ndian Cooking Challenge: Sarvapindi ~ Ginnappa

Sarvapindi or Ginne appa is a rice flour pancake popular in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. I never heard or saw my cousins or aunts from Andhra region talk or prepare this pancake. So I am assuming this is from Telangana region of the state. It gets the name Sarvapindi or ginne appa based on the method of preparation. Sarva is a kind of a pot and pindi is flour. Sarvapindi is a snack prepared with flour dough made in a sarva. Ginne is a vessel or a bowl and appa is a snack. Plenty of herbs, sesame seeds and peanuts are added to rice flour to make the dough and then the dough is pressed into a wide pan to make the pan cake. It is then cooked on low flame to cook the rice cake. Sarvapindi is similar to thalipeeth, a snack from Maharashtra but it is prepared with a fixture of flours. When saw Nupur’s post I thought, oh this is how it is made in my neighboring state! Sarvapindi is also similar to akki roti, a specialty from Karnataka but the difference here is the preparation. From the recipes I have seen for akki roti, the rice flour is added to hot water to make the dough unlike for sarvapindi, where room temperature water is used.

Do you see the shape of a bowl/vessel/pot in the appa~pancake?

When Srivalli asked me to suggest a recipe for ICC, sarvapindi & sakinalu came to my mind. I never made these two items at home. We have already covered most of the traditional recipes in ICC and of these two recipes; sarvapindi is the easier one to prepare. I called up my cousin to get the recipe for sarvapindi as that is the easier of the two items that I had on mind. She gave me approximate measures so I called my mom and then my aunt. All three of them did not have exact measures and they said they just go by hand. Moreover, this recipe is so flexible that you can add anything you like as long as you season it well and cook it on low flame. Since I did not have any measurements to give to give Valli, I made the recipe at home 3 weeks ago before sharing it with her. I thought of making it again to take good pictures but never got to make it until today. I probably would have skipped this ICC too but since I suggested the recipe, I thought I should at least post the recipe. When I made it today, I pretty much followed the same recipe I gave Valli but I made two pancakes or appas instead of three. Also, I did not have curry leaves and instead substituted it with more scallions & cilantro.

Total Time: 40 – 60 minutes
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 – 40 minutes (about 20 minutes per appa or pancake)
Yields: 2-3 depending on the size
Ingredients:

• ¼ cup Sesame Seeds washed
• 2 tbsp. or little less than ¼ cup Roasted Peanuts soaked (5-10 minutes, until you finish the prep work)
• 1 cup or 165 – 170 grams Rice Flour
• 5 – 6 Green Chilies or ¾ tbsp. Green Chili Paste coarsely ground
• 1 tsp. Jeera
• 1 Garlic Clove (medium size.)
• ½ cup Onion finely chopped
• 1 large or 2 small Green Onion chopped (approx. 2 tbsp. (heaps) or ¼ cup loosely packed)
• ½ cup (approx…) tightly packed chopped cilantro
• 5-6 Curry Leaves chopped or 1 tbsp. chopped curry leaves (I did not have any curry leaves today so added 1 more green onion & more cilantro)
• 1 – 1 ¼ tsp. Salt
• 1/3 Water (You may need little less than that)
• 2 – 3 tbsp. / 6 – 9 tsp. Oil (2-3 tsp. per cake if you make 3 pancakes or 3- 4 ½ tsp. if making 2 pancakes)

Preparation:

• Wash sesame seeds in warm water.
• Soak the roasted & split peanuts in water.
• Coarsely grind green chilies.
• Grind ¾ of the chopped onion, garlic, jeera and salt to fine paste.
• Chop the herbs.
• In a bowl take rice flour, add chili & onion pastes. Mix until the pastes are nicely blended into the flour.
  
  
• Add remaining chopped onions, herbs, sesame seeds, peanuts and mix well. Taste the flour and adjust the seasoning. You can add little chili powder if it is a not spicy enough.
  
