Karuppatti Aapam (Palm Sugar Pancake with Coconut Milk Sauce)

An  effortless way of making aapam or Indian style of fermented pancake. Most of the ingredients you can find in your  pantry except for sour dosa batter which I will post the method of making later. Enjoy!

Karuppatti aapam

Pan

Ingredients for aapam or pancake :

Grated fresh white coconut : 1 cup
Sour dosa batter : 2 cups
Rice flour : 2 cups
Karuppatti (Palm sugar) : 1/2 -1 cup (depends on how sweet you want your pancake to be)
Salt :  1/2 tsp

Ingredients for making salted coconut milk:

Freshly grated coconut : 1 cup
Hot water 
salt : 1/2 tsp 

Method :

1. Grind the grated coconut, dosa batter and rice flour with 1/4 cup of water or little bit more till become smooth paste ( You should not add a lot of water. This batter has to be thick at this stage.)

2. Now mix 1/2 tsp of salt with the aapam batter and let it ferment overnight. You can keep the closed batter in a dry place outside. (Do not keep in refrigerator during fermentation process) 

3.The next morning, you can prepare palm sugar syrup by boiling it with 3/4 cup of water till well dissolved and slightly thick. Strain the impurities left at the bottom of the sugar syrup. Let it cool completely (You can also prepare sugar syrup prior to making aapam in the morning).

4. Mix palm sugar syrup with fermented pancake batter (You need not add all the syrup, taste the batter while mixing it in). At this stage, you need to add water to make it slightly a loose batter but not watery.

5. Extract coconut milk by using freshly grated coconut and hot water. We want to obtain semi thick milk so adjust the water quantity. Mix salt. This is the sauce for the pancake. It's an unsweetened coconut milk sauce.

6. For making this pancake, a special kind of wide and hollow pan with two handles at sides is needed. Add, 1/2 tsp of oil into the pan and wipe it of lightly using a tissue. First scoop a ladle full of batter and start swirling around ( If the batter is too thick, you may not able to swirl well.So keep the batter loose but not watery) . Keep the flame on low. You will notice it has a shape of a round boat. This pancake once cooked will loosen sides indicating time to remove it from the heat.

7. Drizzle generous amount of salted coconut milk on it before serving. If you can't find this type of pan, then you can make conventional pancake but thinner perhaps. 

-Abby

Drumstick Mild Soup (Murungakai Soup)

Drumstick vegetable is high in vitamin C, and a good source of potassium, magnesium, dietary fiber and calcium. Because it has abundant fiber, the cooked pulp when blended to a smooth paste will have similar texture of collagen. So, it's important to dilute more water when making soup with this type of vegetable. At home, we prefer to slurp the thick, jelly sort of soup as it is so comforting during the cold or rainy season. You can find this vegetable in Indian store or market. Instant energy can be gained through this soup.

Drumstick soup

Drumstick

Ingredients :

Drumstick or murungakai (flesh) : 1 1/4 cup
Drumstick boiled water plus extra water : 3 cups
Green chillies : 1- 2 
Big ripe tomatoes : 2 
Cinnamon : 1 stick
Star anise : 1
Cloves : 5
Fennel seeds : 1/2 tsp 
Whole black peppercorns: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp 
Asofetida : a pinch
Salt :  as needed 
Coriander leaves : for garnishing

Method :

1.Boil the chopped and washed drumsticks of 3 inches in water. After, the outer part is slightly soft, you may scope its flesh out. Grind the flesh with little water to a smooth paste. Do not discard the water as it will be the flavorful stock for our soup.

2. In a heated pan, pour two teaspoons of oil, start tempering the cinnamon, whole black pepper, cloves, star anise and fennel seeds until light brown and immediately add green chillies, asofetida and diced tomatoes with some salt. Fry the tomatoes until mashed.

3. Now, add drumstick paste, its water and more water depending on the consistency that you prefer. Followed by turmeric powder. By the time you add the drumstick paste, soup will become thick like jelly but not to worry you can add more water or reduce the amount of that paste. That paste is full of nutrient for your body.

4. Serve hot as it is.

-Abby