KERALA SADYA

 

A Sadya is a big feast associated with a special occasion, such as a marriage, birthday, childbirth etc. A Sadya is traditionally a vegetarian meal served on a plantain or banana leaf; people eat sitting cross-legged on the floor. Sadhya can have 24 - 28 dishes served in it.
The dishes are plain boiled rice, many curries, papadum, plain yogurt or buttermilk, banana or plantain chips, and two or more sweet dishes. The curries are made of different vegetables and have different flavourings. They can be made of yogurt, bitter gourd, mango, jaggery, etc. The reason for including so many dishes in the Sadya is to ensure that the diners will like at least two or three dishes.
Coconut, being abundant in Kerala, is used in almost all dishes. Coconut milk also finds various uses in cooking. Coconut oil is used for frying.
There is a specific place for each item on the plantain leaf. For example, the pickles are served on the top left corner and banana on the bottom left corner. Thus, the waiters can easily identify the requirement of the diner by just looking at his leaf.
There are variations in the menu according to the place and the religion. Some communities include non-vegetarian dishes in the sadya. Although custom was to use traditional and seasonal vegetables, it has become common practice to include vegetables such as carrots, pineapples, beans in the dishes. Onion and garlic are not typically used in the sadya.
The sadya is usually served as lunch. Preparations begin the night before, and the dishes are prepared before ten o' clock in the morning on the day of the celebration. On many occasions, sadya is served on dining tables, as people no longer find it convenient to sit on the floor.
All the dishes are served on the plantain leaf; it requires a special skill to eat the food. The food is eaten with the hands without use of any cutlery. The fingers are cupped to form a ladle.
Traditionally, the people of the neighbourhood spent the night helping the cooks in works like scraping coconut and cutting vegetables. These people also volunteered to serve the food to the guests. This lent a personal touch to the occasion. Enterprise and urban demands on time and space have now made it possible for the work to be contracted to professional catering services.
Conventionally, the meal may be followed by vettila murukkan, chewing of betel leaf with lime and arecanut. This helps digestion of the meal and also cleanses the palate.

APPAM

 Appum or aapum – pronunciation varies between regions – is a term equivalent to bread. A bread made of rice batter on a stone griddle is in certain parts of the country called kalappam, where kal (Tamil, Malayalam) means "stone". Another form of appam is "Kallappam", where "kall" (Tamil, Malayalam) means toddy, which is used for fermentation. This type of appam is prepared in an appa kal (mould). Kallappam looks like a pancake.


VARIATIONS

• Plain hoppers (Vella Appam)

bowl-shaped thin pancakes made from fermented rice flour. They derive their shape from the small Appachatti in which they are cooked. They are fairly neutral in taste and mostly served with some spicy condiment or curry. These hoppers are made from a batter using rice, yeast, salt and a little sugar. After the mixture has stood for a couple of hours, it can be fried in the appachatti with a little oil. In south-central Kerala, it is mostly served with Kadala (Chickpea) curry mutton or vegetable stew or egg roast.

• Egg hoppers

the same as plain hoppers, but an egg is broken into the pancake as it cooks

• Milk hoppers

have a spoonful of thick coconut milk/coconut cream added to the doughy centre. When cooked, the centre is firm to the touch but remains soft inside and is sweeter as a result of the coconut milk.

• Honey hoppers

crispy pancakes cooked with a generous amount of palm treacle. Some people also like to add some jaggery just before serving to make it extra sweet.

• String hopper (Noolputtu)

Or idiyappam, is made from rice noodles curled into flat spirals. It is served for breakfast with a thin fish or chicken curry, containing only one or two pieces of meat, a dhal (lentil) dish, and a spicy sambol or fresh chutney. String hoppers are made from steamed rice flour made into a dough with water and a little salt, and forced through a mould similar to those used for pasta to make the strings. They are cooked by steaming. These hoppers can be bought ready-made. The Indian & Sri Lankan population eats String Hoppers for breakfast or dinner. There are many variations to this, depending on the type of flour used etc. This simple dish can be adapted into other foods such as String Hopper Biriyani, by adding scrambled eggs or vegetables.Another example is located in Tamil Nadu, 'Idiyappam' Paaya(Goat Leg Soup made using Coconut).

• Pesaha appam

(also called INRI appam or indri appam) is made by Christians in Kerala during Passover. This type of appam is dipped in syrup before being served.

