SAMBAL FRIED RICE

HOW TO MAKE SAMBAL FRIED RICE

INGREDIENTS :

For Sambal Paste :

For Fried Rice :

To Garnish :

METHOD :

For Sambal :

• Soak the Dried Red Chillies in hot water for 20-30 minutes until they are soft.
• Dry roast the Shrimp paste until fragrant.
• Grind all the ingredients mentioned under 'For Sambal Paste' into a smooth paste and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and saute the ground paste on a high flame for about 10 minutes or until all moisture evaporates.
• If the mix is a bit dry, add some more oil and saute them on a low flame for another 5-10 minutes or until oil separate from the mix.
• Add tamarind extract and boil it for another 5 minutes on a low flame.
• Add salt and palm sugar and mix well.
• At this stage, the sambal should be fragrant, if not saute it for some more time.

For more Recipes with SAMBAL, Click here...

FOR SAMBAL FRIED RICE : 

For a detailed recipe of how to cook Jasmine / Fragrant Rice, click here...

• Cook the fragrant rice as per instruction and allow it cool.
• Heat 2 Tspn of Oil in a large pan, fry or scramble the Eggs. 
• Remove it from the pan and keep it aside.
• Cut Lemon Grass Stalk into small pieces, use just the white part of it.
• Can Grind the Lemon Grass along with the Sambal ingredients, or just bruise them and add it while sauteing.
• Peel, devein and wash the Prawns/Shrimps.  Keep them aside.
• Heat Oil in a pan/wok, Saute finely chopped Onions, Garlic and Bird's eye chillies until onions turn translucent.
• Add Sambal Paste and fry this on a high flame for 2-3 minutes.
• Pour in Light Soy Sauce and give a quick stir.
• Add Prawns/Shrimps, finely diced Carrots along with a dash of Salt and a pinch of Sugar.
• Allow it to cook on a high flame for few minutes. 
• Add cooked Fragrant Rice.
• Drizzle Rice Wine Vinegar over the rice.
• Mix it well until every grain is well coated with the Sauces and Sambal.
• Stir in finely shredded Cabbage and Scrambled Eggs to the rice. 
• Fry the rice on a high flame for few minutes or until the rice is dry. 
• Switch off the flame. 
• Garnish Sambal Fried Rice with finely chopped Spring Onions/Chives.
• Serve Sambal Fried Rice hot with any dips, sauces or side dishes of your choice.

• I used the long- wrinkled variety which is less spicy. To reduce the spiciness can snip off the soaked dry chillies into two and de-seed them.
• Adjust the number of Chillies to suit your spice level.
• Blend the shallots coarsely.
• Grind the paste with less water to avoid splattering while sauteing the Sambal in high flame.
• Can add Sugar instead of Palm sugar.
• Any fragrant long-grained rice variety can be used for the recipe.
• Use a day old cooked rice for best results. Obviously, keep them refrigerated.
• Can add any vegetable of your choice in this Fried Rice.
• Can also Chicken Pieces, Fish or any other Seafood. 
• Can fry the Eggs and use them as a side dish or scramble them up and mix along with the fried rice. 

HOW TO MAKE IDIYAPPAM FLOUR

IDIYAPPAM

FOR IDIYAPPAM FLOUR :

INGREDIENTS :

METHOD:

For Idiyappam Flour:

• Clean for any impurities or stones and wash the rice for about 3-4 times or until water runs clear.
• Soak the rice in water for about 30-45 minutes.
• Once soaked, drain the water and leave the rice in a colander for 5 Minutes.
• Dry the Rice in a clean kitchen towel for about 15-20 minutes.
• Transfer the rice to a mixer grinder, and grind it for few minutes until it is ground into a fine flour.
• Once the flour is ready, sieve it until no more flour flow out of the sieve.
• Spread this out on a big platter.
• Collect the residues left out in the sieve separately and grind it again into a fine powder.
• Follow the suit until the whole batch of rice is powdered into a finely textured flour.
• Heat a deep pan on a medium flame.
• Add the rice flour and dry roast the Idiyappam flour for about 8-10 minutes on a very low flame until the flour is hot and fragrant.
• Care should be taken not to burn the flour and avoid lumps in the flour.
• If, there are lumps break them up with the spatula while roasting the flour.
• Spread this out on a big platter and allow it to cool.
• Store this in an airtight container for a longer shelf life.
• Can store this flour in the freezer for up to three months.

