Nei Appam (Ghee Appam)

Category: Indian Sweets / Festival Recipes
Preparation Time: 15 mins + 3 hours soaking + 1–2 hours resting time
Cooking Time: 15–20 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Festivals are always a great excuse to make some of our traditional homemade sweets, and Krishna Jayanthi is one of my favorite occasions to prepare simple, delicious treats at home.

Nei Appam

This Nei Appam is one such easy festival recipe made with raw rice, jaggery, coconut and ripe banana. There is no refined sugar here, and the natural sweetness from the jaggery and banana makes these paniyarams absolutely delicious.

The batter is made by soaking raw rice and grinding it along with jaggery, coconut, banana and cardamom. I usually prefer using pure jaggery powder, which makes the process even easier. If your jaggery has impurities, simply melt it with a little water and strain it before adding it to the batter.

I like to let the batter rest for an hour or two before making the paniyarams. A small pinch of baking soda is added just before cooking, which helps make them soft inside.

These are cooked in a paniyaram pan with ghee, so they develop a beautiful golden-brown crust on the outside while staying soft and flavorful inside. They are best enjoyed warm!

Ingredients:

• Raw rice - 1 cup
• Jaggery powder - 3/4 cup (I used pure jaggery powder)
• Fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
• Well-ripe banana - 1 no
• Cardamom - 1 no
• Baking soda - a pinch
• Salt - a pinch
• Ghee - as needed

Mini Appams served with Instant coconut milk (Mini fermented rice pancakes with instant coconut milk)

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin /Kids Recipes
Cooking Time: ~2 mins 

Appam, a South Indian pancake, is a must-try! Made from fermented rice batter and coconut milk, it has a unique flavor. It’s bowl-shaped with a crispy edge and a soft, thick center. Traditionally cooked in an appachatti, a deep pan like a wok, it’s usually eaten for breakfast or dinner, often with a side of vegetable stew or sweetened coconut milk. The secret to appam lies in its fermented batter, and some recipes even include yeast!  

When you visit a South Indian restaurant, especially those that serve a buffet, you’ll likely find a live Appam counter. These are delicious, hot flatbreads served with sweet coconut milk. The line is always long, but it’s worth it for the taste. Everyone loves these appams, and they’re especially popular with kids. Everyone absolutely adores these appams, and they’re particularly beloved by kids.

Initially, I experimented with making appams using Idli/dosa batter, but I soon realized that it was best to make appam batter separately. Fermentation is the secret ingredient that makes appams soft, fluffy, and porous. If you’re not able to ferment the batter, especially during cold winters, you can try adding a pinch of cooking or baking soda. But that’s totally optional.

I have also tried using millets - Barnyard millet (Kuthiraivaali) and it came out very well. The ingredients for millet batter also given below.

I tried making mini appams in our cast iron paniyaram pan. At first, I thought I’d only make a few servings, thinking it might be a bit time-consuming. But guess what? These days, I’d rather make mini appams than the regular ones. They’re so tempting, not just for the kids, but for everyone! Plus, they’re easy to eat. Just pour some coconut milk over each one and enjoy!  

Appam with sweetened coconut milk is a heavenly combination, and I also love them with a spicy veg stew or kurma. Since we’re only getting frozen coconut here, making coconut milk the traditional way takes some time to thaw and extract the milk. So, I’ve decided to use the organic Thai coconut milk cans we get from Costco. This way, it’ll be super easy, quick, and the taste won’t be compromised at all! 

Ingredients: 
For Appam:

• Idli rice - 1 & 1/2 cups
• Raw rice - 1 & 1/2 rice (I used Sona masoori rice)
• Whole white Urad dal - 1/4 cup
• Methi / Fenugreek seeds - 1 Tbsp
• Poha / Thick aval - 1/4 cup
• Coconut milk - as needed 
• Salt - as needed
• Optional - Cooking / Baking soda - a pinch for small portion of batter 
• Oil - to drizzle as needed

Carrot & Cabbage Stir fry / Carrot & Muttaikose Poriyal

Category: Lunch / Poriyal
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings:3 to 4 servings

Carrot- Cabbage Poriyal

Carrot & cabbage Poriyal is a simple Poriyal  / stir fry with simple ingredients. But the combination of these veggies is great and suits well with any South Indian meal. This goes well with any spicy Kuzhambu varieties, Sambar, Rasam or we can just mix it with rice and have it.

