Potli Modak

Potli Modak

Modak is a sweet dish which originated in the Indian state of Maharashtra and it is considered to be the favorite dish of Lord Ganesha. It is customary to offer twenty one or hundred and eight modaks to Lord Ganesha. You can make fried or steamed modak. Coconut - jaggery mixture is the main sweet ingredient which enhances the taste. You can also add dry fruits.

Makes: 6 - 7

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Steaming Time: 15 minutes

Please prepare coconut filling first

Ingredients

For Coconut Filling:

1/2 cup ( 125 g ) grated coconut or 9 tablespoon grated coconut

1/2 cup ( 60 g ) melted jaggery or 7 - 8 tablespoon melted and sieved jaggery

1 teaspoon ghee

1 pinch cardamom powder

1 tablespoons chopped dry fruits (optional) raisins or chopped cashew nuts

Method

For Coconut filling:

In a frying pan, heat ghee. Add melted jaggery and fry for 5 minutes on a low heat till fragrant.

Add grated coconut and mix it well. Do not cover with lid. Stir continuously and fry for 10 - 12 minutes on a low heat till the moisture content from the coconut - jaggery mixture dries up. Add cardamom powder and keep aside. Sweet filling should be dry in consistency.

Microwave method:

In a microwave safe bowl, mix grated coconut and jaggery and microwave high on 750 w for 2 minutes. Then it will be a thick mixture without water and almost dry in texture (if a small amount of water remains from the jaggery or coconut, keep in microwave again for 1 minutes ( until the water dries up).

For Outer Covering:

I'm not recommending to use normal rice flour to make outer covering. If we use normal rice flour, it may break and won't get proper shape. One of my friend told me special rice flour for modak is available in Mumbai. Modak rice flour is not available in Chennai. Another option is to use any good quality Appam / Instant appam / idiyappam mix – Popular brands are Nirapara and Double Horse (those appam flours are in super fine flour category).

Please use same measuring cup to measure rice flour and water (1 : 1 1/2 ratio, 1 cup water : 1 1/2 cup rice flour / appam flour).

1/2 cup / 100 ml (Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity) Nirapara Appam flour (rice flour) or any very good quality rice flour.

1 1/2 cup water (150 ml)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ghee

Extra 1 tablespoon oil

For Outer covering:

Sieve Rice flour.

In a bowl, boil water. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon ghee. When the water starts boiling , remove the lid, reduce heat to minimum. Pour sieved rice flour evenly with one hand and simultaneously stir with a spatula with the other hand (like Upma / Uppumaav preparation). Mixing of rice flour in boiling water is very important while making dough. It should be mixed evenly (until rice flour well combined with water). Switch off the heat. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and cover with a tight lid. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Transfer this rice flour mixture to another wide bowl, knead again for 5 - 7 minutes on a moderate heat (sprinkle 1 teaspoon oil if required) and make an extra soft dough. Now the dough is very elastic in structure. You can fold / bind it into any form.

Divide rice dough into 6 - 7 portions and make round balls. Prepare modak immediately. Do not keep rice flour balls too long. Apply little oil on your palm.

Cut 2 banana leaves (or good quality plastic sheets or zip lock bag) into 7 – cm pieces. Grease with ¼ teaspoon oil.

Take a piece of banana leaf or a clean plastic sheet. Keep a lemon sized rice dough portion over it. Keep another piece of banana leaf or plastic sheet or zip lock bag smeared with oil (with oiled portion facing down) the dough. Press evenly to form a thin circle of rice dough (like puri) of approximately 8 - 10 cm (3.5 to 4 – inch) diameter. Carefully remove the leaf on top. Now one will see a thin circle of rice dough.

Keep 1 tablespoon coconut - jaggery mixture in the centre and bring the edges together and seal the potli (gently press the top portion, then all the pleats come together). See this photo.

Repeat this process for the remaining dough / filling. There will be slight color change in outer cover after steaming. It won't be pure white.