NOTES :

• Idiyappam flour should be finely ground, use a very fine sieve to sieve the flour while preparing the flour for Idiyappams.
• A good quality Raw Rice suits well for making Idiyappam flour.
• Quality of the Raw Rice plays a vital role in giving a soft and white Idiyappams.
• Some recipes even use an equal amount of Raw Rice and Par-boiled Rice in preparing Idiyappam Flour.
• Dry Roast the ground Idiyappam Flour on a low flame until fragrant and until it turns into a fine texture.(It should feel very light when you touch the rice flour).
• There should be no lumps in the flour
• Care should be taken not to burn the Flour while dry roasting.

HOW TO MAKE IDIYAPPAM

IDIYAPPAM

INGREDIENTS :

METHOD :

• Boil the Water along with a dash of Salt. 
• Gradually add boiling water little at a time to the Idiyappam Flour and knead it into a soft dough.
• Can add some Oil while kneading the dough.
• Grease the Idiyappam maker with some oil.
• Fill the Idiyappam Maker with some dough and close it.
• Press the Idiyappam Maker in a circular motion on a greased Idli Plate/Steamer Plate.
• Can adjust the size of the Idiyappams to your preference.
• Meanwhile Pour some water in an Idli Maker/Steamer, cover and allow it to boil for about 5-8 minutes.
• Carefully open the Idli Maker/Steamer and place the Idli Plate/Steamer plate lined up with Idiyappams into the Idli Maker/Steamer. 
• Cover the Idli Maker/Steamer and steam cook the Idiyappams for about 2-3 Minutes on a high flame.
• Lower the flame and steam cook the Idiyappams for another 5-7 Minutes.
• Once done, remove the Idli Plate/Steamer Plate from the Idli Maker/Steamer and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a serving plate.
• Serve Idiyappam hot along with sweetened Coconut Milk, Sugar/Palm Sugar & freshly grated Coconuts.
• Idiyappam can be served with mild curries like Stews, Aattukkal Paya, Kiri Hodi, Sothi, Vegetable Kurma, Egg Curry with Coconut milk etc.,
• Goes well with any Vegetarian or Non-Vegetarian Curries too. 

IDIYAPPAM & CURRIES 

IDIYAPPAM & CURRIES

NOTES:

• Perfectly ground and roasted Idiyappam flour yield soft Idiyappams.
• Adding Boiling water to knead the dough is a must.
• The kneaded dough should be soft without any cracks.  
• Adding Oil while kneading the dough is totally optional.
• Alternatively, shred the Idiyappam and make Lemon Sevai, Coconut Sevai, Tamarind Sevai etc.,
• Can also try your hand at making String Hopper Biriyani/Pulao. 

DIAMOND BISCUIT / KALA KALA SWEET

INGREDIENTS :

For Deep Frying :

METHOD :

• Warm-up the Milk and keep it aside.
• Sieve All-Purpose Flour along with Salt once, and keep it aside.
• In a bowl, Cream the Butter, Sugar and Baking Soda together by using a fork or a wooden spatula until the ingredients are just combined.
• Add the All-Purpose Flour and mix with your hand until the ingredients are well combined.
• Initially, pour in a little warm Milk and knead the dough.
• Knead the dough by adding little milk at a time.
• The dough should be slightly stiffer.  
• Divide the Dough into 6 Balls and keep them aside.
• Dust the Dough Balls with some All-Purpose Flour and roll it out into a flat, thick circle.
• Cut the circle into tiny Diamonds/Squares with a Knife/ Spiral Cutter.
• Transfer the Cut Diamonds/Squares to a plate dusted with All-Purpose Flour.
• Follow the suit for rest of the dough balls.

