Cone Cake? Lovely Keralite Snack

Namaskram! 🙏 Thank you for the love shown on my video on Bottle gourd. I received many words of encouragement on this one. It ranked #1 on my channel based on ratings. Stay tuned for a video on Tapioca next!

Kumbal Appam or kumbaliappam is my favourite snacks of all time. It's easy and quick to make hence it's that perfect evening snack or something we like to carry when travelling. Long shelf life, the aroma, burst of sweetness makes it perfect travelling snack. 

"Cinnamomum tamala, Indian bay leaf, also known as tezpat, tezapatta, Malabar leaf, Indian bark, Indian cassia, or malabathrum, is a tree in the family Lauraceae that is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. In the ancient classical and medieval texts, this leaf is believed to have been referred to as Malabathrum, from which a fragrant oil was prepared. In ancient Greece and Rome these leaves where read to have been used to prepare an expensive fragrant oil." - Wikipedia

 

                        

We can make it with many variations depending on the ingredients you have access to. In the U.A.E, we couldn't source jackfruit hence we simply mixed coconut, jaggery with wheat flour and wrapped it with dried Indian bay leaf (aka Tej Patta) leaves. The leaves are reusable but the flavour and aroma will reduce as per usage. 

To add a twist - 

• You can ripe banana, the riper the better.
• Replace wheat with rice flour, If you are not a fan of sweet snacks.
• Add cardamom pods for that final touch. 
• Add ginger powder for some spice (Don't give me this).
• Could add a dash a jeera powder. 

Ingredients (2 Servings)

• 4 Indian bay leaf. (alternatively try bay leaf if not available)
• 1/3 cup powdered jaggery.
• 1 or 2 pods of cardamom (Optional).
• 3 tablespoon jackfruit pulp or thinly sliced jackfruit (Optional).
• cumin powder as required (Optional).
• 1 cup of coconut shavings.          
• 3 tablespoon Wheat flour (enough o hold the mixture together softly).
• 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Instruction - 

1. Wash and dry the leaves.
2. Mix all the other ingredients well into a sticky loose filling. The longer you let it rest, the tastier and softer it gets.
3. Shape the leaves like cones and fill these cones with the mixture. Better sealed with a stick pierced through the leaf or with a thread wrapped around the leaf. 
4. Steam the cones for 20 minutes until the dough is hard. 
5. Enjoy it hot or cold. 

Cone-shaped leaves (Credits - Middleeastmasala)

Cone-shaped leaves filled with appam (Credits - Enrichingyourkids)

Thank you for reading so far. Your kind words and suggestions have been motivating me to constantly improve efforts into creating Learning your Roots family. All the relevant links will be added below, please be part of the family (Also have a private group dedicated to telling others about your culture!) 

Kindest regards,

Sijo 

Suggested: How to Choose, Harvest and Cook Banana flower

 

  

 

Episode 5 - Bottle Gourd

Namaskaram! 🙏

Hope you enjoyed my previous video on How to Harvest and Consume Banana flower, Hope you try the recipe soon enough. It's hassle-free and full of nutrients.

 

Today we are learning about bottle gourd or Calabash, Did you know it's one of the oldest vegetables known to human beings? 

                          

In this blog, we will go over- 

1. Benefits 

2. How to grow 

3. I will show you a Recipe with bottle gourd.

Benefits - Bottle gourd is also known as Opo or Doodhi or Lauki. For consumption, we harvest bottle gourd young and soft. We can harvest mature and hard to be used as utensils or for its seeds. It is believed to be originated from Africa and was carried to other parts of the world as humans migrated. It’s loaded with the goodness of Vitamin C, K, and calcium. It's good to bring down cholesterol, sugar levels in the blood. 

Be cautious when juicing this vegetable as it can be toxic if stored for too long (you can tell by its bitter taste) can even result in death. Cooking is easy peasy, and need not worry. 

Mature squashes can be used for utensils like for storing water or storage of some random things. Is used as instruments in Africa, Hawai, India etc. I read that somewhere in Africa they used this as a helmet to bypass the law of requiring to wearing an actual helmet. 