Final steaming:

In a flat bowl (or in a steamer bowl) grease 1 teaspoon oil. Arrange potli modak carefully and steam in a steamer / pedavan / pressure cooker ( without weight ) for 15 minutes on medium heat or until done and soft. Serve warm with ghee.

Here's the recipe of Modak / Modakam / Kozhukattai / Kolukattai

Prawns Fried Rice

Prawns Fried Rice (Homestyle preparation). Here's the recipe of Pattaya Fried Rice.

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 cups (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity) cooked and cooled rice

1 cup (200 g) separately boiled prawns, do not add prawns stock (or cooked prawns from the curry, please pick cooked prawns without gravy)

1 tablespoon oil

2 onions or 1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 green chilli, finely chopped

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup

2 pinches salt or to taste (already added soy sauce. So need less salt or avoid salt)

Method

In a wok / pan, heat oil.

Fry chopped onions and garlic till fragrant and pink in color.

Add chopped green chilli and stir well.

Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and tomato ketchup. Mix all the ingredients a very low heat until sauce nicely boils.

Add rice and cooked prawns. Mix well.

Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 8 minutes. Stir occasionally and cook until rice well combined with all the ingredients (or do not cover with lid. Stir continuously for 5 - 8 minutes until all the ingredients well combined).

Serve hot with any curries / Chinese gravy dishes of your choice.

Nirapara / Double Horse Idiyappam

Nirapara / Double Horse Idiyappam (Sevai / String Hoppers / Noolappam)

Bamboo moulds available @ Handicrafts exhibition centres / small scale coir showroom in Kerala / Chennai / also in Sri Lanka !!

Serves : 2 - 3

Makes : 10 in normal steel idiyappam stand (or 4 in small size bamboo mould 2 in big size bamboo mould)

Ingredients

1 cup / 200 ml raw rice flour (Nirapara / Double Horse brand Appam / Idiyappam podi), sieve rice flour

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon ghee / oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon extra oil to grease idiyappam machine and bamboo mould

1/4 cup grated coconut ( optional )

Method

In a deep bowl , boil water with salt and ghee / oil. When the water starts boiling, lower the heat, add sieved rice flour and mix well until combined with water. Use thick tablespoon to mix rice flour. Keep aside to cool for 10 minutes and knead to a soft dough. Divide it into lemon sized balls.

Lightly grease the idiyappam mould with 1 teaspoon oil and put 2 lemon sized portions of the rice dough.

Press/ extrude out the dough (resembling the noodles ) - while moving the mould in a small circle to form a small mount of noodles - onto each of the greased bamboo mould / idiyappam stand / idli steamer and sprinkle grated coconut ( optional ).

(If using bamboo mould – Wipe each bamboo mould with a kitchen towel. Grease each bamboo mould with ½ teaspoon oil. Clean bamboo mould after use, clean nicely with a soft brush, wash and wipe each mould with a kitchen towel. Keep outside until it dry).

Steam for about 10 - 12 minutes in a steamer / pressure cooker ( without weight ) / National-slow cooker or till done. Serve with stew / korma or chicken curry.

Mysore Pak (made of less oil and cooking soda )

Thin slices of Mysore pak made of without cooking soda and thick slices are made of with cooking soda.

Mysore Pak (with oil, cooking soda and without cooking soda)

Mysore Pak is a very popular sweet in India, made of gram flour (besan), ghee and sugar syrup. Here’s a recipe of Mysore Pak, made of less oil (1 cup) and cooking soda. Normally the ratio is 1 cup gram flour required 2 cups hot ghee – oil combination or 2 cups hot ghee. Color of the Mysore Pak may varies from yellow, light yellow, light brown, brown ... depending upon the color of the ghee / pure ghee / desi ghee / oil / sugar / raw besan / dry roasted besan ...

Please use same measuring cup to measure besan, sugar, ghee and water.

