God Appe

You see only half of the Appe here :)

Mrs. Vidya Shenoy is one of the many friends we made in Blr. She has an amazing home, an antique and artifact collection so huge that it keeps her busy all day long. She is one of those people that do every thing perfectly. Home, hearth or hobbies, she gives her best. She even packs her gifts carefully which is really rare here.

She likes to visit us once in a while and is always armed with goodies. Last time she had got figs in a lovely recycled paper bag. Remember the Fig Sauce. It is one of my most searched recipes . This time she got a bag of God Appe.

She loves to discuss about spiritualism with Dad and food, culture and art with me. Her sister introduced this blog to her when she was in Mangalore recently. So this time she has recommended that Dad see and read my blog. I don't know when that will happen.

As soon as Vidya Auntie handed the bag to me, I felt the warmth of the freshly made God Appe. I was not going to leave this opportunity to learn a recipe from a senior lady like her. She is a sugran, once she had served us dahi vada and moog dal payasa at her home and both tasted heavenly. The taste that I miss, of Mom's and Devaki Kaki's cooking, I find it in her cooking.

This is a sweet with old world charm and does not get made much in Mumbai homes. So I sat at her feet to learn the recipe and she eagerly shared it. Like all women her age she has to be prodded about the ingredients, gently asking how much of this or that did she use. They tend to assume that we would know and most measures are andaze, so I tried to measure out.

Ingredients
2 glasses raw rice
1/2 coconut
2 ripe big bananas
2 handfuls beaten rice/ pohe
1/8 kg jaggery
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup bits of cashew nut
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
ghee for roasting
Wash and Soak the raw rice for 2-3 hrs in water.

Drain and grind together the soaked plump rice, coconut, banana and pohe with minimum amount of water. It should be a thick batter.

Now this is a real tip from the sugran, jaggery has to be molten in a vessel with 2 tablespoons of water to get rid of the raw smell. Then cooled and added to the rest of the batter. Now add the baking powder, mix well and let the batter rest for an hour.

Just before you start cooking the Appe in the mould add the cardamom powder and cashew bits in the batter and mix well. About 1 tablespoon batter sits well in each cell of the appe pan. Roast it with ghee. Cook on one side then flip with a fork and cook on the other side.
Let them cool a bit and then enjoy.
This recipe is for 50 Appe. One can halve the recipe or quarter it to get 25 or 12 Appe. They freeze well and can be made in advance. Just zap up in the microwave before serving to get back succulent Appe.
GAS 2008 (God Appe standards patented by gourmet yours lovingly) say they should be spongy, sweet, and cooked well right to the center. The aroma of cooked ripe banana and cardamom brings the old world charm right back to you.

Phanas Ambode

Last couple of weekends I am cooking Konkan style food. Remember my friend Mridula she is a konkani and when ever I make anything Konkani I recollect all the gossiping we did in the office bus. Her stunts of opening a box of very strong smelling jackfruit appe in the bus and trying to stuff my mouth with it. Promise I was embarassed to the bone.

It was on one of those days after our driving classes, we hopped on to the office bus. During that one month we would start from home at 6.30 am attend driving classes, have a shared cup of coffee and then take the bus to work. It was too early for breakfast so we would reach office and have breakfast together and go our ways to our desks. We were quite inseparable before and after work and in the bus. I credit Mridula for it. I am not the kind who becomes very close instantly. I take time, but Mridula was different she became very close to me. I found it surprising. Now after she has found a great friend in her husband yours truly is rarely remembered! Yet am happy for her. 

So this weekend when I was enjoying some luscious jackfruit flesh I smiled and put away just 2 pieces for another day with plans to recreate the smelly stuff that got our fellow bus men and women sniffing and me all crimson. You cannot hide the jackfruit smell. There is proof.

Jackfruit is the mutilated copy of the original word Chakka in Malayalam. In Marathi it is Phanas.

Ingredients

2 pieces jackfruit flesh

3/4 cup Semolina

1 tablespoon jaggery

handful cilantro

a big pinch of salt

Oil or ghee for frying

Puree the jackfruit fesh in a chutney jar along with jaggery. Remove puree in a bowl. Mix in the semolina, salt and cilantro. Mix well with hand to even out lumps if any. You should be able to drop small balls of the batter into hot oil or ghee for frying. If needed add more semolina or a just a bit of water to adjust the consistency. It is important that the batter is not very thin else the rava will bubble up in the frying medium and will not hold the lump together.

Heat the Oil or ghee then reduce it to medium heat. Drop little balls into it and fry till caramelized. Enjoy the Phanas Ambode.

Alternatively you can also make appe in the appe pan.