                             

                                              Credits- Pixebay.com

How to grow - We can grow through its seeds or saplings. Seeds are harvested from the mature doodhi. Make sure the soil is week drained and moist. Remember that Bottle squashes are a vine so it needs something to climb up and spread. If you leave it on the ground, the squash would be fat and squat in shape. If you hang it, you can harvest a thin and long bottle gourd. 

We can expect our first harvest in two months if the flowers are pollinated. Just like the squashes, both male and female flowers grow and the female flowers need to be pollinated if not they will simply fall out. In India, we grow it in the monsoon season till summer. You don’t need to cut it down after harvesting. Remember to plant plenty of seeds to have a sufficient harvest. 

The NPK ratio is 4:8:5. I will do a video on how to make NPK fertilizer at home soon. 

Question- What's your favourite Squash/Gourd? Comment below!

Recipe for Doodhi Daal Bhaji-

Ingredients- 

• 1 Bottle gourd. 

• 2 medium onions

• 2 medium tomatoes

• half cup daal (lentils)

• Chili and curry leaves to taste (Optional)

• Turmeric powder, Salt and Chili powder 

Instructions-

• Chop the Doodhi as shown in the video (tiny cubes)

• Add sliced Onions and cubed tomatoes

• Add one-two green chili and curry leaves 

• add washed daal 

• Add Half TSP of turmeric, salt, and chili powder to taste. 

• add two cups of water and boil until the gourd is soft and the daal is cooked.

Hope you enjoyed this blog and the video. I am trying to work more on my vlogs. Please let me know what you like/dislike below. Have a good day or a goodnight.

Best regards,

Sijo 

Suggested: Okra 101, How to Choose, Harvest and Consume 

Kerala vs Tamil Dosa; Who does it better?

Namaskaram! 🙏 

Thank you for your kind support on my video on How to Choose, Harvest, and Consume Banana flower and previous blog on Rice Noodles. Subscribers have jumped to 44!💪

Dosas are certainly the dish that put South India on the map. Thanks to migrating South Indians and Hotel Saravana Bhavan (largest vegetarian restaurant chain in the world). The main ingredient in Dosa is Rice.  Rice along with other ingredients is left to ferment. Thus making it super healthy with probiotics. Dosa resembles crepes and hence referred to as 'Indian Crepe/ Pancake" by Non-Indians. 

Image by Gilnisha

Its origin is a matter of debate. Historians claim the humble dosa have originated from the Indian state of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Both sides have a good amount of ancient literature to strengthen their claims. However traditional Tamil Nadu "Dosai" was thick and modern-day paper-thin crispy dosas originated from Karnataka known as "Dosaka". 

The difference - In Kerala we use soak Idli rice (alternatively you can use Basmati rice or rice flour) with Urad daal in 2:1 ratio where-as Tamilians soak rice with black gram 4:1. I see "Instagram chefs" adding mung beans, spinach, etc to the mixture but I can't vouch for them. Buti its good to be different eh? 

Once rice and daal are soaked, we grind it into fine mixture adding water to reach the desired consistency (Tip: Add a handful of cooked rice to make the dosas softer). Leave it to ferment up overnight; fermentation happens faster at warmer temperatures. Just before using the batter, we salt the batter as adding salt will reduce the shelf life. 

Spread the dosa on to a nonstick pan like shown below (Or leave it as it is for pancake sized dosa's). You can make a roll using the leftover vegetable dishes you have, for a hearty meal or follow a Masala dosa recipe to know how to make a superb potato filling. 

There are two types of people - People who prefer Sambar (Vegetable stew) or Chutney as a side and people who prefer both. I am the latter, I mix both saber and chutney for a different combination of flavor. 

Question - Have you tried Dosa? What's your favorite side dish for Dosas? Comment below! 

Thank you for reading so far, You can view different types of Dosas and recipes below. Please take the time to subscribe to this blog (right) and my Youtube Channel (Top). Have a good day ahead 🙏.