• Neyyappam

which owes its origins to Tamil Nadu. This is made with rice flour, jaggery, clarified butter ghee. In Kerala Unni appam is a variation in which mashed plantain is added to the batter. The batter made out of rice flour, jaggery and plantain is poured into a vessel called Appakarai or Appakaram, which has ghee heated to a high temperature. The appams take the shape of small cups, and are fried until deep brown. Both neyyappam and unni appam are eaten as snacks. This is festive sweet, made on Gokulashtami - the birthday of Hindu deity, Krishna. It is also a common prasadam in Kerala temples.

• Vattayappam

is made from rice flour, sugar, and coconut. The dish is made by steam-cooking the batter.

The presence of Tamils in Malaysia has over the years led to the popularity of the apam. Apam is the term used for a steamed cup-cake sized dessert made from rice flour that is eatened with shredded fresh coconut. The string hopper (local name: putu mayam) is also popular among Malaysians. Sold by street vendors on modified motorbikes, the string hoppers are eaten with grated palm sugar (gula Melaka) and shredded fresh coconut. Malaysian Indians tend to make their own and eat it with either curry or dhal dish.

PUTTU AND KADALA CURRY

PUTTU:






It is a breakfast dish that is popular in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as in areas of Sri Lanka. It consists of firm cylinders of steamed ground rice with layers of coconut. It is served with other side dishes such as chickpea curry or banana.



Puttu principally consists of coarsely ground rice, grated coconut and water. It is often spiced with cumin, but may have other spices.

 PREPARATION

Puttu is made by slowly adding water to ground rice until the correct texture is achieved. It is then spiced, formed and steamed with layers of grated coconut.
Puttu is usually cooked in a metal puttu kutti vessel with two sections. The lower section holds water and the upper section holds the puttu - where the rice mixture is inserted with layers of grated coconut. Perforated lids separate the sections to allow the steam to pass between them. In older times people in Kerala used bamboo pieces instead of the metal upper section of the vessel.
An alternative steaming vessel is the chiratta puttu made of a coconut shell or of metal shaped similarly to a coconut shell.

Chirratu Puttu steaming vessel - top view with lid removed

Some people use a pan similar to an idli pan, but with small holes on the bottom to allow steam to pass. It is also known for pressure cookers to be used for steaming.

IDLY

IDLY

 PREPARATION

To make idli, place two parts uncooked rice to one part split black lentil (minapa pappu, urad dal) in a pan and soak. Grind the lentils and rice to a paste in a heavy stone grinding vessel (rolu-rokali, oralu kallu). Leave the paste to ferment overnight, until it has expanded to about 2½ times its original volume. In the morning, put the idli batter into the ghee-greased molds of an idli tray or "tree" for steaming. The perforated molds allow the idlis to be cooked evenly. The tree holds the trays above the level of boiling water in a pot, and the pot is covered until the idlis are done (about 10–25 minutes, depending on size). The idli is somewhat similar to the attu, dosa, a fried preparation of the same batter.
In the olden days, when the idli mold cooking plates were not popular or widely available, the thick idli batter was poured on a cloth tightly tied on the mouth of a concave deep cooking pan or tava half filled with water. A heavy lid was placed on the pan and the pot kept on the boil until the batter was cooked into idli. This was often a large idli depending on the circumference of the pan. It was then cut into bite-size pieces and eaten.
Idlis are usually served in pairs with kobbari pachadi (chutney), sambar, karampodi with ghee. Kobbari pachadi and Karampodi are first used to eat in combination of idlis in Andhra Pradesh, specifically in Kostha Andhra Districts.
Allam Pachadi (which is made of Ginger and available in both the sweet and spicy varieties), also goes very well with Idlies and Dosas.

Ramasseri idli

Ramasseri, an offbeat village in Palakkad is known all over Kerala for the idlis it makes—the delicious Ramasseri Idli. Spongy and soft, Ramasseri Idli is slightly different in shape from the conventional idlis. It is a little flat and round. Ramasseri Idli is eaten with Podi mixed in coconut oil. The beginning was from a Mudaliar family living near Mannath Bhagavathi Temple in Ramasseri near Elappully.
The recipe of Ramasseri idli dates back to about one century, which again is a trade secret. The Muthaliyar family had migrated to Palakkad from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. The new generation in the profession says that the secret of the recipe and taste were handed down to them from the older women of the community. Now the idli business is confined to four families in Ramasseri. Selection of rice is very important in making Ramasseri idli. Usually the varieties used are Kazhama, Thavalakannan, Ponni etc.
The taste depends on the boiling of the patty itself. Drying and dehusking are also important and need to be done in a particular way. The combination of rice and black gram is also equally important. For 10 kg of rice, one kg of black gram is used. Idli is made only after four hours of fermentation. Steaming of the idli is done on a cloth covered on the mud pot using firewood. This allegedly provides a special taste to the preparation. Leftover Idli can be torn into crumbs and used for preparing dishes such as Idli fry and Idli Upma.

