Stir Fry String Hopper

 

This is the great recepi with leftover string hoppers or iddiappam. Easy peasy recepi which can be prepared in a simplest way. Some call it kothu iddiappam and some as iddiappam uppuma. Whatever name it is the taste matters and I shall say it's delicious 😋. I made this with leftover iddiappam from our previous night dinner and Dandelion love this stir fry string hoppers for their breakfast.

Different from our usual sweet iddiappam with sugar and sheredded coconut or the savoury version of dipping the vegetable stew or gravies,  this recepi is a must to try. I have made the non-spicy version you may add chilly powder or chilly flakes for hot and spicy iddiappam. 

This stir fry iddiappam are great to dish out for family gathering or as a tea time treat with a cuppa. It's a healthier dinner option as well. Guess, with this yummy iddiappam recepi there'll be no more issues of having unsolved  leftover iddiappam issue 😀.

Ingredients

3 pcs string hoppers/iddiappam

2 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp cashews 

1 spring curry leaves

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red chilly,chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves 

1 tbsp lemon juice 

Salt to taste

Methods

Cut the iddiappam into small pieces and keep aside. 

Heat ghee in a pan and fry the cashews till golden. Remove from pan and keep aside.

In the same pan,  add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutters add onion and garlic. Sautee till the onion soften. 

Add curry leaves,chopped chilly and turmeric powder. Stir and add the iddiappam.

Stir and add the roasted cashews,  cook for a minute or two. Turn off the heat and add lemon juice. Stir and transfer to a serving plate.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Chakka Nei Appam

 

If you're a fan of traditional sweets than,  this recipe is definitely for you. Chakka nei appam or jackfruit kuzhi panniyaram often serves as Neiveidhyam or as an offering to God on suspicious day. I made this for Ganesha Chahurti as prasadham for Lord Ganesha. May His blessings be upon each and everyone of us. 

Coming back to the recepi, we were having jackruit in abundance here in the market and I bought some back for snacking. I served it as a fruit bowl for our breakfast and reserved some for making appam. Choose a ripe jackfruit for the recipe. To enhance the taste I reserved some chopped jackfruit pieces to add into the batter so that,  we could bite into the tiny bit of jackfruit in the appam. Those little addition enhance the taste and texture to the appam.

I have tried the same recepi by adding coconut pieces which goes well too but, I prefer the jackruit pieces better.  Different people different taste. Try both and let me know your preference. The sweet and fragrance jackfruit appam are great as tea time or even as breakfast. This soft, spongy and fluffy Kerala special sweets is absolutely delicious and will make others wanting for more. 

Ingredients 

1 cup raw rice 

1 tbsp year dhal

1 cup grated jaggery

3 cardamom pods

1 cup jackruit,deseeded & roughly chopped 

1/4 cup finely chopped jackfruit

1/4 tsp fenugreek

1/2 cup ghee

Pinch of salt 

Methods

Wash and soak rice with urad dhal and fenugreek seeds for at least 2 hours. 

Grind the soaked rice mixture with jaggery, cardamom pods and 1 cup chopped jackfruit by adding little water. Grind into smooth batter. 

Transfer batter to a large bowl, add salt and mix well. Cover with lid and rest the batter for at least 2 hours to ferment. 

Add the 1/4 cup of chopped jackfruit to the fermented batter and stir. 

Heat the kuzhi panniyaram pan over low heat and add 1 tbsp of ghee to each hole of the pan. 

Pour the batter into each hole and cook for 1-2 minutes and using a bamboo stick gently flip the appam to cook on the other side.  Let it cook for another 1-2 minutes till golden brown. Remove from the pan. 

Continue the process with the remaining batter. 

Serve with a hot cup of black tea or milk chai.

Safflower Tea

 

One of the simplest the tea recepi ever and thats Safflower tea for you. Do not mistake Safflower with Saffron eventhough, both look similar. Safflower also known as poor man's saffron has been used for ages as substitute to Saffron. Just like Saffron, Safflower derive a beautiful golden hue when soak in water which is perfect for food dying with natural way. Safflower oil used for salad dressing as well. 

My elder Dandelion is a big fan of herbal teas especially fruits and flowers tea. She have almost 20-25 varieties of herbal tea collection and Safflower are one of them. I used Safflower for my Indian kheer,making tea and in my aromatic rice varieties. In this recipe,  adding honey is an optional. There are days we just have our Safflower tea without any sweetener and it tastes as good.  I bought Safflower via online and absolutely no regret of buying. One of my best tea purchase I shall admit. 