Much Love, 
Sijo

Suggested: Easy Papaya Side dish

Watch Sadhguru serving Gordan Ramsey (Yes, THE Gorden Ramsey) dosa here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Fvt7TOaPQ

How to make Masala Dosa - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCab5oh0ZOc

How to make Sambar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKR1moq92Pw

How to make Chutney - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa5HHq7ep7c

Types of dosa (Credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosa)

Name	Key ingredients
Benne dose	butter ('benne' in Kannada) Predominantly famous as "Davanagere benne dose" associated with Davanagere district in Karnataka.
Plain dosa	Dosa served with only chutney and sambar and no filling.
Pesarattu (green dosa)[19]	green gram[20]
Oats dosa	healthy, crisp and lacy instant dosa made with oats.
Amboli, ghavan, dhirde	In coastal parts of Maharashtra, variations known as amboli, ghavan and dhirde (or dhirade) exist. Amboli and ghavan (like dosa) are thin rice crêpes prepared with fermented batter, while dhirde is prepared with unfermented batter.
Palak dosa	layered with palak (spinach) paste inside the folds of dosa.
Ragi wheat dosa	Ragi, whole wheat flour[25]
Rava dosa	rava or sooji[26] (semolina)
Light white dosa	rice and coconut[21]
Kadapa karam dosa[22]	Rice flour fermented overnight and mixed with sodium carbonate. The topping is a mixture of onion and chili paste (called yerra karam) and a chutney made with tomato and flour made in a gravy of curd. It is also occasionally topped with fried gram powder.[22]
Jaggery dosa	Rice flour, maida, grated coconut, jaggery
Mysore masala dosa[23]	rice, black gram, fenugreek seeds
Buttermilk dosa	Semolina, maida, buttermilk[27]
Onion rava dosa[24]	Semolina, rice flour
Mini soya dosa[17]	soya milk and wheat flour[18]
Paneer dosa	spiced paneer filling inside the dosa.
Masala dosa	spiced potatoes tucked inside the dosa with red chutney smeared over the dosa.
Set dosa	very spongy, soft and light, served in a set of 3 dosa per serving.[16]
Vodu dose or Kappa roti	Vodu dose or Kappa roti is made from rice, fenugreek seeds, grated coconut, thinly flattened rice and sometimes leftover cooked rice is also added. It is non fermented type of dosa. It is cooked on a earthen pan that has a rounded bottom. It is fluffy and appears like a bread. It is cooked without the use of oil.
Neer dosa	watery rice batter

Episode 4- Banana Flower

Namaskaram!🙏

Welcome to Learning your Roots. Thank you for your continued support. My video on Harvesting and Consuming Okra has nearly touched 200 views and reached 29 subscribers. My article on Rice noodles was also accepted with love. 🙏 

  

  Today we are talking about my favorite Banana flower. Someone from Facebook told me that he simply throws his Banana Flower into a compost bin, so I thought I will make a video on what it is and how to use it right!

Banana leaves and flower are two different things. Banana leaves are not edible but are amazing organic food wrappers. If the food is hot, it will even add amazing fresh green taste to it.

Young Banana flower

Today we are going to talk about -
1. Choosing the right Banana Flower
2. Harvesting
3. Preparing the Banana Flower using a traditional recipe 

Banana Flower, Banana Blossom, Vazhaipoo, or Koombu (Malayalam) are the different names of this flower. High in nutrients and fiber, it contains Calcium, Potassium, Vitamin A, C, E. But not all Banana Flowers are the same. In Kerala, we use Banana flowers of 'Plantain' and 'Gnalipovan' as they're the least bitter. Flowers of other varieties are also safe for consumption. Sorry couldn't explain this well in the video, I'm still getting used talking in front of a camera. You should be able to find one in any Asian store if you like to try. 'Gnalipovan' is a type of small banana that loved throughout Kerala.
  

Gnali-povan

Some banana variants don’t have a flower at all, like the 'Burro banana' or also know as 'Povan-payam' in Malayalam. (Povan stands for rooster and Payam stands for a ripe banana.)

1. Choosing the right banana. 

The freshness of this is indicated by the Redness of the flower. Red is fresh, as it gets older it turns black-er. That's one way to distinguish the good from the bad. Once you peel back the outer petals, the flowers inside should be cream in color which means its fresh, alternatively if darker it is old. Something to keep in mind; the older and black-er the flower, the more bitter it is. 

