Appo / Appe / Appam / Paniyaram / Indian Aebleskiver

Appam or appo (in Konkani) is like Konkani pancake made for breakfast. It is good change from the daily dosa and idli breakfast items. It is another good tiffin recipe. Traditionally, we don't add onion, coriander while making the appam's. Left over dosa or idli batter can also be used to make appams. Aebleskiver's are very similar to appo in looks but they are made from flour and are sweet in taste. It was interesting to see that similar dish like appo is prepared in Europe. Read more about aebleskiver's here.
I was in search of a Aebleskiver pan ("appe kalyali" in Konkani) since a long time. I found many non-stick Aebleskiver pans at Bed Bath and Beyond and at other shops. I am not very fond of non-stick pans as I have read about the harmful effects of teflon in many online articles. I also feel the non stick coating will wear away without my noticing it.
According to a article "According to a study by the advocacy group, non-stick pots and pans could reach 700 degrees Fahrenheit (370 C) in 3-5 minutes, releasing 15 harmful gases and chemicals, including two carcinogens, two global pollutants, and MFA, a chemical lethal to humans at low doses. Non-stick coatings break down to a chemical warfare agent known as PFIB, and a chemical analog of the WWII nerve gas, phosgene." [1]
Hence, I usually buy anodized iron pans or heavy aluminum pans from the Indian store or cast iron skillets from online stores. I bought this Aebleskiver pan on Amazon.

Ingredients
3 cups rice

1 cup urad dal or split black gram or black lentil
1 cup medium onion
8-9 tablespoon chopped coriander or cilantro
1/2 cup finely chopped coconut pieces
1 teaspoon salt
oil

Method
Soak rice and urad dal in warm water for 6-8 hours. Grind a part of urad dal very finely. Add a part of rice and grind it with the urad dal as finely as possibly. Repeat this with the rest of urad dal and rice. Mix salt in the batter. Keep the batter ina warm place for 8-10 hours. I heat the oven to 100 degrees and then switch off the oven once it is hot. I then leave the batter inside the oven for 8-10 hours for fermentation.

Chop onions finely. Ad the onions, coriander leaves and coconut pieces to the batter. Oil the Aebleskiver pan or appo pan till hot and oil it well. i keep the heat on high till the pan heats up. Then I drop the heat to medium. Drop a tablespoon of batter into every hole in the pan.

Cover the pan for around 4-5 minutes. Remove cover and flip the appo's with a fork or a knife.It is a little tricky to flip the appe's and they may stick to the pan if the pan is not well oiled. Cook the appe's on the other side till it is light brown. Serve hot with coconut chutney.
Appe's can also be served with dry coconut chutney (chopra chutney recipe coming soon..) or coconut chutney.

Gobi Musallam / Whole Cauliflower Stuffed with Gravy

My learning to make Gobi Mussalum is a Comedy Of Errors. I first tried this recipe from Women's Era long time ago when I was in India before my marriage. The cauliflower took a long time to cook as I had not steamed it as mentioned in the recipe. The next time I tried, the cauliflower florets broke when I was stuffing the masala into the cauliflower. I guess I had over cooked the cauliflower. Another time, the masala was very runny and it did not stick to the cauliflower. After many failed attempts I learnt how to make the perfect Gobi Mussalam. I like this recipe as it is easy to make (if made correctly) and it is a great change from the regular gobi sabzi. I also make part of the recipe (masala) earlier, say in the morning and then integrate it and bake it just before dinner or lunch. It also keeps well for a day and tastes even better the next day. We usually buy baby cauliflowers from farmer's market and they are in season currently. Using baby cauliflowers makes it easier to stuff the small cauliflowers with the masala as opposed to larger ones.

Ingredients
5-6 baby cauliflowers
2 medium onion
2 tablespoon tomato paste or 3 tomatoes
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup milk
2-3 green chilies
4 tablespoon coriander leaves or cilantro
1/2 teaspoon amchur powder or dry mango powder

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
7 cashew nuts
salt for taste
oil

Method
Remove the stalk's of the cauliflowers and boil them in cooker for 8 minutes. Don't put the whistle or weight on the cooker. Drain all the water by placing them on a kitchen paper. Put a teaspoon oil in a flat pan and roast the cauliflowers till the heads are brown. Make small slits on the cauliflower with a knife head to stuff the masala. Keep aside.

