kalathappam in a Pressure Cooker

I have always been a great fan of this rice cake called Kalathappam. It’s only after I got married that I tried my hand at making this. I have always wondered and admired the way Kalathappam looks when you cut it. Lovely!!

So here is the recipe. I have seen many tedious never ending recipes for Kalathappam. This ones easy!!

This again is a North Malabar speciality. Very famous in Kannur and Thalassery. :)

Kalathappam is a rice cake which can be made in a traditional oven/ Pressure cooker/Oven.

It is made of rice flour, jaggery, fried shallots, cardamom and coconut flakes.

INGREDIENTS

Jeerakashala Rice /Short grain rice               1 cup

Cooked boiled Rice                                     ¼ cup     

Water                                                          1 cup + ½ cup

Cardamom                                                   2

Salt                                                              As required

Jaggery(Light brown)                                   200 gm (300g if you like it sweet)

Coconut Oil                                                3 tbsp

Coconut Flakes                                          2 tbsp

Shallots (Cheria Ulli)                                   2 tbsp     

Baking Soda                                              A pinch
SmallJeera                                                 A pinch

METHOD

Soak rice for 1/2 hour to 1 hour and keep to drain.  

Grind rice fine with 1 cup water, boiled rice, a pinch of salt, cardamom(remove skin) and jeera.
Transfer to a bowl/ vessel.
Add baking soda to the rice mixture and stir well.

In a vessel add jaggery with half cup water and let it melt on slow fire. Stir in between.

Pass the melted jaggery through a sieve into the rice mixture.

Add salt if required.
Heat the pressure cooker.

Add oil and sauté coconut flakes first and then add the finely chopped shallots.

Stir till its light brown and pour the rice jaggery mixture. Do not stir.

Close the cooker. Do not place the weight.

Cook on high flame for 1 ½ minutes and in low flame for 15 minutes.

Check if the Kalathappam is cooked by inserting a toothpick. It should come out clean. Else cook for another 5 minutes only.

Remove cooker from cook top and let cool.

When cool invert and serve.. 

  

Tips:
Use a small pressure cooker.
You can use good quality raw rice or basmati rice. (My readers tried it and it was successful)
I grind it in a mixer. It's easy.
Increase the jaggery if you like it sweet. 300 g would be sweet enough.
Stick to the time instructions for success. Make sure the flame is very low after 1 1/2 minutes of high flame else it will get burnt.
As the flame size may differ make sure you insert a toothpick in the center to see it its cooked. If it's not then cook for another 2 - 5 minutes and check.
Use good quality rice else it may become sticky.
Use fresh stock of baking soda.        
Adjust salt as required. It helps to bring out the flavours. 
Do not reduce the quantity of oil used else it may stick to the bottom of the cooker.                      

Have you prepared any recipes from the blog? If you feel like sharing your experiences and thoughts with me and the readers of my blog, you can send me a photo and your comments about the recipe (anything you changed / improved). I would be delighted to hear from you. Mail me to rinkuskitchentreats@gmail.com. Thank you!

Arikkadukka/Stuffed Mussels

Arikkadukka/ Stuffed Mussels is a speciality of Kannur and Thalassery. I could go on and on eating this tasty snack. I know its not a good idea but it says it all. This is one of the best way to eat mussels.

Clean them, steam them, cook them and EAT them!! A good appetizer..Try it out..I am sure you will thank me :)

Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS
Recipe source: My mom

Ingredients	Quantity
Mussels	20
Parboiled Rice	500 gm
Grated Fresh Coconut	1 Medium
Aniseed (saunf)	1 tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	to fry
For Marinade
Red Chilli powder	2 tbsp
Turmeric	1 pinch
Salt	to taste

METHOD

• Soak rice overnight.
• Scrub and wash the mussels clean.
• Cut open each one half way down, remove the hairy substance and dirt.
• Wash again removing any dirt inside.
• Keep it upside down to drain.
• Grind rice, aniseed, coconut and salt.
• Stuff the mussels with the rice mixture and close. Tie it with a string.
• Steam it for 10- 15  minutes. Remove from fire and cool.
• Remove stuffing along with the mussel.
• Mix the chilly, turmeric and salt in little water to make it a paste.
• Dip each mussel in marinade and shallow fry till crisp.
• Transfer it into a plate with kitchen paper. Serve hot.

Tips:
Make sure you don't open the shell fully. Just slide a knife slowly and open halfway.
Add salt with care as mussels are salty.
While steaming you can stack the stuffed mussel shells on top of each other. Steam it in an idli maker.