Safflower aids weight loss, lowers cholesterol,improves blood sugar levels,boost heart health, soothes dry skin and reduce inflammation. Safflower has potential for blood thinning which prevent blood clotting thus,  if you have bleeding disorder or undergoing surgery do avoid taking Safflower. Just like everything & anything moderation is the key. Do not overconsume Safflower tea or oil. 

Ingredients 

1/2 tsp Safflower 

1 cup hot boiling water

1/2 tsp honey

Methods

In a cup add Safflower and hot boiling water. 

Cover with lid and steep for 5-7 minutes.

Strain the tea and add honey. Stir and enjoy.

Chocolate Apricot Biscotti

Another recepi requested by my younger Dandelion. She's a chocolate freak and which child doesn't? I give in to her request and baked her delicious chocolate Biscotti with dried apricots. Chocolate and apricot really go well.  I'm a regular when it comes to apricot. Dried apricots are always available online or in Middle Eastern groceries here and I buy them for snacking.

I love the not so sweet but chewy and fleshy apricots in my smoothies,salads or even as munching on it's own. The same apricots went into this chocolate apricot Biscotti which my Dandelions love on every bite. It's chocolatey, chewy and burst and absolutely delicious. For an extra kick I added milk chocolate chips in the batter..white chocolate chips goes well with the recipe.

Store in air tight container and it stays good for a week or two. Great as tea time snack or even for parties. Dunk in a tall glass milk or thick glossy hot chocolate for an amazing Biscotti experience.

Ingredients

2 cups + 3 tbsp all purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots 
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup butter,room temperature
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs,room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt


Methods

Preheat oven at 350'F or 176'C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Keep aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour,baking soda,baking powder,salt and cocoa powder. Keep aside.

In another bowl, beat sugar and eggs on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes. Beat in butter and vanilla for another 1 minute.

Reduce speed to low and gradually, add the flour mixture,chocolate chips and chopped apricots. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat until well mixed. 

Lightly dust a clean working surface with flour and knead the dough. The dough will be sticky, sprinkle the remaining 3 tbsp flour and continue kneading. Shape the dough into 2 (8x2 inch) logs.

Place the logs 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking tray and flatten the surface slightly . 

Bake in a preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10-15 minutes on baking tray.

Using a sharp knife, cut the logs diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange on baking tray and bake for 18-20 minutes on the same oven temperature until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.

Store in an airtight container.

Sri Lankan Paan Or Thatti Bread

Sri Lanka is the one place that in bucketlist to visit. Beautiful country with equally mouth watering delicacies. I tried few of Sri Lankan cuisines at home and marvel with the ingredients and preparation. One of those tried dish is this ever beautiful Sri Lankan Paan bread or Thatti bread. It might be a tedious process but, trust me it's all worth the hard work.

I love those beautiful crust that formed and the smell of freshly baked bread.  I placed butter paper on each section of the bread for easy separation but,  it's truly exceptional. The brushes oil flour mixture could easily do the trick but I was just skeptical since,  it's my 1st trial. This bread can be found in most of Sri Lanka be it in restaurants or on the street and most home do make their own. One of the most popular Sri Lankan bread.

The bread make an ideal breakfast or as an tea time treat. Serve along with coconut sambol,seeni sambol or dip in curry wit a hot tea. Heaven on earth I shall say. 

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups bread flour
1 package active dry yeast
350g  lukewarm water

235g lukewarm milk

36g butter, room temperature 
1 tsp granulated white sugar
1 tsp salt

For The Oil Flour Mixture

30g bread flour

30g coconut oil 

3 tbsp melted butter 

Methods

In a stand mixer bowl, add yeast,warm water,warm milk and sugar. Stir and keep aside until foamy.

Add the room temperature butter,salt and 3 cups flour.  Knead about 10 minutes to form a elastic & pli dough.

Place the dough in a greased large bowl, cover with damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hour in a warm place.

Oil Flour Mixture 

Add the melted butter and 35g bread flour in a bowl and keep aside. 


Dust a clean working surface with flour, and punch down the dough and divide the dough into 6 equal balls. 

Cover the dough with kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 15-20 minutes.

