Kerala preparations

Idichakka thoran
Now palakkai or chakkai[in malayalam] is going on.
Tender palakkai is best to make thoran.
Remove the outer nail skin and cut into 2" pieces.Boil water with turmeric add the tender palakkai pieces.Boil till it is 3/4 tender.
remove from fire and strain the water.Cool the boiled tender palakkai pieces.Crush the pieces in ammi with kushavi to seperate them into small pieces or we can crush ithem in a mixy by one or two round. It will seperate into pieces.So the name came as IDI CHAKKAI.
idi chakkai pieces 3 cup
salt to taste
coconut grated 1 cup] crush all three items and keep
green chilli one ] aside
cumin seed one tea spoon]
mustard seed one teaspoon
urud dal one tea spoon
coconut oil two table spoon
Put kadai in the fire and pour coconut oil.when heated add mustard seeds . After cracking add urid dal and saute till golden brown. Now add ground coconut masala and saute for 1 or 2 minutes. Add Idichakkai and salt and mix well. Enjoy with any kozhambu or ozhichukottan



tsseethalakshmi

Chakka puzhukku

chakka chulai pieces
turmaric powder
salt
coconut grated one moodi
green chilli 2
mustard seed one teaspoon
ulundu paruppu one teaspoon
curry leave and coconut oil two table spoon
Remove chulais from palakkai deseed and cut into one inch pieces and boil it in turmeric water. add salt and coursely grind coconut with green chilli.Temper as usual with coconut oil.
variation:one pod garlic and one small onion may be added with the masala before ground
seethalakshmi





seethalakshmi

chakkai or balakkai vathal

Cut raw balakkai before ripe and remove the chulais,From chulais the seeds. Cut leng wise.
wash them.
Put a vessal in the fire with water and add turmaric powder and salt to tast.Add the pala chulais.Half boil them and remove from fire.Drain the water.Sun dry the palachulai and store it.
You can deep fry them and use.Or you can put them in water for one or two hours and use them to add in the curry or make them curry as usual.can enjoy balakkai out of palakkai season.

Chakkai or balakkai pappadam

Clean the palachulais as usual and boil the chulais in turmeric water.Take care water is not more as far as correct measure.Grind them with chilli [green chilli or chilli powder own choice] asafotita and salt.Remove the smooth paste.add seasame seed or mustard seeds one table spoon and stir well.
Spread like thosais in the plastic sheet and sun dry.It will take two or three daysfor compleatly to dry.Store them.Whenever you wish deep fry the pappadam and enjoy.

Dear Mrs Seetalakshmi,

Very happy to see yr recipes in the Kerala thread. I am from Trivandrum, my parents lived in Kalady 35 yrs back and my grandmother Prof. Lakshmi Natarajan lived in Perumbavoor. We used to get chakka papadam(appalam) from Perumbavoor regularly, I think from Koovapadi. Nowadays, everyone is abroad, so we have not eaten this for years. Do post more kerala recipes.

love
Vidya

Dear Vidya,
Very happy to see Perumbavoor touch person's reply.I am living in PBR.Now I am in Singapore in my daughter's house.Next son is in USA.Last one is in Bangalore.Whenever my children want my service I will be with them and return to PBR.Now chakkai season is going on so I try to post chakkai recipes.I will post all varities of chakkai preparation one by one.
thank you.
seethalakshmi

Dear vidya as per your request I am posting maracheeni appalam

Clean the maracheeni in water to remove the mud and remove the skin and cut it small ie., one inch pieces and sundry.Powder it.It is basic.
But we can grind the raw pieces in grider with green chilli or chilli powder asafotita and salt. chilli and salt is ones own family taste.
If use marachini powder add water and stir as thosa batter. add grind green chilli asafotita or chilli powder and salt.
Boil the batter in the fire and remove.Add gingle seeds or musterd seeds with the batter and stir well.
Spread the batter like thosas and sundry them & Store.Whenever required deep fry and use.Or You can fry in microvave oven to avoid oil and enjoy.

If we add some rice powder with the raw batter we can make tasty thosas also.

Palakottai or chakkai kuru deskin them and put in water over night.We can remove the brown skin also and cut it in three pieces. one cup
Raw mango one cut pieces
green chilli three or four [can add or remove nos according your taste]
coconut grated one cup
turmaric powder 1/2 tea spoon
mustard seed one teaspoon
red chilli one
carry leave one kothu
fenugreek one teaspoon
brown sugar one small piece[vellam]

Grind the green chilli and coconut.Boil water add turmaric powder and add palakottai.If it 3/4 boiled and soft add cut pieces of mango and boiled well when soft.
add the coconut ground masala and brown sugar and boil.In one spoon hot oil add musterd seed, red chilli pieces fenugreek seeds and curry leaves add it in the kuzhambu enjoy with rice or[ chappathi ]if it prepared in kuttu form reduceing the water.

If palakkai ripes palapazham.If it is avalable in plenty we can preserve as chakkai varatti and store it.From this we can prepare chakkai prathaman,Elai addai or use with chapathi or adai.
Remove all chakkai pazhachulais and add little water and boil.When it become soft remove and grind.Add brown sugar[vellam] and boil in slow fire.If it sticks in the pan we can add ghee and stir well untill all water evoparates.This process may take two days as it required 4 or 5 hours.So we stop after two or three hours and next day complete the process. Store and whenever we want can use it.
For aged people to avoid ghee,yester year I did it as described below;
boiled and grind the palapazham and added the vellam and boiled.When water reduced removed from fire. After cooled I spread the chakkai in the plastic sheet and sundried.The sheets removed and Stored it as rolls.
Chakkai prathaman
coconut milk Ist pall one cup
IInd pall two cups
IIIrd pall two cups
cakkaivaratti two cups
Pore in a bottam heavy vessal first and second coconut milk and chakkai varatti and boil well stirring in between.If you want more sweetness can add vellam or cud in this stage.Boil well.Last add Ist milk and stir.No boiling required.Remove from the fire.dried ginger powder one spoon may be add with the prathaman last stage.

two cup raw rice soaked for two hours and grid it.Add warm water with one teaspoon ghee and salt.it should be lighter than thosa batter.
Coconut grated one full coconut
chakkai varati one cup
Ealakkai powder one teaspoon one pinch salt
vazhai ilai [plantain leave] small pieces [size should be one can eat idly or thosai on it]
To prepare the vzhai ilai wipe the dust and clean the ilais and show the ilai in the flame.The roughness changed and ilai can be easily folded.
prepare all ilai pieces and keep aside.
mix the coconutgrated and chakkai varaiti well.We can prepare coconut grated and vella powder if chakkai varatti not available.add Elakkai powder,pinch salt and mix well.
Take one ilai piece, on the back side spread thinly like dosa with the rice batter.
one half side sprinkle coconut mixer and fold another half part and sides also foled make it as squire piece. dolike this with all coconut mixer and elai pieces
place all ilai adais in the idli plate and steam it like idli. and enjoy

palakottai soaked and remove the brown skin and boil in turmeric water.When tender remove. 1 cup
onion any variety diced three table spoon
green chilli one
ginger one inch piece
coconut grated three table spoon
mustard seeds one teaspoon
urud dall one teaspoon
asafotida one pinch
Smash the palakottais add salt and mix them well.
in a kadai pore two table spoon oil when oil heat temper mustard seeds and urud dall.add ginger diced,greenchilli cutpieces curry leave,asafotida and diced onion.saute till onion become transparant.Now add the palakottai mixer and coconut grated and mix well for two minutes. remove.
this will go with sambar, rasam rice.
variation: onion is optional.garlic may be also smashed and added.[optional]