  Ingredients:

• Carrots - 3 nos
• Cabbage - 1/2 a head
• Coconut Oil - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Channa dhal - 1 tsp
• Urad dhal - 2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Red / Green chilly, slitted - 1-2 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Salt- to taste
• Fresh coconut, grated - 3-4 Tbsp (Or Frozen coconut thawed at room temperature)

Sprouted Kondakadalai PuliKuzhambu (Sprouted brown chickpeas in tamarind-coconut gravy)

Category:  Kuzhambu Varieties
Preparation Time: 5 mins + time for sprouting
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins 
Servings: 4 servings

Sprouted Kondakadalai Pulikuzhambu

Brown Chickpeas / Kala Channa / Kondakadalai is loaded with nutrients and its very important to add these cute little beans in our regular diet. These protein and fibre rich beans are so beneficial for growing children.

In my blog I have many recipes using Channa and you can find it here: Channa Recipes. I have already posted sprouted channa kuzhambu here: Sprouted channa kuzhambu; but this is an easy pulikuzhambu version.

Sprouting these Chickpeas / Channa increases their nutrient value and these sprouted chickpeas can be used to make sundal, gravies, hummus, added to kootu or making south indian kuzhambu varieties. We can also add them in salads but for easy digestion and for kids, I prefer cooking them.

Since I dont have coconut pieces I had added coconut paste in this kuzhambu, but adding bite sized fresh coconut pieces gives a nice crunch to this:)

Ingredients:

• Sprouted Brown Chickpeas/ Kondakadalai - 1 & 1/2 cup, 
• Tamarind - Lemon sized (Use as needed)
• Sambar Powder - 1-2 Tbsp (Adjust as per spice level)
• Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp
• Sesame Oil - 2 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dhal- 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves -few
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Small Onions - 15-20 nos, halved or 1 big onion chopped
• Garlic - 8-10 cloves, chopped
• Tomato - 1, finely chopped
• Coconut - 1/2 cup grated 
• Salt - as required

Variation:

• Instead of coconut paste, we can add chopped fresh coconut pieces 

Chow Chow Poricha Kootu (Chayote Lentil Stew)

Category: Kootu / Lunch
Preparation Time: 15 mins 
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Servings: 3 servings

Chow Chow Poricha Kootu

Chow Chow Kootu is made with Chayote Squash / Chow Chow, Moong dal and freshly roasted & ground spices. Adding handful of cooked channa gives nice texture to the kootu and also gives a protein boost :) 

Chow Chow Kootu tastes best with hot rice along with spicy Vathakuzhambu and appalam!

Ingredients:

• Chow Chow / Chayote - 1 big sized or 2 small sized, cubed
• Moong Dhal - 1/4 cup
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Water - as needed
• Cooked Brown Channa - handful (Optional)

To Roast & Grind:

• Coconut oil - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Black pepper - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Red chillies - 1-3 (Adjust as per spiciness)
• Fresh Coconut - 1/4 cup

For Tempering:

• Coconut Oil - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Split Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Asafoetida - a generous pinch

Method:

• Wash and peel the chow chow, remove the seed and chop into bite sized cubes

Parangikkai Pulikuzhambu (Butternut Squash in Tamarind-Coconut Gravy)

Category:  Kuzhambu Varieties
Preparation Time: 5 mins  
Cooking Time: 20 mins 
Servings: 3 servings

Butternut Squash- Kondakadalai Pulikuzhambu

Pulikuzhambu is an easy South Indian kuzhambu and we usually add veggies like brinjal, drumstick, lady's finger, bittergourd.

I tried pulikuzhambu with Butternut squash and it turns out good. Butternut squash is similar to Manjal Poosanikkai / Parangikkai / Orange pumpkin. 

Yummy Pulikuzhambu

Addition of  cooked brown channa and ground coconut makes it more yummy :)

Whenever I soak this brown channa, I usually add more, cook and freeze in it. You can view my earlier post on freezing beans here.

I love to add these Channa in other dishes like Kurma, kuzhambu, rice varieties or even in kootu:)

While cooking this, make sure that the Butternut squash / pumpkin pieces are not got overcooked and turn mushy. Since there's sweetness in squash, I didn't add any jaggery here

Ingredients:

• Butternut Squash/ Orange pumpkin - 2 cups, cubed 
• Brown Channa / Kondakadalai - 1/2 cup, cooked
• Tamarind - Size of a Gooseberry (Use as needed)
• Sambar Powder - 1-2 Tbsp (Adjust as per spice level)
• Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp
• Sesame Oil - 1/2 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Channa Dal - 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dhal- 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/8 tsp
• Curry leaves -few
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Small Onions - 7-8 nos, halved

Vendakkai Morkuzhambu (Okra in yogurt gravy)

Category:  Lunch
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2-3 servings

Mor Kuzhambu or buttermilk kuzhambu is a south Indian gravy made from Indian buttermilk or slightly sour curd / yogurt and goes very well as an accompaniment with rice.

