Appam and Stew

Diwali came with much excitement and enthusiasm. The house was cleaned spic and span. There was a sprawling rangoli at my door step and all the diyas glimmering away.  And then, all of a sudden, diwali came to an end with a lot of noise and air pollution.

Right now, we have bright sunny days in Bangalore. But, there is a chill wind indicating the onset of winter.  November is ticking away with only a few days left for everyone to start updating their new year's resolution. Can't believe that 2012 too is coming to a close. Wow! That was fast.  But, I'm looking forward to all the excitement coming up in December with Christmas and New year's and can't wait to try out some new restaurants this the festive season.

Coming to my recipe for today.  Appam and stew is a breakfast dish served in Kerala. It is a high calorie meal, but I or in fact we love it. Some folks like serving appam with milk an d sugar. But, i think that appam is best served with stew.  Click here for stew recipe.

Ingredients:( Makes 16 appams)

• Rice flour - 1-1/2 cups
• Cooked rice - 1 cup
• Grated coconut - 1 cup
• Water - 3 cups
• Coconut milk - 1/4 cup (optional)
• Yeast - 1/2 tspn
• Sugar - 2 tspns
• Salt - to taste
• Milk - 1/4 cup (optional)

Directions:

•  In 1/2 cup of warm water, add yeast and sugar and set aside for 5 mins.
• Other than salt and milk, grind the rest of the ingredients together. Add proofed yeast mixture and let ferment for 5-6 hours. 
• Just before making the appams, add salt and milk to the batter.
• To make appam, pour one ladle of batter in a hot appam pan and rotate the pan so the batter coats the sides of the pan. Cover and let cook for 2-3 mins. And serve hot (Appams are cooked only on one side)
• I have demonstrated how to make appam with pics.
• Best served with stew. Click here for stew recipe.

Vanilla Cupcakes

 

Last weekend started on a boring note. We had no plans to leave the house as  hubby-dear needed to just laze around and relax for a change. Relaxation for him is reading about photography and watching MMA and sports. For me, I had to think of a way to do something nice. So, as usual, I turned to the kitchen to bake. Now, that's what I call relaxation.

My sister sent me 10 individual  cupcake baking cups. These are so much nicer than the muffin trays because there is more space utilization in the oven. Also, helps me bake just a few, instead of a whole big batch. Loved the idea and had to put these cuties to use. That's when I made my Apple-raisin-walnut muffins (click here for recipe). After that venture, these babies were put away and only now did I think of them again.

So, my weekend relaxation resulted in vanilla cupcakes. They were moist and delicious and this brought hubby's resting phase to a halt as he got busy.............. really busy, munching on these moist cupcakes..............non stop.

 

Ingredients: (makes about 12 cupcakes)

• 1-1/2 cup sifted cake flour
• 1-1/2 tspn baking powder
• 1/4 tspn salt
• 1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup(s) sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup(s) whole milk

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
• Line a cupcake tray or cups with liners.
• In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. 
• Beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat well for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl when needed (batter should be nearly white and fluffy). 
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add vanilla and mix. 
• Now, alternately, add the flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with flour until just mixed.
• Divide the batter into the cupcake liners until 2/3 full (I used an ice cream scoop which was the perfect amount to fill 1 cupcake). Bake for 20-25 mins, until a toothpick inserted comes out just clean.
• Cool for 5-10 minutes on a rack.