Notes about Recipes in this book

• Lace-rimmed pancakes made with rice flour (Paalappam made with ari podi)

  • mjes on September 28, 2019

    The recipes that I previously used for hoppers/appams depended on overnight fermentation. Using yeast requires less advanced planning as does using pre-ground rice flour. Definitely worth a try, right? Well, the results were good ... but like sourdough vs. yeasted bread, without the sour taste of fermentation it's not the same. But I'd certainly be willing to turn to this recipe when in a hurry.

• String bean sauté (Achinga payar olathiathu)

  • mjes on September 28, 2019

    No, I don't live near a curry tree - but I do keep them in the freezer after I have found a stash. This is a very nice green bean recipe. I'd be more excited if I didn't already have a great green beans in a coconut curry sauce.

• Fish curry, country style (Meen vevichathu)

  • mjes on September 28, 2019

    I used ground Kashmiri chiles as they are the only South Asian chiles in my pantry. I used rock cod just because it looked fresh today. This creates a very nice Southern style fish curry that isn't a big bother to make and doesn't require exotic ingredients (Okay, I'll admit that some people might not keep kokum in their spice rack. They have my sympathy.) Definitely worth keeping this curry in mind when cooking fish.

• Roasted rice and coconut powder (Avalos podi)

  • mjes on December 27, 2021

    While podis are generally used as a seasoning, this podi serves as a snack served with banana and sugar. I prefer to mix it with jaggery syrup and roll it into balls - called avalos unda as they are easier to eat with your hands. This is a solid recipe - it omits sesame seeds which has the advantage that it stores longer, and I'll admit that I didn't miss them.