Appalam Mendhya Kozambu - Light tamarind and fenugreek gravy made with papad or poppadams

APPALAM MENDHYA KOZAMBU-
a light tamarind and fenugreek seeds gravy with Papad or Poppadams
After an elaborate Obbattina Oota and the birthday feast, we all felt that we would not be able eat anything for a week! Mother came out with one of her unusual recipes – the Appalam Mendhya Kozambu. This is a very light tamarind gravy, without any dal ,vegetables, coconut or rich masalas. Having this light Kozambu with rice and dash of ghee, was a great relief after the heavy feast.
INGREDIENTS:
Tamarind - a small lemon sized ball
Salt – 2 tsps
Sambar powder – 3 tsps
Jaggery – 1 tsp
Plain papads or appalams – 2
Sesame oil – 4 tbsps
Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
Bengal gram dal – 2 tsps
Red chillies (broken)- 2
Curry leaves – a few
Rice flour – 1 tsp
METHOD:
1. Extract the tamarind juice and add water to make ½ a pint.
2. Add salt, jaggery and sambar powder.
3. Break the papads into bits (2" - 2.5") and keep aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add asafoetida and mustard seeds.
5. When it splutters add fenugreek seeds and then the Bengal gram dal.
6. Roast the seasoning to a golden colour and add the red chilly and the broken papad pieces.
7. When the papad gets fried add the curry leaves and the prepared tamarind juice mixture.
8. Let it boil till the raw smell subsides and a pleasant aroma arises.
9. Make a paste with rice flour and little water, and add it to the kuzambu for thickening.
Bring to a boil, and switch off the flame.

Enjoy the appalam mendhya kozambu with hot rice and of course with a dollop of ghee.

Rice Wade

Rice wade / rice pooris is in my to-do list for a long time. Somehow I was skeptical about the outcome. All I knew was pooris out of wheat flour and maida. And I have not heard of this before. Nevertheless, I was tempted to try it, when I saw the recipe in Sanjeev Kapoor's Dal-Roti book.

I was not disappointed with the end result. Only thing unlike regular pooris, this cannot be rolled with a rolling pin , but each one had to patted with the fingers.

Here is the recipe

Rice flour - 2 cups

fennel seeds (saunf) - 2 tblspn

fenugreek seeds(methi) - 1 tblspn

salt to taste
water - 1 1/2 cups

Oil for deep frying

Boil 1 and half cups of water with fennel and methi seeds for about five minutes. This is to extract their flavor.Strain and reheat the water. Stir in the salt and rice flour to water. Stir continuously till it comes together and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Transfer the dough to a bowl. If you want you can add some grated onion to the dough at this stage. I did not add. Grease you palm with oil and pinch off a lemon sized dough. Pat it to the shape of a poori , using your fingers. Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry till it is golden and cooked. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot.

It did not puff much for me. May be on next attempt ,I will improve. It is the first time I am tasting this. I liked it with the subtle flavor of saunf and methi. Its indeed a good alternative to our regular pooris. I served with simple moong dal tempered with the usual mustard, green chilly, grated ginger. Since I had prepared on an no-onion day, there is no onion in the side too.

Rice Wade goes to Think Spice Think Fenugreek event, guest hosted by Kittie

And also to Herb Mania - Fenugreek hosted at Redchillies

On a different note:

Have a look at the pookalam done by my parents at my sister's home in Gurgaon.

Ragi oothappam

Ragi is rich in calcium, protein and fiber. It's been quite sometime since I tried Mrs. Chithra Viswanathan's recipe. So I made it for dinner today. I liked it and here is the original recipe. I will jot down the recipe here as well for future reference.

Ingredients:
Ragi flour - 1 cup
Boiled, peeled and grated potatoes - 2 medium size
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Hing- a pinch
Chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

Method:
Mix all the ingredients with water to dosa batter consistency.
Make oothapams as usual smearing oil on both sides.
Serve hot with idly podi or chutney.