Take a ball flatten to the same with of your loaf pan.

Roll the dough to form cylinder and gently press the edges and both sides (left and right of the dough) to seal.

Place the dough seamside down and brush with the oil flour mixture. Continue with the remaining dough. Do not over crowd the pan as the dough will double in size during proofing. 

Cover the pan with kitchen towel & rest for another 30 minutes. Spray the top with water. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove from pan and carefully separate each slices on a baking tray and brush with melted butter.  Change oven setting to broil and broil for 1-2 minutes till brown. Repeat the same on the other side of the bread. 

Remove from oven and let it cool completely before slicing. 

Serve with coconut sambol.

Marina Boat

 

This is my version for a quick tea time treat or make an excellent breakfast as well. I call them marinara boat as the baguette resembles a boat 😉. It's filling,cheezy, and absolutely delicious. One recepi you shall pin for a lazy meal as this can be prepared in a jiffy. Perfect as a bachelor dish or for a weekdays light dinner as well.

This mozarella boat is a short cut version on pizza with marina sauce and assorted toppings. Do play out your creativity to customize according your preferences. Spinach,bell pepper,dried thyme,cooked shredded chicken,sausages and countless toppings works well for this beautiful boat.

I used store bought marina dip just to finish up the jar which is nearing it's expiry. You can make your own fresh marinara sauce as well. Serve with a dipping of marinara sauce on the sides for the extra kick. Yummy to my tummy 😋

Ingredients

4 loafs of baguette (medium)

1/2 cup marinara sauce (store bought)

1/2 cup diced chicken pepperoni

1 1/2 cup shredded mozarella

2 tbsp dried Italian herbs

Sea salt for sprinkling

Chilly flakes for sprinkling

1/4 tsp blackpepper powder

1/4 cup of sliced black olives

5 sweet pepper,sliced

Melted butter for brushing

Methods

Preheat oven at 350'F or 175'C. Line a baking tray with baking sheet.

Cut a V into top of the baguette, remove the top and the interior leaving a 1/2" inch on the sides.

Place the baguette in the prepared baking sheet.

Spread the marinara sauce to the baguette,top with sliced pepperoni,sweet pepper and olives.

Sprinkle with mozarella cheese. Top with sliced pepperoni,sweet pepper and olives.

Season with salt, Italian herbs,chilly flakes and pepper. Brush the sides of the baguette with melted butter.

Baker for 11-12 minutes or till the cheese melted. Cool wire rack for 5 minutes. 

Slice and serve with marinara dip.

Amaranth Poori

I actually came across of dehydrated fruits & vegetables while surfing online. Since, it's interesting i started to click here and there till i found this one particular shop that sells organic fruits and vegetables in powder form without any addictives,coloring or preservaties. Curisioty kills and before knowing i placed orders for a dozen of the vegetables and fruits powders. Parcel received and the happy me started to play around by infusing them in my cooking. One of it is this amaranth or red spinach poori.

Red amaranth are rich with proteins,magnesium,calcium,pottasium,copper,dietry fibers and minerals. Adding amaranth into your diet is essential for healthy well being. Amaranth is a good source of natural food dying as the vibrant colour gives a beautiful red hue to food. As my family loves fluffy poori this Amaranth poori are a hit in my household and perfect for our Saturday lunch. Soft,fluffy,deep fried poori is indeed a great way to start our weekend.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup rava/semolina

1 tbsp amaranth powder
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp butter
Oil for deep frying

Methods

In a large bow, add all purpose flour,salt,sugar,semolina,amaranth powder and oil. Mix well.

Add little warm water at a time to knead the dough into a dough.

Smear 1 tsp butter on the dough and cover the bowl. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

Knead the dough for 1 minute and roll the dough into equal sized balls.

Dust a clean working surface and your rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough into medium thickness.

Over a medium flame, heat oil in a frying pan for deep fying. Gently slides the poori  from the sides of the pan to the hot oil.

Once the poori floats, gently press the ladle on one side for the poori to puff up. Flip the poori to cook on the other sides. Once the poori turns golden, drain the oil and place them on a plate lined with kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.

Continue the process with remaining dough.

Serve with gravy of your choice.

Notes

The oil shall not be too hot or too cold.

The dough should not be too soft. It shall be slightly stiff.

Do not roll the poori too thin this will prevent from the poori puffing up while frying.