  
  
• Gradually add water to make soft dough. The dough should be like chapati dough.
• Divide the dough into 2 or 3 equal parts and make round balls. Today I made 2 balls.
  
  
• Rub a 10” frying pan with 1 ½ – 2 tsp. oil. (I meant to add 2 ½ – 3 tsp. but I forgot and added only 1 ½ tsp. oil). Today I was not in a mood to spend too much time in the kitchen and used two pans to make the appa. I used one non-stick & one hard anodized pan.
• Take one of the dough balls and press it into a flat cake in the pan. Use your fingers to press the cake. Wet your hands if needed. Thinner the cake, crunchier it will be. Using your index finger, make holes to the cake.
• Sprinkle or lightly brush 1 tsp. oil on the pancake. Or you can pour little oil in the holes.
  
• Put the pan on a medium heat, cover and cook it for 5 minutes.
• Remove the cover, reduce the flame to medium low- low heat and cook for 10 – 12 minutes or until the cake is light golden brown in color. Move the pan around every 2-3 minutes for even cooking (What I mean by this is, we normally place the pan on the stove such that the center of the pan is directly on the fire. Every 2-3 minutes, move the pan towards the center of the fire. Move the pan around 3-4 times so that all corners of the pan are directly under the pan at some point during the cooking process. This is done to make sure the pancake is evenly cooked.)
  
  

  Moving the pan aside to evenly cook the appa
• Flip the cake over and cook for another 2 ½ minutes. My hard anodized pan is not very wide and the shape of my cake was like a bottom of a pot. Even if I flipped it, it would not have cooked properly, so I continued to cook it for another 2 1/2 minutes without flipping it. Remove from the pan.
  
• If you are using one pan, let the pan cool and repeat the same steps for the rest of the dough balls.
• It is usually faster to use 2 pans to speed up the process. Sarvapindi is usually cooked in a very wide pan with very liberal amount of oil on very low heat.

These are collage of pictures of preparation of sarvapindi. I took these when I made it the first time before sharing the recipe with Valli. You can click the image to see the large image.

Notes:

• The cooking time is based on my stove. My aunt said she cooks the pindi on low heat only. She does not cook it on medium heat even for 3-5 minutes. But my mom & cousin cook it on medium heat until the pan is hot and then reduce heat to low. All three of them said they never checked the time and it usually takes 15 – 25 minutes.
• This preparation requires lot of oil. The amount of oil mentioned is the minimum. For crunchier taste and, if one wants to indulge oneself, they can use up to 4 tsp. per pancake (if making 3 cakes) or 6 tsp. per cake is making 2 pancakes with the given measurements.
• Some people cannot take the heat of green chilies, they can substitute it will chili powder or with ½ green chilies and ½ chili powder.
• Peanuts can be substituted with chana dal and it has to be soaked for at least ½ – 1 hour.
• My mom & aunt do not grind the onion and instead use chopped or sliced onion. My cousin grinds the onion. I ground most of the onion and used very little chopped onion.

Variation:

• Peeled and grated bottle gourd can also be added to the dough. If using bottle gourd, you can use only chili powder instead of green chilies. Also, you may not require any water to make dough, as grated bottle gourd releases water.

How to Make Jalebi

Ingredients

• Cooking oil for deep frying
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 tsp saffron
• Water (may not be needed)
• 1 tsp warm ghee
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (Powdered)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)

Method 1 of 2: Syrup

1. 
   1
   Add sugar to a flat-based pan and put it on low heat. Add water slowly while mixing until you get one string syrup.
   Ad
2. 
   2
   Add saffron. Mix well.

Method 2 of 2: For the Dough

1. 
   1
   Mix one cup of refined flour and buttermilk in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
   • Stir until smooth. Add water only if necessary.
     
