Monday, May 08, 2006

Ela appam


I have a sweet tooth( i am sweet too!!!). Break fast should be kozhukatta, or ela appam..you can be sure you started the day right. My grandmother had a special steamer, that was called appa chembu. I use chinese wok and steamer. One more difference in my preparation would be No ela..where to get fresh banana leaf in Vancouver?? I use baking paper..but the end result is still the same

Rice flour:2 cups
salt
boiling hot water:1 to 2 cups

Freshly grated coconut:1 cup
crushed cardomom:3
brown sugar:6 tbls spn


First mix the coconut, brown sugar and cardomom very well. keep aside

In a heat proof bowl, place the flour and salt. make a well in the center, add the boiling hot water, use a wooden stick and gently mix the flour and water. I can't give exact amount of water, as it totally depends on the type of flour. when all the flour has been moistened, keep it aside. Knead when you can tolerate the heat and make a pliable dough. If the dough feels too dry, add a bit more hot water.
Make an apple size ball, flatten it on the baking sheet, as thin as you can. Place the filling on one half of the flattend dough. Fold the baking sheet in half and press the dough edge to seal it.
Steam for abt 20 mints and enjoy

10 comments:

RP said...

baking paper means parchment paper? I thought it was impossible to make this without banana leaf. You are smart.

Anonymous said...

You can do it in aluminium foil too. I havent done it in parchment paper. Also, check the chinese stores, they have banana leaf frozen!

Unknown said...

Such a long time since I ate kozhukattei.

Vineela said...

HI,
I never tried this recipe .But i have seen in asianet(cooking pgm).
can i use readymade rice flour?
Vineela

Scoot said...

wow this is an authentic ella recipe..gonna try this out too.my dad loves these kinda things

Sarah said...

RP: Yes parchment paper.. It is so easy to do..
lg: Do I hv to oil the foil before placing the dough? The frozen leaves are available, but how do i vazhattufy the leaf, before placing the dough and steam?
Pushpa: I am very fond of kozhukattai
Vineela:I only use ready made flour.. I can only get tht here.. I prefer flour from thailand(elephant brand)..make sure it isn't glutinous
Maya: this is how ammachi made it

Anonymous said...

No,you dont need oil on aluminium foil.
Deforst the elas and just hold it above low heat on your burner. be carefule not to burn them, a vazhattified ela will be very flexible.

Sarah said...

lg thank you so much.. I was missing using the ela so much..I needed the ela to make otak otak..a typical malaysian delicacy!

Unknown said...

Srah, or u can simply iron the banana leaves. Thatz how I used to do back home in KL.
Err.......did I hear someone saying otak-otak??? Gosh, while typing now, I had to swallow my saliva. Drooling!!!

Sarah said...

pushpa:ironing was a cooooool idea..boy tht makes life easier!!!
the pasar malam near my house was on sunday and even now every sunday I get withdrawal symptoms..so now no choice lah...cook all the favourite food myself lah..so otak otak, kuih lapis, vadai etc are regular,, I still can't make those spongy pau..Sarah