Idiappam and Kerala Egg Curry

Idiappam and Kerala Egg Roast

It is a lovely morning today and it feels right to make idiappam and the Kerala Egg roast. This post has been pending in my drafts for way too long. I'd promised a friend long back but u know what they say right... <<A time for everything...>>... So here you go Walia and Shweta,  with much love!

p.s: It is indeed a lovely morning today! :)

Idiappam or string hoppers is a culinary speciality widely popular in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and most parts of Sri Lanka. It is made of rice flour, hot water and a pinch of salt. It is quick to make, easy to digest, yum to taste and easy on the conscience (yes, some respite from all the red meat, chocolate and fried stuff). Plus, Shweta, you can couple it with just sugar, or coconut milk, and the non vegetarians, you could try it with egg roast, mutton curry, chicken stew or just plain sugar and you have a healthy meal ready (ok, fairly healthy). You get my drift...

Me being a true blue mallu, I've gone with idiappam and egg roast here. :)

What you will need to make the idiappams:

-A cup of rice flour

-1 3/4 Cups of hot-boiling water just taken off the flame

-A pinch of salt to taste

-The idiappam making apparatus (See pic on the side). This is an exclusively idiappam making device which uses a simple bit of engineering to squeeze out and make noodle thin idiappam strings. What's more, you can make your own fancy shapes! with options being stars, curved lines, straight lines etc... It's your to improvise!

-Idli plates on the stand or any other tall standing plate on which you can pile on the idiappam strings and steam them in the pressure cooker. I choose to make it in the idli plates 'cos i get to make 4 batches in one go. Saving power and time! :)

-And of course the handy pressure cooker that'll fit the utensil above.

Preparation:

Measure out the flour and keep it in a dry vessel. (Precision is of absolute necessity here).

Place the water to boil and add the salt. As soon as it has started boiling, take it off the flame and pour it and mix with the rice flour. Careful, and mix with a wooden spoon, you do not want to get scalded.

You will now have a sticky consistency of sorts. Spoon it into the idiappam making apparatus and fill it to the brim. Squeeze it out with the lever into shapes that you'd like onto the idly plates (layer by layer). I prefer clusters. 
Garnish the top of each cluster of the idiappam with a few bits of grated coconut shavings.The idli plate'll go into the pressure cooker filled with enough water to steam the idiappam on the idly plates (just enough so that the water level is below the lowest rung of the idli plates.)

Shut the lid of the cooker and leave it without the weight on a medium-high flame and steam for 7 minutes or till you get the smell of idiappam wafting out of the vent of the cooker. Aaaand there you go, the idiappam is ready.

Onto the Roasted Kerala Egg

For 2 eggs, we will need:

1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds

1 stem or 6 curry leaves

1 Green chilli

1 teaspoon grated ginger

4 Big onions

1 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 big tomato chopped

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon Vinegar

Oil as called for

You can hard boil the eggs while making the masala for the egg roast. Toss in the eggs into a pan of water and let it come to a boil. Leave the pan covered and lower the flame to a medium-high flame. Let it boil and cook for a good ten minutes so that you know you are going to get impeccably pretty, even and smooth eggs when u crack the shell. Keep aside.

Preparation of the Masala:

Sputter mustard seeds in the cooking oil in a thick bottomed pan.

Add the curry leaves and give it a stir.

Add the green chili that has been slit down the middle and saute the same. After a minute, add the grated ginger.

Add the onions to the pan and saute over a low flame. for 12 to 15 min. Keep stirring or you may run the risk of it stickin to the bottom of the pan.

In goes the chilli powder, turmeric powder and ground pepper powder and continue to saute for another 5 minutes.

Pour the vinegar and mix all the ingredients and give it a nice mix with the spoon so that all the flavours sink in.

Add the garam masala powder as a final flourish and give it a final toss.

Add the boiled eggs (with the shell removed of course) and give all the ingredients a nice and final mix (i prefer a toss) and put out the flame. Keep it covered with the lid for a couple of minutes so that all the flavours mingle and give us that heady aroma only a Kerala egg roast can.

Dish out and you are ready to go!!