2. When to Harvest?

Cut the flower when the fruit starts to mature, you would notice the stalk simply elongates producing tiny fruits. Grab the flower by it top and simply snap it off. You would notice a sticky sap starts to appear, clean it off or else it will stain your clothes. Prepare the flower as soon as you can or use it within 1-2 days because remember - the longer it sits the more bitter it gets! 🙅

3. Recipe 

This is a simply delicious recipe that you can adjust to suit your tastes and preferences. Make sure you oil your hands well and lay newspaper or cover of sorts so the surfaces don’t come in contact with the sap. 🙅

Ingredients - 

1. 1 Banana flower

2. 2 Medium Onions

3. Chillis and curry leaves (optional) 

4. A handful of coconut shavings

5. Half cup of Raw brown beans

6. Salt, Tumeric and Chilli powder (to taste)

Instructions - 

1. Chop the Banana flower as shown in the video.

2. Clean the chopped flower.

3. Add thinly sliced onions, chili (optional), and curry leaves (optional).

4. Add coconut shavings (optional), mix together and add the brown beans.

5. Add 3/4 cup of water. 

6. Boil until soft.

Watch the video to know how to chop banana flower right.

Question- Have many types of Bananas have you tried? Comment below or below the video. I'm curious to know!

Thank you for reading so far. Please support me by subscribing to the blog (on the right) and subscribing to my channel. More similar content coming to you every Wednesday and Saturday! Have a good day ahead.💪

With love,

Sijo 

Suggested- Sweeter than CUSTARD? Sweetsop review https://youtu.be/G2ztnYswi30

String Hopper? Easy Vegan Keralite dish

Namaskaram!🙏

Thank you for your responses to the video on Okra- Where I showed how to harvest, grow, and cook Okra the right way. 

Let me introduce you to the humble yet original Idiyappam also known as Nool puttu or in English "String Hopper". 

Images & recipe by Nmami Agarwal 

Let me start by explaining the terms; Idi - Appam (Beat-pancake), and Nool-Puttu (String-steam cake). The dish can't be coined as a Keralite dish only since it is  popular in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as well. After a little research (wiping my lens in the background), I found out this dish has spread to Malaysia and Indonesia and is known as Putu mayam and Putu mayang. 

The main ingredient used to make this is rice flour. There are three ways to go about your rice flour requirement. We soak raw rice in bulk and then sun dry the soaked rice. Once fully dried (Yes fully dried; if not the powder goes moldy), it's ground into a fine powder and heated at the same time. You can now simply buy fine rice flour from your local store and lightly roast the required amount before using it. 

In Kerala, it's a common breakfast and is also sometimes served as a dinner item. Idiyappam is made by mixing rice flour with BOILING hot water and salt, then sleeved through a pressing tool to form that noodle-like structure. If the water is not boiling hot, the mixture won't stick through. Use a sturdy spatula for mixing to ensure no lumps form. We first form a base, add coconut flakes, and then cover it with another layer of the Idiyappam mixture. We then steam these Idiyappam cakes until soft. Make sure you don't overcook these delicate cakes as they'll lose its softness. 

                   

                   

                   

Images & Recipe By: REVIFOOD

Ingredients (Serves 3)- 

• Water - 2 cups (roughly, Please refer to the images to know the desired consistency.)
• Rice flour - 1 1/2 Cups.
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp

This dish is more of the neutral side in terms of flavor with a subtle taste of coconut. Hence we love combining Idiyappam with spicy curries like Vegetable korma, Egg curry, Egg Roast, etc. (Pro tip -If you are traveling in Kerala, I suggest ordering egg dishes or Vegetable dishes as eggs are well cooked and need not worry about food poisoning, unlike meat dishes.) For recipes please click the link under the pictures. 

Here is my dad pressing Idiyappam mixture into Idli-trays to be steamed for dinner. 

Suggested: Choosing Ripe Papayas and Simple Healthy Papaya recipe.