2. 
   2
   Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature.
3. 
   3
   Add remaining flour the next morning. ghee.
4. 
   4
   Put this mixture into a plastic bag and punch a small hole at the other end. This should be so you can squeeze the dough out like one squeezes toothpaste out of a tube.
5. 
   5
   Heat oil in a wok.
6. 
   6
   Pour batter into pan in concentric circles to make spiral shapes.
7. 
   7
   Fry until the spiral shapes turn crisp and golden brown.
8. 
   8
   Remove from pan (two or three at a time) and put them into the syrup for about one minute.
9. 
   9
   Ensure that they are coated well on both sides. Repeat with remaining jalebis.
10. 

Papaya Halwa

The papaya should be ripe at the same time should be firm enough to grate the same.

Ingredients:
1 cup Grated papaya
1 cup Milk
3-4 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Ghee
Cardamom powder (optional)

Dry fruits, Charoli etc. for garnishing

Method:  
1. Heat a kadai and add the grated papaya and saute for two minutes.
2. Add the milk, sugar and keep on stirring in medium flame till it starts leaving the sides of kadai.
3. Transfer it in a bowl and garnish with dry fruits.
4. Serve hot or cold as you wish.

Peanut Chikki

Ingredients
Peanuts - 1 cup (roasted)
Sugar/Jaggery/Brown sugar - 3/4 cup
Cardomon Powder - 1/4 tsp

Method
1. Melt the sugar/brown sugar in a non-stick pan till it turns honey brown in color.
2. Crush the peanuts and add it to the melted sugar with a pinch of cardomon powder.
3. Put this mixture immediately into a greased plate or tray.
4. Spread it to the desired thickness using a rolling pin.
5. Immedietly cut it with a greased knife.
6. After it cools, separate the pieces and store in air tight containers.

Tips
     - You can make the same chikkis with sesame seeds, cashews and other nuts too. Variations
   - When the mixture is cool enough to handle you can make small balls out of it. This is called Kadalai urundai (Peanut balls). It is usually made during the tamil festivals Kaarthigai Deepam.

Nankhatai

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
Unsalted Butter/Ghee - 1/2 cup
Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardomom Powder - 1/4 tsp
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Pistachios/Raisins/Cashews/Almond - for garnish

  

Method
1. Take a mixing bowl with the room temperature butter in it.  Add the powdered sugar to it and cream together till the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients (flour, cardamom powder, baking powder and salt) into a seperate bowl.
3. Add this to the creamed butter mixture little at a time and keep mixing. Knead it to form a soft dough. Cover the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 C). Make small gooseberry sized balls of the dough. Smoothen the balls by rolling in between your palm. You can also use a cookie cutter to shape the cookies.
5. Place each ball in a cookie sheet. Leave some space in between as the cookies will expand when it bakes. If you want to make it more rich, press a pistachio or raisin or cashew or almond on top of the balls gently.
6. Bake at 300 degrees for 12-15 minutes until the bottom of the cookies turn light golden brown.
7. Remove from the oven and gently transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. The cookies will be very soft at this stage.
8. After it cools completely, store in an air tight container for upto a month. Serve as a snack with a cup of tea.

Variations
    - You can make ragi biscuits by using ragi flour instead of all purpose flour.

 

    - You can also add some 1 tblsp of cocoa powder along with the flour and make chocolate cookies.

 

      - For crunchy biscuits, replace 1 cup flour by 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup of rava and 1/4 cup crushed nuts.

Fish Biryani (Meen Biryani, Machli Baath, Fish Pulao, Fish Biriyani)

Basmati rice - 2 cups
Fish fillets - 4
Onion - 1
Green Chillies - 2 (minced)
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tblsp
Tomato - 2 ( crushed)
Coriander leaves(Cilantro) - handful
Mint leaves - handful
Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curd - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 2 tblsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon stick - 2 pieces
Cardamom - 2 pods
Bay leaf - 1
Star anise - 1
Cashew nuts/ Almonds - 10

For fish
Oil - 3-4 tblsp
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Egg - 1

Kaadai Biryani (Biriyani)

