UNNIAPPAM

Unniappam is a traditional sweet snack of kerala made of mainly rice flour ,banana and jaggery. 

Traditionally it is made by soaking the rice flour for a few hours and then grinding it to a paste and using it for Unniappams.

I've  added wheat flour along with rice flour to these unniappams as wheat flour makes them a little soft just the way my kids like it.

This is an easy and quick recipe and add to that a healthy one to satisfy your sweet cravings as it contains whole wheat flour, rice flour, banana and jaggery.

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Whole wheat flour

1/2 cup Rice flour

2 Ripe bananas

250 gms jaggery

1 cup Water

1/2 tea spoon baking soda

2 tea spoons black sesame seeds ( I use black and white both)

1/4 cup coconut pieces fried lightly in ghee 

Ghee for frying the unniappams

METHOD

1. Take one cup hot water in a pan and add the jaggery to it. Let it dissolve.

2. Put the bananas in a blender to make a puree.

3. In a bowl add the whole wheat flour and rice flour.

4. Add the pureed banana to the wheat flour and rice flour.

5. Add the melted jaggery water to it.

6. Mix it to make a batter. Add water to make the batter of soft dropping consistency.

7. Add the sesame seeds and fried coconut pieces.

8. Add the baking soda and mix everything nicely.

9. Keep the batter aside for 35-40 minutes. Check the consistency of the batter if it is very thick add a little bit of water to get the desired consistency.

10. Heat an appam pan ( appachatti), add ghee in each cavity. Though traditionally while making unniappams the cavities are filled almost half with oil or ghee but I just add a tea spoon of ghee in each cavity.

11. Let the unniappams cook from one side till they get a dark brown colour.

12. Flip them over and let them cook from the other side too. Serve them hot or they can be stored at room temperature for 1-2 days.

PICTORIAL GUIDE

1. Take one cup hot water in a pan and add the jaggery to it. Let it dissolve.

2. Put the bananas in a blender to make a puree.

3. In a bowl add the whole wheat flour and rice flour.

4. Add the pureed banana to the wheat flour and rice flour.

5. Add the melted jaggery water to it.

6. Mix it to make a batter. Add water to make the batter of soft dropping consistency.

7. Add the sesame seeds and fried coconut pieces.

8. Add the baking soda and mix everything nicely.

9. Keep the batter aside for 35-40 minutes. Check the consistency of the batter if it is very thick add a little bit of water to get the desired consistency.

10. Heat an appam pan ( appachatti), add ghee in each cavity. Though traditionally while making unniappams the cavities are filled almost half with oil or ghee but I just add a tea spoon of ghee in each cavity.

11. Let the unniappams cook from one side till they get a dark brown colour.

12. Flip them over and let them cook from the other side too. Serve them hot or they can be stored at room temperature for 1-2 days.

                                        HAPPY COOKING!! 😊

GHEVAR RECIPE

Ghevar is a traditional North Indian sweet which is usually available in the month of Shraavan (Sawan) or the monsoon season when the festival of Teej is celebrated. 

Haryali Teej which falls on the third day of the North Indian Lunar month of Shraavan is a festival which celebrates the monsoon season or the rains. Teej is celebrated mostly in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.

The greenery all around due to the ongoing rainy season is celebrated by the women and girls of the family by applying mehndi (henna), wearing red and green bangles, new clothes and swinging on traditional swings which are put on trees. The women of the house get together and pray to Goddess Parvati and enjoy themselves by singing, dancing, eating sweets and traditional festive food. 

Ghevar is a round or disc shaped sweet made of maida (all purpose flour) deep fried in ghee and soaked with sugar syrup. Ghevar can be made plain without any topping or can be made with a topping of Malai or Rabdi. 

Making ghevar is a little tricky and a bit time consuming as different elements have to be prepared and assembled together but when you see the result it is totally worth making that effort. So get set to make your very own homemade ghevar. 

INGREDIENTS

FOR GHEVAR

1 cup Maida (All purpose flour)

1/4 cup ghee (clarified butter)

1/4 cup chilled milk

7-8 ice cubes

Ghee for frying

1 tea spoon Lemon juice

2 cups Cold Water

FOR SUGAR SYRUP

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2-3 choti elaichi (green cardamom) 

FOR RABDI

1 litre full cream milk

2-3 table spoons sugar

pinch of kesar strands

1 table spoon sliced pistachios and almonds (pista and badam)

METHOD

1. Take a big bowl, add ghee in it. Now add ice cubes to the bowl and start mixing with your hands. The ghee will start turning creamy. Once the ghee turns smooth and creamy remove the ice cubes from it and discard them.
2. Whisk the smooth and creamy ghee again for a minute then start adding maida little by little removing all the lumps.
3. Add the milk and mix again with your hands.
4. Keep adding maida in batches, mixing well after each addition and removing any lumps.
5. Add water slowly mixing regularly. Once all the maida is added, add water to get a thin an flowing consistency of the batter.
6. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the batter and mix.
7. Take a deep and heavy bottomed pan and fill it till half with ghee. Let the ghee be piping hot.
8. Take a ladle full of batter and drop it in the centre of the pan in a thin stream from a height. Be careful as when the batter is dropped in hot ghee it splatters. Once the batter settles down add another spoonful of batter into the hot ghee.
9. Add about 3-4 table spoons of batter or according to the size of your pan to get a thick and layered ghevar. Add one spoon of batter and then wait for a minute before adding another spoon.
10. Once you get ring shaped formation let the ghevar cook till it turns golden brown. Be patient as ghevar takes time in cooking evenly.
11. Once evenly done from all sides remove the ghevar carefully and put it on a wired rack or a strainer to drain the excess ghee. Make all the ghevar in the similar way till all the batter is used up.