Thank you for reading so far. Please remember to subscribe to my blog and youtube for more posts. Kindest regards,

Sijo

Episode 3 - Everything about Okra

Namaskaram my beautiful people! 🙏 

My previous video on Custard Apple received a heart-warming 100+ views and total subscribers reached 20. Though a small number to many, it is certainly a huge encouragement for me 💜
My love for Okra/Ladyfinger/Vendaka/Bindi started when I was transitioning to a plant-based diet. In a plant-based diet, you need to avoid foods that don't come from plants and are processed. Naturally, I was missing milk, cheese, and butter. That's where Okra came in. This finger-looking long vegetable is very buttery when harvested at the right time and cooked properly. (Shown in my video)
The sticky sap might put some people off a surprising fact that many people don't know is that it is actually nature's very own band-aid. The sticky sap contains antioxidants, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer as well as anti-inflammatory properties. 

In this post, let's talk about- 

1. Harvesting okra at the right time
2. Growing okra
3. A traditional Keralite recipe

1. Harvesting okra at the right time - Okra needs to be harvested when young; their tenderness can be tested by pressing them gently. This test can even be done when you buy from the grocery store. Alternatively you can also try to break the tip of the ladyfinger. If it breaks cleanly- it's young, if it simply flexes then it's too mature. Unfortunately, harvesting the okra at the right time isn't enough! Storing them for too long also causes the okra to mature. If the okra is found to be too mature, better let it grow out and dry on the plant. You can then harvest the ladyfinger for its seeds. 

2. Growing Okra - In the video, I have shown my two varieties of okra plants. Bought both these plants around 4-5 months ago at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown and got some saplings from my neighbour. The last harvest was my third harvest. I have two Dwarf varieties and four types of Go-Big variety. You can grow Okra in grow bags, terrace, balcony, pretty much anywhere you like. Okra needs to be grown from seeds or saplings. The method of harvesting has been discussed above. The plant requires a good amount of sunlight and can be harvested all year round. 

3. Okra recipe - This Keralite recipe is called "Vendaka Thoran". For this recipe, you need a good amount of ladyfinger, two handfuls of coconut shavings, two medium tomatoes, two medium onions, a pinch of turmeric powder, half tbsp chili powder, salt according to your taste, and Green chilli (optional). Slice the ladyfinger thin and round for this recipe. Watch the video below.

•  Add two tbsp of cooking oil 

• Caramelise the onions, pinch of salt helps. 

• Add tomatoes and chili.

• Add turmeric powder, chili powder, more salt.

• Add ladyfinger and cook until its almost soft.

• Add Coconut shavings and cook until the ladyfinger is soft.

 

Please leave your version of the recipe and comments below or under the Youtube Video. 

Thank you for reading so far. Please remember to subscribe to my blog and youtube for more posts. Kindest regards, 

Sijo

Easy 5 minute Coconut Jaggery snack

Hello!

I want to introduce you to a traditional go-to snack of Kerala. For this effortless snack you need two ingredients, Tender coconut, and Jaggery (Shakkara in Malayalam). I am taking a detour to explain "Jaggery" a.k.a. medicinal sugar.

Jaggery is an unrefined sugar product made in Asia and Africa. Similiar products include: 

• Gur: India.
• Panela: Colombia.
• Piloncillo: Mexico.
• Tapa dulce: Costa Rica.
• Namtan tanode: Thailand.
• Gula Melaka: Malaysia.
• Kokuto: Japan.

- Healthline

Three main types of Jaggery are Date, Palm and Sugarcane Jaggery. The one I have used is made from Sugarcane. 

The next ingredient is tender coconut. It's that coconut you have seen being sold to drink on the roadside. The coconut water is loaded with goodness that can give you an instant boost in mood and energy. However, you need to acquire a coconut that's 3-4 months old which would have less water and more flesh. Young coconut's flesh can be scooped out easily and consumed. 

      

This snack is simply combining that silky smooth flesh with sweet soft shakkara and simply eating away knowing that this is completely organic. Make sure you wrap a small piece of shakkara with a good amount of flesh to maintain the balance.

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Happy Learning! 👋👋