Ingredients
Basmati rice - 2 cups
Quail (Kaadai) - 4 (each kaadai cut into 4-5 pieces)
Onion - 1 large/2 small (chopped)
Tomato - 2 (finely chopped or crushed)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - ¼ cup (finely chopped)
Mint leaves - ¼ cup (finely chopped)
Green chillies - 5 no's (finely chopped)
Oil -3 tblsp
Ghee - 3 tblsp
Water-Coconut milk mixture - 3 cups ( 1/2 cup coconut milk diluted with remaining water)
Salt - to taste
Whole Garam Masala - 1 Bay leaf, 2 Cinnamon sticks, 1 Star Anise, 5 Cloves, 3 Cardamom

For Marination
Salt - 1 tsp
Yoghurt - 2 tblsp
Lemon juice - 1 tblsp
Ginger garlic paste -1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 3 tsp
Chilli Powder - 3 tsp
Fennel Powder - 2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - ½ tsp
(Bachelors and beginners can use 2 tblsp yogurt, 1 tblsp lemon juice and 3 tblsp of store bought biryani masala instead of all the above individual spice powders.)

Preparation Steps
1. Wash the quail thoroughly. It will have lot of hair that you need to pluck. Cut each into maximum 5 pieces. Since the kaadai is bony and smaller than chicken, you need to cut it into big pieces.
2. Marinate using all ingredients from "For marination" and let it rest in the refrigerator for about half an hour.
3. Rinse the rice, soak it for 15-30 minutes, drain all water from it and keep aside.
4. I like to roast the rice with some ghee till a nice aroma comes. This prevents the rice from sticking to each other. You can skip this step if you don't have time.
Method
1. In a heavy deep vessel/ pressure cooker heat oil and ghee together. Once it gets heated up, add the whole garam masala. You can grind the garam masala and add it if you do not like whole masala coming in your mouth.
2. Add the onions and chopped green chillies.
3. When onions turn slightly brown, add the ginger garlic paste, chopped coriander and mint leaves. Fry for few minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and sauté. The tomatoes will first become pulpy and then all the juices will dry up.
5. At this stage add the marinated quail (kaadai) along with all the marination mixture. Sauté everything for 5-10 minutes.  
           After this step, you can proceed in any one of the following ways depending on the vessel you are using:-
Cooking in a pressure cooker
6. Add the coconut milk and water mixture and required salt. Bring it to a boil. Add the soaked rice, check for all seasoning and adjust if needed.
7. After it boils, reduce the flame to simmer, cover the pressure cooker and put the whistle.
8. Cook for about 20-30 minutes. (You may not get any whistle as the flame is very low. Just switch off after 20-30 minutes and the biryani will be done. If you increase the flame, there are chances that the bottom might get burned.)

Using a rice cooker
6. Add the prepared gravy, soaked rice, required salt and the water-coconut milk mixture in the rice cooker. Mix well and adjust any seasoning if needed.
7. Switch on the rice cooker and cook till it is done.

Cooking in an open vessel
6. Add the coconut milk and water mixture to the gravy and bring it to a boil. Add the soaked rice, adjust the seasoning and bring it to a boil again.
7. Cover the pan with a tight lid to prevent the steam from escaping. Reduce the flame to the lowest possible setting and leave it for half an hour.
(You can use an aluminium foil to cover the top of the pan and then put the lid if the lid is not very tight. That way no steam will escape.)

Cooking in convection oven  
6. Add the gravy and soaked rice to a oven safe dish along with water and coconut milk mixture and mix well.
7. Cover the dish tightly with an aluminium foil to prevent the steam from escaping. Cook it for 45 minutes in a 350 degree F (180 degree C) oven.
   
Cooking in Microwave Oven
6. Add the gravy and soaked rice to a microwave safe dish/ micro cooker along with water and coconut milk mixture and mix well.
7. Check for salt, cover the dish and cook it on micro power high for 20 minutes.

Whichever method you follow, your whole house will be filled with the aroma of basmati rice cooking with quail meat. In about an hours time you
will have a very tasty kaadai biryani to enjoy with all your five senses.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves, toasted cashew nuts and raisins. Serve with boiled eggs, kaadai fry and raita.