Kaaram Appaalu

Kaaram Appaalu

Appaalu is a traditional Telangana snack usually made during festive season. It is also called 'Chekkalu' in Andhra. Though this dish has many names, it is a simple and savory version of rice crackers. These are so good that you cannot just stop with one or two. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
Rice flour - 4 cups
Chana flour (besan) - 1/2 cup
Chana dal - 1/4 cup
Crushed peanuts - 1/2 cup

Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 3 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying
Water - to make the dough

Method:

1. Soak the raw chana dal in water for half-an-hour.
2. In a large bowl, take the rice flour, chana flour(besan). Mix them well.
3. To this add the red chilli powder, salt, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, chopped curry leaves, soaked chana dal and the crushed peanuts. Mix well crushing with your fingers till all the peanuts and the chana dal is coated with the dry flour.
4. Now heat the 3 tbsp oil till its warm  enough. Add this oil to the above flour mixture. Mix all the ingredients well. Be careful the oil you added in is hot. Try mixing it with a spoon if its too hot for you. The goal here is that the flour should soak up all the oil. The mixture now looks like a pastry crust, dry but the flour still comes together when pressed between two fingers.
5. Now heat some water in a microwave for 2 minutes. Add this water to the above mixture slowly as you keep mixing it with a spoon. When mixed well the dough should be of a chapati dough consistency. 
6. Cover it with a damp cloth and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
7. In a kadhai, heat the oil to deep fry the appaalu.
8. Take a small golf-ball size dough, while pressing between your palms, make it into round disc. 
9. In a small bowl take some oil. Dip this disc in some oil. 
10. To make the pooris you need a Poori-press (refer to the picture below)  
    

    

    Tortilla Press
    

11. Place a plastic sheet inside the poori-press to avoid the dough from sticking to the poori press. Apply some oil to this sheet as well. 
12. Place the dough disc inside the poori-press and press it till its thin poori like shape.
    

    

    Tortilla press
    

13. Don't worry if the poori tears, press it with your fingers to cover any imperfections. 
14. Deep fry it in the oil on a low flame till golden brown and crispy.

Tasty tip:

1. Appaalu goes excellent with a hot cup of Indian tea. One crunchy bite into this appaalu and a sip of hot tea is a tea lovers delight.
2. Poori press is sold as 'Tortilla Press' in US.  I bought mine at Target for $15.

Kadhai Paneer Pasta

Kadhai Paneer Pasta

Kadhai Paneer pasta is a fusion of Indian and Italian cuisine. I combined two classic dishes from Indian and Italian cuisines to satisfy my family's taste buds. Spicy red pepper flakes gives this dish a zing. Home-made crunchy garlic bread is an excellent accompaniment. A glass of good Moscato white wine definitely cleanses your palate. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Pasta – 1 lb

Paneer – ½ lb

Bell pepper – 2 (1 yellow, 1 red)

Red chillies – 5

Coriander seeds – 3 tsp

Oil – 3 tbs

Butter – 2 tbs

Garlic – 6 cloves

Marinara sauce – 2 cups

Heavy cream – 3 tbsp

Kasoori methi – 1 tsp

Sugar – ½ tsp

Coriander leaves – a bunch

Cheese – ¼ cup

Salt – to taste

Method:

1.      Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add some salt to the water when it’s rolling boiled. Add in the raw pasta, stir well and cook as per the instructions on the box for not less than 8 minutes till al dente.  Drain the pasta well and preserve some pasta water. Keep it aside.

2.      Cube the paneer into 1 inch cubes. Cut the bell peppers into 1 inch pieces.

3.      In a pan, add 1 tbsp of oil, add in the cubed paneer and fry it till golden brown on all sides. Remove the paneer cubes into a separate plate.

4.      In the same pan, add the bell peppers and cook half way through. Make sure the peppers are not fully cooked and that they still have a bite. Put them in a plate.

5.      Now blend together the red chillies and the coriander seeds into a coarse powder.

6.      In the same pan, put the remaining oil and the butter and add in the red chilli and coriander powder. Fry for 2 – 3 minutes.

7.      Add in the finely chopped garlic and fry till golden brown.

8.      Now add in the marinara sauce and stir well. Add in some salt and sugar.

9.      Add in the heavy cream and stir well. The sauce now has a pink hue color.

10.  Add in the paneer and the bell pepper cubes. Stir well. If you feel that the sauce is thick add in the pasta water that you preserved earlier.

11.  Now add in the cooked pasta. Stir well. Cover it and let the flavors of the sauce stick to the pasta.

12.  Crush the kasoori methi between your palms and drizzle it over the pasta. Add in the chopped coriander leaves.

13.  Turn the stove off. Sprinkle some shredded cheese.

14.  Serve hot with home-made garlic bread (recipe follows).

Tasty tips:

1.      For the pasta, I used Rigatoni. You can use any pasta of your choice. Penne, farfalle are some of the best options.

2.      Be careful while you fry the paneer. Paneer tends to splutter a lot in hot oil. Make sure you use a splutter screen.

3.      Kasoori methi is dried fenugreek leaves that have a unique aroma and taste. I use this in a lot of my dishes.

4.      For the marinara sauce I use the brand Prego.

5.      For cheese you can use any cheese of your choice. I prefer shredded mozzarella. 

Garlic Bread

Bread slices – 4

Butter – 6 tbsp

Garlic – 6 cloves

Coriander leaves – 4 tbsp

Method:

1.      Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2.      Cut each bread slice into two triangles diagonally.

3.      Put the butter in a bowl and whisk it well. Room temperature butter speeds up this process.

4.      Mince the garlic cloves into a coarse paste. This can be done by adding some salt on to the finely chopped garlic and crushing it with a rough edge of a knife. Salt gives good grip on the knife, because the knife tends to slip when the oil in the chopped garlic is released.

5.      Finely chop the coriander leaves.

6.      Add the minced garlic, chopped coriander leaves to the butter and whisk well.

7.      Now apply this garlic butter onto one side of each bread slice generously.

8.      Bake these in the oven for 2 - 3 minutes or till they are golden brown.

Tasty tip:

This crunchy garlic bread tastes excellent when dipped in warm marinara sauce.

Kadhai Paneer Pasta