KERALA FOOD ITEMS

DOSA



It is a common breakfast dish, and street food The dosa is rich in carbohydrates, contains no salt, sugar or saturated fats and its constituent ingredients of rice and lentils mean that it is gluten-free and contains protein. The fermentation process increases the vitamin B and vitamin C content. There are also instant mix products for making dosa, with somewhat lower nutritional benefits.

The street food variants may contain contaminants or otherwise undesirable additions, such as relatively high levels of copper.

 Preparation

 Rice is ground finely to form a batter. Rice can be uncooked or parboiled. The mixture of urad dal (black lentils) and rice can be replaced with highly refined wheat flour to make a maida dosa or semolina for a rava dosa.
A thin layer of the batter is then ladled onto a hot griddle ( a thava) greased with oil or ghee (clarified butter). It is spread out evenly with the base of a ladle or bowl to form a pancake. It is flipped to heat both crusts and removed from the griddle when the crust becomes dry. Dosa are served hot, either folded in half or rolled like a wrap.


 Side Items

• Sambar.
• Wet chutney: examples include coconut chutney (a semi-solid paste made up of coconut, dal (lentils), green chilli and mint or coriander)
• Dry chutney: a powder of spices and desiccated coconut.

 Different types of Dosa:


Though dosa typically refers to the version made with rice and lentils, many other versions exist, often specific to an Indian region. Some variations include Egg dosa, which is spread with an omelette, and cheese dosa, which is stuffed with cheese.

• Chilli dosa: spread with chilli powder.
• Open dosa: chutney powder is spread on it while cooking. Before serving spiced & mashed potato is placed on top.
• Onion dosa: spread with chopped and sautéed onions.
• Ghee (thuppa/neyyi) dosa: ghee is used instead of oil while frying.
• Butter dosa: butter is used instead of oil when frying and a small amount is placed on top of it when serving.
• Roast: the dosa is spread thinly and fried until crisp.
• Kerala dosa: a different kind of traditional dosa, that is small, thick, soft and spongy. It is more like a pancake and somewhat similar to appam, but dal is used in the batter for appams and appams are not flat.
• Family roast: a long dosa which can be spread over 2 or 3 feet.
• Paper dosa: a long and very thin delicate dosa which can be spread over 2 feet.
• Green dosa: stuffed with fresh vegetables and mint chutney.
• Chow-chow dosa: stuffed with (Indian flavored) Chinese noodles.
• Masala dosa: stuffed with spiced potatoes.
• Methi dosa: flavoured with fenugreek.
• Cone dosa: shaped like a cone.

• Rava dosa: made with rava (semolina), which doesn't need fermentation and is usually considered a snack or fast food.
• Wheat dosa: made with wheat flour, and served with coconut chutney
• Vella dosa: made of jaggery with ghee or neyyi.
• 'Ragi dosa: made of ragi or millet flour, usually considered "a poor man's fare".
• Muttai dosa: eggs are added to the regular batter; the word muttai in Tamil means "egg".
• Uttapam: thick round dosa in Tamilnadu.
• Set dose: a popular type of dosa in Karnataka, which is cooked only on one side and is served in a set of two to three, hence the name.
• Benne dose: similar to masala or set dosa but smaller in size. Served with liberal helpings of butter sprinkled on it. It is said to have originated in the Davanagere district of the state of Karnataka
• Cabbage dosa: made out of cabbage. Paste is prepared with rice, red chillies, Asfotedia and Turmeric. Once the batter is ready, cabbage cut into small pieces is added to the paste and left for about 30 mins. Once this is done, the batter is poured and the dosa is made crisp.
• Neer dosa: prepared from rice, unique to Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada district.
• 70 MM dosa: similar to Masala dosa, but it is bigger in size, about 60 cm in diameter.
• American chop suey dosa: served with a filling of fried noodles and tomato ketchup.
• Uppu puli dosa: made by adding uppu (salt) and Puli (tamarind) to the batter. It is a part of Udupi cuisine.

KERALA FOOD

1. IDLY SAMBAR VADA