Chocolates & Dreams

The Arusuvai Friendship Chain has very few rules. There is no essential time limit within which a creation has to be unveiled. There is no restriction as to the number of people to who a secret ingredient can be sent. Originally it started with sending secret ingredients to two or more people with at least one of them being a blogger. And there is no limit to the number of recipes that can be made with the secret ingredient.

The freedom to make more variation with the same ingredient had me in frenzy. I dreamt of all the things that could be made with one ingredient. The options were limitless. The most ideal choice for an Indian recipe would have been sarsoo ki saag & makka di roti. But the season did not favour me desire.

A little search of my treasure trove (internet), threw up some rather interesting options. I was very particular about the cornmeal being the main ingredient in whatever I made. Many recipes, even though they acknowledged cornmeal as a primary ingredient only used it in very small quantities. What I wanted was for the cornmeal to be the hero of whatever I made. I wanted it to shine nice and bright.

Soon, I found a cornmeal pancake recipe that fulfilled my needs. The base of this pancake was completely cornmeal and the taste was very distinct and clear.

Since I was using stone ground cornmeal the powder was not as fine and the pancake had very fine granules in the final product. Pancakes are ideally supposed to be smooth and light but this one was neither. As the cornmeal was the primary flour the pancakes were quite filling. As for the meal granules, a simple round of sieving through a fine mesh will get you fine ground cornmeal or you could just buy a pack of finely ground cornmeal for the pancakes.

Cornmeal Pancakes : -

Adapted from : Nibbledish 

• Cornmeal 1 cup
• Boiling water ½ - ¾ cup
• Flour 4 tbsp
• Baking powder 2 tsp
• Brown sugar 3 - 4 tbsp
• Egg 1
• Milk 1 cup
• Olive oil 2 tbsp

• In a bowl pour in the boiling water over the cornmeal till it is just covered. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
• Now add in the flour and sugar and mix.
• Now add in the egg, milk and olive oil. Mix till all the ingredients are mixed well. This will take some time. The cornmeal will initially turn lumpy but will start releasing in sometime.
• Once the mix is fairly done add in the baking powder. The powder will start to fizz a bit and the ingredients will suddenly start getting smoother. That sudden transformation was fascinating.
• Now let the mix sit for 15 minutes.
• Heat a pancake griddle and start making the pancakes.
• Pour about 1/3 cup into the hot griddle and let cook till the surface has holes in it and it looks set.
• Now flip it over and let cook for another minute.
• Don’t be in a hurry to make these pancakes because the cornmeal needs to cook well to be consumable. You do not want to have lumpy wet batter in your pancake.
• Once all are done serve topped with maple syrup and powdered sugar.

Makes : 8 medium pancakes.

Serves : 3

Enjoy ! ! !

I am sending this recipe to Breakfast Mela that is being celebrated by Srivalli on her blog Cooking4allseasons as part of her blogs anniversary celebration. Wishing her a Happy Blog Anniversary and many more to come.

The month of April has been a busy month. The days have flown past and it is already the middle of the month. We celebrate the Bengali New Year on the 15^th of April this year. Being with my parents after 4 years has made the day even more special.

The day began with a welcome to the New Year through a song and dance program which has been organized every year for the past 33 years by a group of enthusiastic groups of Bengali who have a group called “Geetanjali”. It began with a group of 7 ladies and 1 gentleman and they have never looked back. A beautiful ceremony, early in the morning with the birds’ chirping, the morning air full of melodious Bengali songs accompanied by beautiful dance performances.

This day is made even more eventful as this is my first submission to the Indian Cooking Challenge held my Srivalli of Spice Your Life.

This month the challenge came straight from God’s Own Country (Kerala). A sweet breakfast recipe from Shn of Mishmash!  A beautiful blog, with the most delectable recipes and mouthwatering pictures. When I first read the challenge, it really did feel like one. The soaking and grinding and fermenting and further fermenting seemed rather confusing initially but once you get the steps in order it is a recipe which requires very little hands on time.

The Vettappam came out smelling and looking like a dream and the hard part was the waiting for the vessel to cool to room temperature. The first round that I made disappeared in no time. The second round got photographed and then disappeared again. A very simple and beautiful recipe that I will make again and again. A huge thanks to Srivalli for this amazing challenge a Jaysree for suggesting it.

Vatteppam/Vattayappam :-

Grind :

Pachari or iddli Ponni/normal rice used at home 1 cup

Fresh coconut ¾ cup (diced or cut to rough pieces)

Cooked rice 2 tbsp

Water for grinding the ingredients to a consistency as that of an idli batter

Fermenting :

Active dry yeast ½ tsp

Water 1/3 cup

Sugar 2 tsp

Rice porridge/ Thari Kurukku :

Coarse rice paste 2 tbsp

Water ½ cup

Flavour :

Sugar 1/3 – ½ cup

Cardamom powder 10-12(coarsely ground)

Cashew nuts 10 – 12

Raisins a bunch

Ghee or Oil for greasing the vessel

 

• Soak the rice for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight. In the morning grind the rice with just enough water to grind to a course paste.
• At this stage, take out 2 tbsp of the mix for the rice pudding.
• Now add in the diced coconut to the mix and grind to a fine paste. The paste should feel smooth to the touch. This will take a little time so don’t give up easily.
• Now let the mix cool in the same container till it reaches room temperature.
• In the mean time make the rice pudding. Add in the course ground rice paste and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let cook till the rice is cooked and has the consistency of a pudding. Switch of the heat and let cool completely.
• For proofing the yeast first heat the water in the microwave for 15 seconds. Now add in the yeast and sugar and mix till dissolved. Let it proof in a warm place till the yeast forms a doom of foam. The time will vary on the kind of yeast that you use, so wait for the doom to form. Shn keeps the yeast inside the warm microwave which I found very useful.
• By the time the yeast form a doom the rice pudding and the rice mix would have cooled.
• Now add in the cooked rice to the rice and coconut batter and mix well in the mixer.
• Then add in the rice pudding and mix well.
• Then add in the proofed yeast and mix well.
• Now transfer the mix to a steel container with twice the capacity and let ferment for 4-6 hours or till the mix doubles in quantity.
• Once doubled add in the sugar and mix into the batter.
• Let sit for another 1 ½ - 2 hours.
• In a small frying pan heat a little ghee (clarified butter) and fry the cashew nuts and raisins for the garnish.
• Now add in the cardamom powder and the raisins and cashew nuts. Save a few for garnish.
• Now grease a steel container with ghee and pour in the batter to half way full.
• Take a pressure cooker and fill with water about 1/2”. Place the steel mesh that usually comes with a pressure cooker in the water or just place a small vessel downturned.
• Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, place the vessel with the batter on the steel mesh or vessel and close the cooker without the whistle.
• Let steam till the batter seats and a knife inserted comes out clean. About 15 – 20 minutes.
• Take out and let cool completely before taking out.
• Run a knife around the vessel to loosen the Vatteppam and transfer to a serving dish.
• Cut into pieces and serve as breakfast or with tea.

 Makes : 2 medium sized Vatteppam.

Enjoy ! ! !