Aapams and Vegetable Stew

Aapams and Stew is probably the most common of foods in a Keralite’s home. Kerala cuisine is an untreaded territory for me, so I sought a friend’s help in making the following two dishes. She is a Keralite, knows her stuff but the only thing was she doesn’t use measurements …now that’s a huge problem for me coz I’m very particular about measurements, especially when I’m trying someone else’s recipe. Every ingredient I asked about it, she said….”I don’t know, I just add it in!” Hmmm, after much cajoling and detailed enquiry, I was able to settle with certain forms of measurement. I came back home and equated them to the standard measures.

Aapams

I’ve made Aapams before, but not the Kerala version of course. This one has oodles of coconut in it, or should I say ‘plenty’…in my friend’s words! I also borrowed the Aapam Pan from her.

You will need:

2 Cups Rice (Sona Masoori)
1 tsp Yeast
½ tsp Sugar
½ Cup Warm water
¾ Cup Freshly grated Coconut
½ Cup cooked Rice
Salt as required

Soak rice for 4-6 hours or overnight.

Add sugar and yeast to warm water, stir and let sit for 10 minutes till frothy. Drain soaked rice and grind to a smooth paste with the yeast and cooked rice. Ferment overnight.

Add salt only before making the Aapams.

Heat a non-stick Aapam pan on low heat. Pour one ladle of the batter in the middle of the pan and swirl the pan immediately to coat the batter on the sides of the pan. Pour a tsp of oil on top, cover and let cook till done.

Serve with hot vegetable stew.

Vegetable Stew

This is one dish we’ve had at home since we were kids. But the Kerala style is a little different from how mom used to make it.

You will need:

½ cup Carrot cut into 1” bits
½ cup Green beans cut into 1” bits
½ cup Peas
1 Potato cubed
1 onion thinly sliced
5-6 Green chillies slit
¾ tsp Black Pepper powder
1 can Coconut Milk
2 tbsp Coconut Oil (or any cooking oil)
Salt to taste

Bring water to a boil and add all the veggies (including chillies) to it. Boil till veggies are cooked through. Drain and reserve little of the water. Place veggies in a deep pan, pour coconut milk over it, add the pepper powder and salt. Stir and bring to simmering boil. If the stew is too thick then add the reserved water as required. Turn off heat and then add the oil on top while the stew is still hot. Stir and serve hot with the Aapams.

When my friend first mentioned that the oil had to be poured on top after the cooking was done, I was surprised because it’s unusual to add the oil after the cooking, because the taste of uncooked oil is not very pleasant. But with this dish, it did wonders; it made the stew creamier and very delicious. It is important to remember to add the oil when the stew is still hot though. I used Canola Oil, as I don’t use Coconut Oil for cooking, its too much 'coconut' to handle!

Aapams and Vegetable Stew is my entry to RCI Kerala hosted by Jyothsna of CurryBazaar