MAKING SUGAR SYRUP

1. In a pan take 1 cup sugar and add half cup water to it.
2. Once the sugar dissolves completely let it cook till you get a syrup of one string consistency.
3. Let the sugar syrup cool a little. Do not add hot sugar syrup to the ghevar. The sugar syrup should be warm and thick when added to the ghevar.

MAKING RABDI

1. In a heavy bottomed pan add 1 litre of milk. Let it cook on slow flame.
2. Keep stirring in between so that it doesn't burn from the bottom.
3. Keep simmering the milk on low flame you will see the cream collecting on top.
4. Move the cream to the sides of the pan.Slowly the milk will start reducing.
5. Keep simmering the milk on low flame and moving the cream to the sides.
6. Keep doing it till the milk reduces to half of it. Add sugar to the milk and cook further on low flame. Remember to keep stirring it continuously or it will stick to the bottom.
7. Add a few strands of kesar in the milk and let it cook on slow flame till it turns thick and creamy. Kesar will give a nice colour to the milk.
8. Reduce the milk to 1/3 of its quantity or till it turns nicely thick and creamy. The whole process may take around 45 minutes to an hour. 
9. Once you get the desired consistency you may add sliced almonds and pistachios to it.

ASSEMBLING THE GHEVAR

1. Once the fried ghevar is cooled. Soak the ghevar with warm sugar syrup by spreading it spoon by spoon all over till all the ghevar is soaked nicely. Ghevar can be enjoyed as it is after soaking with sugar syrup. You can garnish it with sliced almonds, pistachios and kesar strands.
2. If you want to top it with Rabdi, do not over soak the ghevar with sugar syrup as rabdi is also sweet.
3. To top the ghevar with rabdi. Spread the prepared rabdi on the sugar soaked ghevar. Garnish with dry fruits, kesar strands and rose petals. Enjoy your fresh and home made ghevar.

PICTORIAL GUIDE

1. Take a big bowl, add ghee in it. Now add ice cubes to the bowl and start mixing with your hands. The ghee will start turning creamy. Once the ghee turns smooth and creamy remove the ice cubes from it and discard them.

2. Whisk the smooth and creamy ghee again for a minute then start adding maida little by little removing all the lumps.

3. Add the milk and mix again with your hands.

4. Keep adding maida in batches, mixing well after each addition and removing any lumps.

5. Add water slowly mixing regularly. Once all the maida is added add water to get a thin an flowing consistency of the batter.

6. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the batter and mix. If you find any lumps in the batter just sieve it through a strainer.

7. Take a deep and heavy bottomed pan and fill it till half with ghee. Let the ghee be piping hot.

8. Take a ladle full of batter and drop it in the centre of the pan in a thin stream from a height. Be careful as when the batter is dropped in hot ghee it splatters. Once the batter settles down add another spoonful of batter into the hot ghee.

9. Add about 3-4 table spoons of batter or according to the size of your pan to get a thick and layered ghevar. Add one spoon of batter and then wait for a minute before adding another spoon.

10. Once you get ring shaped formation let the ghevar cook till it turns golden brown. Be patient as ghevar takes time in cooking evenly.

11. Once evenly done from all sides remove the ghevar carefully and put it on a wired rack or a strainer to drain the excess ghee. Make all the ghevar in the similar way till all the batter is used up.

*I forgot taking pictures after this as I got very excited seeing that in my first attempt ghevar was turning out the way I was expecting. So will add the pictures the next time I make it.

MAKING SUGAR SYRUP

1. In a pan take 1 cup sugar and add half cup water to it.

2. Once the sugar dissolves completely let it cook till you get a syrup of one string consistency.

3. Let the sugar syrup cool a little. Do not add hot sugar syrup to the ghevar. The sugar syrup should be warm and thick when added to the ghevar.

MAKING RABDI

1. In a heavy bottomed pan add 1 litre of milk. Let it cook on slow flame.

2. Keep stirring in between so that it doesn't burn from the bottom.

3. Keep simmering the milk on low flame you will see the cream collecting on top.

4. Move the cream to the sides of the pan.Slowly the milk will start reducing.

5. Keep simmering the milk on low flame and moving the cream to the sides.

6. Keep doing it till the milk reduces to half of it. Add sugar to the milk and cook further on low flame. Remember to keep stirring it continuously or it will stick to the bottom.

7. Add a few strands of kesar in the milk and let it cook on slow flame till it turns thick and creamy. Kesar will give a nice colour to the milk.

8. Reduce the milk to 1/3 of its quantity or till it turns nicely thick and creamy. The whole process may take around 45 minutes to an hour. 

9. Once you get the desired consistency you may add sliced almonds and pistachios to it.

ASSEMBLING THE GHEVAR

1. Once the fried ghevar is cooled. Soak the ghevar with warm sugar syrup by spreading it spoon by spoon all over till all the ghevar is soaked nicely. Ghevar can be enjoyed as it is after soaking with sugar syrup. You can garnish it with sliced almonds, pistachios and kesar strands.

2. If you want to top it with Rabdi, do not over soak the ghevar with sugar syrup as rabdi is also sweet.

3. To top the ghevar with rabdi. Spread the prepared rabdi on the sugar soaked ghevar. Garnish with dry fruits, kesar strands and rose petals. Enjoy your fresh and home made ghevar.

                  HAPPY TEEJ AND HAPPY COOKING!! 😊