The smell will attract one and all. They guess it right too. I told you, it's not possible to hide a jackfruit.

Well I also like people who are like a jackfruit, spiky on the outside and luscious on the inside :) I think I'm like that ;) I also wish at times I was born in Chakka land, my choice would be Allepey.

Instant Rava Appe

I made this today for breakfast and Dad loved it so am making more for our friends Shailesh, Manisha and their 2 kids, Turya and Tanmayi. They are joining us for lunch today as Shailesh is transfered to Chandigarh and the family is soon to move. We have spent some good times together and Dad especially is so fond of them. Wishing them All the best for the future!

Ingredients

1/2 cup fine rava
1/2 cup milk
3 elaichi bananas
3/4 cup jaggery powder
2-3 cardamoms pods, peeled and seeds separated
1/2 teaspoon salt
ghee to fry

Mix all ingredients together with hand. The batter should be like that of cake, it should fall in folds.

In an appam pan fill the slots half way with ghee. Add one spoon full batter into each slot and fry till golden on slow heat. The slow heat ensures cooking till the core. Turn over to cook the other side. Remove with a fork and collect in a box. Similarly fry all appams till batter is used up.

Let the appams cool completely before serving. The spongy appams are to die for without all the preparations and sweat spent on traditional God appe.

With the same batter you can even make pancakes in Marathi they are called Dhirda.

Morning Glory

This is the Breakfast Menu section.

• Aloo Tikki
• Arisi Upma
• Avare Kaalu Akki Roti
• Banana Pancakes
• Beetroot Akki Roti
• Bread Crumb Upma
• Broken Wheat Idli
• Broken Wheat Roast
• Bugani
• Chow Chow Bhat
• Dadpe Pohe
• Fluffy Dosa Set
• Gajar Sanja and Kalayile Phovu
• Gunta Pangana, Paddu, Appe
• Koot Avalakki
• Kora Cha
• Matar Batate Pohe
• Mishra Dal Dosa N Eureka Chutney
• Nachani Kobi Palak Kabab
• No fuss Burger
• Peanut Butter N Banana Fried Sandwich
• Pepper Idli
• Potato Mozzarella Chili Crêpe
• Rolled and sliced Kothimbir Vadi
• Rumble Tumble on Toast!
• Sudamache Pohe
• Sundried Tomatoes N Cheese Bread
• Thalipith Just Zakas !
• Ukad Pindi
• Vada Sambar not Medu

Kadlekai Parishe, The Groundnut Fair

Going back in time in the middle of a growing city

Tonight I was at the Kadlekai Parishe or The Groundnut Fair on Bull Temple road in Basavangudi. This is the first time I went there in all these years here in Bangalore. I live in South Bangalore which is so rich in its heritage and culture. This fair started today and will go on till Tuesday evening. The fair takes place annually and has been a tradition to appease the residing deity, The Big Bull with the first harvest of groundnuts. The farmers from surrounding villages come to sell here.

I walked from Ramakrishna Ashram towards the temple, soaking in the atmosphere. It is so amazing to watch Bangalorians enjoy this fair. In rural India this is the only way of entertainment but Bangalore has it all and still attracts huges numbers to the fair, to enjoy simple things like boiled peanuts, sliced fruits with salt and pepper, cucumbers, fluffy pink sugar candy. The little shops sell all sorts of stuff from fried savories to puffed rice, sugar crafts, halva etc. Other things like toy sellers, cheap artificial flower sellers, pots and pans and other kitchen implements which we get only in rural areas are available here at the fair.

My buys at this fair consisted of a appe patra, Gods posters with glitter and ground nuts for cooking. I ate hot fresh popcorn made in sand, bought some boiled peanuts but did not manage to eat. Then finally I walked toward Kamat at Bugle Rock and had my dinner there.

See the vivid colors of the fair...

Remakes

This category is called Remakes. It is my way of saying thank you to all the bloggers who share so generously in this virtual world.

• An Ode to Mad Tea party
• Pharali Misal
• Pepper Idli
• Gunta Pangana, Paddu, Appe
• Peanut Butter N Banana Fried Sandwich
• Gimme Red ~~
• Apple N Grape Cobbler

Gunta Pangana, Paddu, Appe

I was going through Asha's when I decided to make these for MBP. Thanks Coffee and Thanks Asha and Menu Today. This is one good Finger Food!

I took the sour dosa batter added fine chopped onions, bit pieces of coconut, fine chopped green chillies and salt. Poured the batter in well oiled mould and flipped once to roast the other side. Tasty paddus were ready to eat right out of the mould with chutney. Still licking my fingers.

Here is my tava since I oiled it well had no probs flipping them.