For Deep Frying :

• Heat Oil in a Deep Pan or a Wok.
• Once the Oil is really hot reduce the flame to Medium.
• Gently drop the Cut Diamonds/Squares into the Oil.
• Fry the Diamond Biscuits on a Low Medium Flame until it turns into Golden Colour.
• The Sugar in the Dough can Caramelize the snack if fried on a high flame.  
• Once done, Remove the fried Diamond Biscuits with slotted spoons from the oil.
• Drain them on Paper towels 
• Once cooled down, store them in airtight containers.
• Stays good for a week to 10 Days.

NOTES :

• If using Cardamoms, grind them into a fine powder along with some Sugar.
• Can add Coconut Milk instead of Cows Milk, Coconut milk gives an authentic flavour to the snack.
• Can use Ghee/Butter for the recipe.  Both work equally well.
• Don’t roll it too thin. Roll it as you do it for chapati, but slightly thicker.
• Can use a Knife/Spiral Cutter/Pizza/Pie Cutter for the purpose.
• Cut the flat circles into any desired shape. Also can shape them like shells or into any desired shape and colour(By adding food colouring) according to your preference.
• Fry the Diamond Biscuits on a Low-Medium Flame until it turns into Golden Colour.
• The Sugar in the Dough can Caramelize the snack if fried on a high flame.

TAPIOCA MURUKKU/MARAVALLI KIZHANGU MURUKKU

HOW TO MAKE TAPIOCA MURUKKU/MARAVALLI KIZHANGU MURUKKU

INGREDIENTS :

METHOD :

For Murukku :

• Soak Dry Red Chillies in hot water for about 10-15 minutes.
• Drain and discard the water used for soaking Dry Chillies or use it to knead the dough.
• Measure 3/4 Cup of Steamed Tapiocas and keep it aside.
• Grind the Soaked Dry Red Chillies in a blender or a small mixer-grinder jar.
• Grind this into a fine paste.
• Add steamed Tapiocas and grind it along with Dry Chillies.
• There should be no lumps.
• Soften the butter and keep it aside.
• Mix ground Tapioca & Dry Red Chilli paste along with Rice Flour, Butter, Ajwain, Asafoetida and salt to Taste.
• Pour in Water to the above mix, little at a time and knead it into a smooth & soft dough.
• The dough should be kneaded without any cracks.

To Fry Murukku :

• Heat the oil in a deep pan.
• Place some dough into Murukku Mould and press the dough through it. 
• Make a few swirls onto the reverse surface of a slotted spoon or directly press them into the oil.
• Drop the shaped murukkus gently into the hot oil and fry them until it turns golden brown. 
• Follow the suit for rest of the dough.
• Allow them to cool and store them in airtight jars.

NOTES :

• The dough should be of a correct consistency. It should not be sticky or too hard and without any cracks.
• Do not substitute Butter with Ghee or Margarine.
• Butter should be at room temperature before mixing it into the flour.
• Butter is one main ingredient for crispy and soft murukkus.
• Can substitute rice flour with Idiyappam flour.  If using Idiyappam flour, use boiled-hot water while kneading the dough.
• Adding dry chillies is totally optional. 
• Grind the Steamed tapiocas into a fine paste without any lumps. 
• You can press the Tapioca Murukkus directly into the oil. 
• If stored properly it stays good for a week to 10 days.

Important: Food Safety 

• Tapioca naturally produces cyanide*, which is poisonous to humans; however, the cyanide may be removed during processing.
• So peel and wash it thoroughly with enough water.
• Also, can soak them in water overnight and then discard the water and wash them again before cooking.
• Cook Tapioca with enough water to cover them, and then discard the water once it is cooked.
• These steps ensure that the little amount of toxin present in it are removed.