250 Gms Maida or Standard Flour (do not use self-raising flour)
4 tblsp Rice Flour
2 Eggs
¼ tsp Nutmeg Powder
4 cups Thick Coconut Milk ( Canned Coconut Milk can be used)- as required
Salt to taste (1 Tsp), water & sugar (3 tbsp)
Kokis Mold
Oil for deep frying
Method:
Mix all the ingredients and coconut milk to form a thickish batter ( not as thick as dosa and not as thin as Pancake(panpole)).
Heat the oil and place the head of the mold in the hot oil. When the oil is hot, remove the mold and dip in the batter. Do not cover the top – only upto the sides. Keep for 15 secs and then remove and dip back in hot oil. Do a couple of dip down and up movements so that the kokis seperates from the mold.
Fry on both sides until golden brown and remove onto perforated vessel or paper towels. When cool store in water tight containers.
You get around 50 kokis with this quantity of flour.
Small piece of cloth and string or an old handkerchief and string.
Appam pan (non-stick will be good) or small wok
Method:
Wash and soak the Rice for 4-5 hours or overnight. Drain and grind the rice, cooked rice, little salt, Thick Coconut Milk & water to form a smooth paste (if using blender, do in batches). Transfer to big bowl. Add water and remaining coconut juice. The consistency should be thinner than Dosa Batter but thicker than Pancake batter (Panpole). Add sugar.
Heat 6 tbsp of water in microwave (luke warm) for 15 seconds. In a bowl add 1 tsp active yeast (Edmonds) and ¼ tsp sugar. Add luke warm water and stir. When the mixture starts bubbling begins to rise, add this mixture to the batter. If it does not rise than the yeast is no good or the water was too hot. Use new yeast or use luke warm water (start again). Stir and close the bowl. Keep for fermenting overnight or if ground in morning till evening (when you are ready to fry the appams)
Break an egg and separate the white and yolk. Beat the white of the egg and add to the risen batter. Beat the other egg and the separated yolk from the first egg together. Place the appam pan on stove and add 1 tsp oil. When hot add the egg mixture and scramble the egg. Remove the fried egg to the small cloth. Form it into a small bag and tie with string. To be used for dipping in oil and greasing the pan before frying the Appam. You can skip this and can only apply little oil. After frying all the appams, the egg bag can be placed in a container and stored in freezer. If you require it again, defrost in microwave oven (20 seconds) or remove from freezer and place outside to defrost naturally.
Heat pan (not very hot, medium ). Grease the pan using the egg bag (dipped in little oil). Pour a ladle of batter and turn the pan round for about ¾ height of pan. The batter will stick and excess will trickle down and settle down at the bottom of pan. Close the pan and after about 2 minutes, check whether it is fried. The sides will fry first and come off the pan, check the middle portion if cooked. Remove the Appam to a plate. Again grease the pan using the egg bag. Prepare the next one. You should get around 25 to 30 Appams with 500 gms of rice.
Wash the rice a few times and drain. Heat a vessel or deep pan. Add 2.5 tbsp. of ghee and when hot add the cinnamon, cloves, pepper corns, bay leaf and cardamom. Fry for half a minute. Add the turmeric powder and rice. Fry slightly. Add the desiccated coconut and fry for some more time (a minute).
Add the coconut milk, Hot water and salt. Mix well, close with lid and cook on slow fire. Check a couple of times if water is dry or rice is touching the bottom of vessel. Add more hot water if required. When ¾ cooked add the remaining Ghee or Clarified butter and mix well. Add the coriander leaves, mix and put off the flame. Place a cloth or perforated (colander) vessel on top, so that the heat is retained while the excess moisture evaporates. After 5 minutes check if the water has evaporated and rice is dry. Fluff the rice lightly with a fork if required. Serve.
Vorn or Payasam (Sweet dish made from Moong Dal, Rice, Coconut Milk & Jaggery)
Ingredients:
1/4 Kg Moong Dal (Green Gram Dal) without skin
1 Coconut (Milk) – taken the traditional way- by grinding the scraped coconut with water and squeezed out the coconut milk. You can also use Maggi or Nestle Coconut Milk Powder. Also canned coconut milk can be used. I used 2 cans of 425 ml. One as thick milk, the other diluted by adding another two cans of water to make 3 cans of thin milk.
50 gms Rice flour (smooth paste by adding water) or 50 gms of raw rice soaked for 1 to 2 hours and ground in blender to a smooth paste.
Some pieces of Cashewnuts (25 gms)
Some raisins (25 gms)
Some sliced almonds (optional)
200 grams Jaggery (scraped)
Salt (a pinch)
1/4 tsp Cardamon Powder
Method:
Wash the Moong dal a couple of times and then boil this in a pan with two cups of water. When dal is cooked add thin coconut milk and bring to boil. Add the jaggery and a pinch of salt. When jaggery has dissolved add the other ingredients – raisins, cashewnuts, almonds. Boil for a couple of minutes. Then on very low flame add the rice flour paste little by little, stirring all the time. This will prevent from lumps forming. Again when it starts boiling, again on low flame add the thick coconut milk, this will prevent from the coconut milk getting curdled due to high heat. Mix well and allow to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle the cardamon powder and mix well. Remove from flame.
Half Onion and fork for dipping in oil and greasing pan. (Prick onion with fork)
Flat pan
Method:
Grind the rice flour, coconut, cooked rice, salt, water to form a smooth paste. Transfer to big bowl and add enough water to make a watery batter (thinner than Milk).
Heat pan. Grease the pan using the onion. Pour a ladle of batter and turn the pan round, so that the batter covers the whole pan. The pan should not be too hot (medium). Close the pan and after about a minute, check whether it is fried. The sides will fry first and come off the pan. Remove the pancake to a plastic plate or bamboo tray, the fried side up. Prepare the next one. When the first one has cooled down fold it in half and then quarter.
You should get around 10 to 12 pancakes with one cup Rice Flour.
Mani (Sweet dish made from Rice, Coconut Milk & Jaggery)
Ingredients:
½ Kg Raw Rice/Basmati Rice (soaked in water for 2 hours)
1 Coconut (Milk) – taken the traditional way- by grinding the scraped coconut with water and squeezed out the coconut milk. You can also use Maggi or Nestle Coconut Milk Powder. Should have around 1.5 litres of Milk.
Ghee or Clarified Butter
Some pieces of Cashewnuts
Some raisins
Some sliced almonds
400 grams Jaggery (scraped)
Salt (1.5 tsp New Zealand- not so salty)
1 tsp Cardamon Powder
Method:
Grind the rice with coconut milk and mix the remaining coconut milk, Jaggery, Salt. Keep a vessel on fire, add 3 tablespoons of ghee and pour the mixture in this. Bring to boil, keeping stirring all the time. When it thickens add more ghee and continue stirring. This will take between 30 to 45 minutes. If it starts sticking to the bottom of the vessel add more ghee. When it becomes nice and sticky add the other ingredients – raisins, cashewnuts, almonds & cardamom powder. When the mixture starts leaving the sides of the vessel and the ladle, pour the mixture into trays (previously greased with ghee) and flatter with butter knife. Pour little ghee on top and flatten it. A
Allow it to cool completely and then cut it into diamond shapes and then place it in refrigerator for an hour and serve.
Cooking With Dexter 