Chop the onions. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Saute for a minute. Add chopped ginger, garlic and chopped green chilies. Add onion and fry till the raw smell of the onion is eliminated. Add cashew nuts and saute for a minute. Grind all the fried ingredients into a fine thick paste with milk. Put the paste into the same pan in which the onions were fried. Saute for around 4 minutes on medium flame. If you are using tomatoes, then chop them finely and cook them in a pan till the water has evaporated and then grind it into a fine paste. Add tomato paste and saute till the tomato paste has completely dissolve into the paste. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, garam masala powder, amchur powder and salt. Stir till a thick paste is formed. Add a little more salt and chili powder taking into consideration that the cauliflower is bland.
I take 3 tablespoon of this paste and add a little milk to make it liquid-ish. Put this liquid into the cauliflower bottoms to coat the interiors of the cauliflower with the masala. Now use all the thick masala and coat it on the bottoms and tops of the cauliflower and also push the masala into the slits. Line the cauliflowers in a baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes at 400 degrees. Check after 20 minutes to see if the masala on the top has browned. If not cook for approximately 20 more minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. I did not garnish it as I ran out of coriander leaves today:). Serve hot with roti.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Serves: 3-4

Sliced Coconut

I am always trying new stuff I find in the Indian store, Costco, Trader's Joe's and other stores. I find some interesting items which are founf in ome stores but are not found in other stores. Also stores like costco are so vast that it is impossible to know all the items which are found there. My recent find at Costco is Alphonso mango juice and masala burger's from Trader's Joe. I am hence starting this column to list all the interesting items found in various stores in the Bay Area.
The first in the series is sliced coconut. I get it from Coconut Hill grocery store. I have discovered that my curries taste delicious and flavorful when I use sliced coconut as opposed to grated coconut. Check it out.

Gharge

I always look to make something good out of vegetables and hide them in dosas, idlis, rice dishes. I was delighted to see gharge recipe on Tee's blog. This dish is a very great way of eating pumpkin or squash. It is like pumpkin puri's made in north Indian cities but with an addition of jaggery and semolina. It is also similar to buns made in Mangalore. Click here for Mangalore Buns recipe. The best part is it can be stored for many days after preparing it. Gharge can be eaten as a dessert or as a snack. Visit Tee's blog Bhaatukli and click here for Gharge recipe.

Alu Palak / Aloo Palak / Paneer Palak / Spinach Gravy with Potatoes

Paneer palak or alu palak is another of my grandmother's favorite recipes. She would add a pinch of her home made garam masala and it would add a unique flavor to the alu palak. My 6 year old cousin would think that the alu's in the alu palak were chicken pieces. my grand mom would also call it vegetarian chicken curry. Paneer can also be made at home. We would mostly buy paneer from the dairy. But sometimes if the milk got curdled, then my mom would make paneer at home and make palak paneer.

Ingredients
4 cups palak or spinach leaves
1 cup cubed paneer or cubed boiled potatoes
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste or 2 tomatoes
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt as per taste
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or as per taste
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
oil

Method
Wash the palak thoroughly and boil the palak leaves. Grind them coarsely in a blender. If you are using paneer, then oil a tava and fry the paneer till it is golden brown on all sides. I usually don't fry the paneer. Chop the onions finely. Put 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet and heat it. Add cumin seeds and saute for around 5 seconds. Add onions and fry till brown. Add chopped tomatoes or tomato puree. Cook till the tomatoes are soft. Add the palak puree and cook it for 5 minutes. Add the paneer or potato along with turmeric powder, chili powder and garam masala. Add salt as per taste. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Coconut Chutney

Coconut chutney is a versatile chutney which goes well with dosa and idli. This chutney can be made with the seasoning or without it. Traditionally it is seasoned with mustard seeds. But both I and my husband like it without the seasoning.

Ingredients
1 cup grated coconut
small piece of tamarind (size of 2 peas)
2-3 green chilies
salt for taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coconut oil
4-5 curry leaves or kadipatta

Method
Grind the coconut, tamarind, chilies into a very fine paste. Heat oil in a seasoning pan and add mustard seeds. When the sesds splutter, remove from heat and add curry leaves. Add this seasoning on the chutney. Serve with dosa or idli.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves: 3-4