 

Vendakkai Morkuzhambu

We can add vegetables like Okra, white pumpkin / ash gourd or even vadai :) If we run out of veggies, we can prepare this even without any veggies. It will still be very good.

I had already posted a recipe using Ash gourd here - Ash-Gourd Morkuzhambu. This is slightly different from that one posted earlier.

Ingredients:

• Vendakkai / Okra / Lady's finger - 6-8
• Butter milk  - 2 1/2 cups (I used 1 cup of thick curd & 1 1/2 cup of water)
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 2 tsp

To Grind:

• Toor Dhal - 1 Tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Green chilly - 2-3, adjust as per spice level

Banana Chocolate chip Pancakes (Eggless, Whole wheat & Vegan option included)

Category:  Breakfast
Preparation Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Pancakes are always the favourite breakfast not only for the kids but for the entire family.  I have already posted few pancake recipes in my blog and all those were made from whole grain flour only, strictly no to the refined white flour. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

You can check those here:

• Whole Wheat Eggless Pancakes
• Whole Wheat Pancake Mini Muffins
• Pancake Doughnuts with Peanut butter chips

Nowadays, whenever I have got over ripen bananas, either I prepare these banana muffins or banana bread or pancakes.

Banana chocolate chip pancakes - These are eggless pancakes and made with whole wheat flour. Since banana and milk are not compatible foods together, I have used coconut milk here instead of regular milk. We can use unsweetened coconut or almond milk; if we are not having any of these, we can just grind some coconut and extract milk and use it. We can also use plain water but the taste will differ.

            

Dairy-free & Vegan option: This can easily be adapted to a vegan recipe by replacing the chocolate chips with vegan/dairy free chocolate chips or even chopped nuts and we can use coconut oil for toasting instead of butter.

                       

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat flour/ Atta - 1 3/4 cup
• Baking powder - 2 tsp
• Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - a pinch

Coconut Macaroons (Eggless Version)

Category:  Baking / Dessert
Preparation Time: 10  mins
Cooking Time: 15 to 20 mins
Servings: yields around 2 dozen macaroons

Eggless Coconut Macaroons

This is an eggless version of coconut macaroons and those who love coconut will surely enjoy them:) Also this is an easy version with minimal ingredients, yeah we just need three ingredients in total! Isn't it awesome? Here I used sweetened coconut flakes since that what I had in my hand. So the macaroons were on the sweeter side, if we need less sweeter version, we can replace it with unsweetened flakes. Ok let's start baking macaroons:)

Ingredients:

• Coconut flakes - Around 2 to 3 cups (I used sweetened flakes)
• Condensed milk  - Around 1/2 to 3/4 cup (Sweetened condensed milk)
• Vanilla essence  - few drops

Note: The actual quantity of coconut flakes and condensed milk may vary; adjust as per requirement until we get the right consistency

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F for 10 to 15 mins and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. If the coconut flakes are little big, we can use as such or we can grind it to small flakes and use them instead. It purely depends on our preference

Thengai Sadham (Coconut Rice)

Category:  Lunch / Rice
Preparation Time: 15 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 2-3 Servings 

Thengai Sadham

 Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 cup or 2-3 cups of cooked rice

  

  Yummy Coconut Rice!

• Fresh Coconut, grated - 1 cup
• Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Channa dhal - 1 tbsp (soaked for atleast 15-20 mins in hot water)
• Urad dhal, split - 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Cashews, broken - 8-10 nos
• Red chillies, broken - 1-2 nos
• Green chilly, split - 1 no
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Wash and soak 1 cup of rice for atleast 30 mins and then cook as usual in such a way the grains are separate. Once its done, spread it in a plate and allow it to cool
2. Soak Channa Dhal in hot water for atleast 15-20 mins and then drain it and keep aside
3. Grate the fresh coconut and keep it ready
4. Heat Oil in a pan, once it becomes hot add the mustard seeds and allow it to crackle
5. Then add the soaked & drained Channa dhal followed by Urad dhal, Curry leaves and Cashews; saute in medium flame until the dhals turn golden brown
6. Then add the chillies and fry for a min and add asafoetida
7. Now add the coconut gratings and saute in low to medium flame for 3-4 mins
   
8. Then add the cooked rice along with required salt and gently mix well until all gets combined
   
9. Switch off and serve hot!