Ingredients

Please keep all the ingredients and gadgets (iron sieve, steel bowl, thali …) ready near kitchen platform.

1 cup good quality besan (gram flour / kadala maav / chone pitti) (Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity)

2 cups sugar (Indian standard measuring cup of 80 ml / 3 oz capacity) or 1 ½ - 2 cups

3/4 cup water (Please measure in Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity)

1 cup / 100 ml hot sunflower oil (please measure in Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity)

Extra 1 tablespoon oil (to dry roast gram flour)

2 pinches cooking soda

Other gadgets:

1 fine sieve (to sieve gram flour)

1 kadai or non stick pan (to dry roast gram flour)

1 steel bowl (to make sugar syrup)

1 strong iron sieve (to strain sugar solution)

1 wide non stick pan

1 thick wooden spatula

1 steel thali or a baking dish (square or rectangular) and extra ½ teaspoon oil (to grease steel thali)

Method

For gram flour:

Sieve gram flour. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non stick pan / kadai on a medium heat. Add sieved gram flour and dry roast on a medium to low heat for 7 minutes until lightly fragrant and slight change in color. Do not dry roast on high heat. Keep aside to cool for 10 minutes and sieve through a fine sieve. Now it will be a smooth besan mixture without any lumps. Keep aside.

For sugar syrup:

In a wide bowl, boil sugar and water on a medium heat. Sugar will dilute in water and become a smooth solution, solution will boil nicely and lots of bubbles appear on the top of the sugar solution (it may take 5 - 7 minutes). Do not make it half thread to 1 thread consistency. Switch off the heat. At this stage, strain the hot sugar solution through a fine iron sieve. Now it is a clear sugar solution without dirt and impurities.

2nd stage:

Heat a non stick pan on a medium heat. Pour hot sugar solution into it and boil for 1 - 2 minute until it is sticky – not half thread or 1 thread (Here's a cooking tip from Mrs Mallika Badrinath for sticky syrup - When the syrup becomes little thick, dip the fore finger in cold water and then quickly in the hot syrup. When thumb is slid over fore finger is feels sticky – this type of sticky syrup also used for Gulab Jamun preparation ).

At this stage, pour roasted gram flour evenly with one hand and simultaneously stir with a spatula with the other hand (like Upma / Uppumaav preparation) in batches . Mixing of gram flour in sugar syrup is very important when making Mysore Pak. It should be mixed evenly - else it may form lumps. Stir well until well combined with sugar syrup and creamy in texture.

Please keep hot oil near your kitchen stove with a steel ladle and a greased steel thali or a greased baking dish.

3rd stage:

Now add hot oil in batches and mix well. Oil will float on the surface. 2 ladle ful at a time (please add slowly and keep a safe distance from the stove) and stir continuously. Now you can see lots of pours on the top the gram flour and also featherlight in structure when stirring. Gram flour mixture moves very easily when stirring because of hot oil. It won’t stick into the pan. Pour oil in 2 – 3 batches and stir continuously. Do not stop stirring in between. Stir continuously for 5 minutes. When the mixture is ready, the gram flour mixture turns light golden / light fragrant and becomes porous and spongy (like a bread slice). All these changes will happen within 7 minutes after adding oil. Do not cook until oil gets dries up.

Switch off the heat and sprinkle 2 pinches cooking soda (not baking powder). If you want normal Mysore pak, then no need to add cooking soda. It will double itself if we add cooking soda (it is similar to the Mysore paks available in sweet shops also it resembles honeycomb structure (with holes)). Please see the 1^st photo with and without cooking soda. Thin slices of Mysore pak made of without cooking soda and thick slices are made of with cooking soda.

4th stage:

At this stage, transfer this hot Mysore pak mixture into a greased steel thali or baking dish . Keep aside for 2 minutes and cut into desired shape and size. It can remove very easily from the steel plate / baking dish.