Breadfruit sabzi- Sri Lankan style

This is an amazing preparation that goes well with both steamed rice and chapattis. Addition of drumstick leaves makes it very nutritious too. For Sri Lankan preparations, I take guidance from Ape amma’s site.

Ingredients:

1 breadfruit skinned, central portion removed and cubed

1 onion cut fine

8 flakes of garlic cut fine

Curry leaves

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp pepper powder

Salt to taste

1 ½ cups water

1 cup coconut milk

½ cup of drumstick leaves

To season:

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

2 dried red chillies broken into two

1 tbsp finely cut onion

A few curry leaves

Instruction:

Mix the bread fruit cubes with cut onion, garlic, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, pepper powder and salt.

Add the water and put on high flame. When it starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium and cook for about eight minutes, stirring in between. Check for water and add it is seems less.

Now pour in the coconut milk and add the drumstick leaves. Let it simmer for five minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cumin seeds, red chillies, cut onion and curry leaves. When the onion turns brown, pour over the sabzi and close it. Remove from fire.

Sweet Rice dosa

I love dosas with light sweet taste. Here is one such preparation that can be served with ghee, honey, mango jhunda, or murabba.

                                            Dosas with home made mango murabba

Ingredients;

1 cup rice

¼ cup beaten rice

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

¼ cup grated jaggery

A pinch of salt

¾ cup butter milk

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

Instruction:

Soak the rice, beaten rice, and fenugreek seeds for 6-8 hours and drain.

Grind the above with the butter milk and grated jaggery. Leave for fermentation overnight.

Add a pinch of salt and turmeric powder, mix well and make dosas.

Helappa with rice flour, Ada

Helappa or halappa is a delicious breakfast item we had in Sri Lanka. It is prepared with ragi flour in Macaranga peltata leaves (kanda or kenda leaves in Sri Lankan language). On coming back home I prepared it referring to the recipe by Ape  Amma and everybody liked.

This is very similar to ‘ada’ that we make in Kerala. I have great experience in making ada as I was the one who made it for my baby brother’s breakfast every single day, when I was a school girl. We make ada in plantain leaves or Macaranga peltata leaves, which we call ‘vattaila’ in Malayalam.

Last week while coming back from Goa, I plucked some leaves (vattaila) and brought home, planning to make helappa. As I found that ragi flour had finished at home, I decided to try with rice flour. And I must say that the experiment was successful.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour for 4 helappas

½ cup grated coconut

½ cup jaggery syrup (Put some jaggery pieces in some water and keep on low fire. Stir in between. When the jaggery dissolves, remove from fire. When it cools a bit, sieve and it can be stored in the refrigerator for use)

A pinch of salt

½ cup (approximately) warm water

Instruction:

Heat a thick bottomed pan and roast the grated coconut on low fire till it becomes dry.

Pour the jaggery syrup, mix well and now slowly add the rice flour with salt, mixing well to avoid lumps.

Remove from fire, slowly mix in water, now keep on low fire and stir for about a minute. Let it cool.

Make it into four balls. 

Keep it in the kenda leaf, fold the leaf and use the chapatti roller over the leaf to flatten the dough evenly.

Prepare all four of them.

You can steam them together, turning them over to let both sides cook.

I usually follow the way I used to do in my childhood. Heat a thava with some water. 

When the water boils, keep two leaves with the stuffing over the water. The folds should be facing each other and the water quantity should not be too much to seep through and make the ada soggy

Now keep a vessel with some water inside (to give some weight) over the leaves. 

Within two minutes the bottom portion will be cooked. It is checked by trying to lift the leaf, which will come away clean from the ada, without sticking.

Now turn them upside down, replenish water in the thava if needed, keep the vessel over the leaves and in two minutes the other side will also be cooked and they are ready to serve! 

The leaves are discarded after eating the ada.

28 August 2019 - Today I made ada in turmeric leaves, that imparts a nice fragrance. Here, rice flour with salt is made into a smooth dough by adding water and spread over the leaf. Fillling of coconut scrapings, jaggery, sliced plantain and cardamom powder is spread over one half and the leaf is folded and the sides are pressed to seal the dough. Then it is cooked on both sides as described above and served.

30 September 2020 - Now I learned to make ada on a dry iron thava on very low heat. It takes about four minutes to cook each side. 

Black rice payasam

Black rice is picking up in popularity now. It is available in health food stores across the US, Australia, and Europe, as people are discovering the numerous health benefits that whole grain black rice has to offer. The outside hull of the grain has one of the highest levels of anthocyanin antioxidants of any food! It is also a good source of iron. Studies have demonstrated that consuming black rice can help to detoxify the body and cleanse the liver of harmful toxic build-up. 

After making the black rice pudding using milk and sugar, I ventured to make it the Kerala way- black rice payasam, with coconut milk and jaggery.

Ingredients:

-          1cup black rice soaked for 12 hours

-          2 cups water

-          1/3 cup grated jaggery

-          ½ cup coconut milk

-          1 bay leaf

-          ½ tsp cardamom powder

-          1 tsp ghee

-          1 tbsp raisins

-          8 cashews

Instruction:

-          Pressure cook soaked rice with 2 cups water for five minutes. Cool and open.

-          Add the bay leaf, jaggery, mix well and put on low fire, stirring in between, for about five minutes.

-          Now add the raisins and coconut milk and let it simmer for two minutes.

-          Add the cardamom powder, cashews roasted in the ghee, mix well and remove from fire.

-          Serve hot, or refrigerate and serve cold.

Black rice pudding (kheer)

Black rice is referred to as ‘Forbidden rice’. During the days of the Ching and Ming dynasties Forbidden Rice was exclusively reserved for the Chinese Emperors to ensure their longevity and good health. Later, common people were allowed to eat the rice and it has become a nourishing staple that is reputed to promote long life and good health. It has been named as one of the super foods in 2016.

While whole grain brown rice and red rice also contain beneficial antioxidants, only black rice contains anthocyanin. Anthocyanins are a type of flavonoid, a class of compounds with antioxidant effects. In addition to acting as antioxidants and fighting free radicals, anthocyanins may offer anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancer benefits. Additionally, black rice also contains important antioxidant Vitamin E, which is useful in maintaining eye, skin, and immune health in addition to other important functions.

During our recent trip to Assam, I brought a packet of black rice and made kheer with it. It has a mild flavour and chewy taste, which is very unique.

Ingredients:

1 cup black rice

¾ cup sugar

½ cup water

8 cups milk

A small piece of bay leaf

1 tbsp raisins

½ tsp powdered cardamom

1tbsp ghee

2 tbsp cahews

Instruction:

• -          Wash and soak the rice overnight

• -          Cook the rice in a claypot (as I did) with the bay leaf, water and milk. Once it starts boiling, reduce the flame and cover the pot partly. Keep stirring in between. It takes about 45 minutes to cook.
• -          Alternately, pressure cook the rice with the water and one cup milk for five minutes, cool and open. Add the remaining milk and keep on low fire and let it simmer for ten minutes.
• -          Add the sugar, cardamom powder, and raisins soaked in water for ten minutes and again simmer for five minutes, stirring in between. Remove from fire.
• -          Heat the ghee, add the cashew nuts and when they lightly brown, pour into the pudding.
• -          Serve hot or cold after refrigeration.