Indri Appam / Pesaha Appam and Paal

I might have already spoken to you about the  tradition that we followed on the Maundy Thursday as kids. It's basically visiting every house and taking part in the breaking of the bread ceremony post church. It was real fun. My brother used to be the Indriappam kothiyan and I would love vattayappam. But now I like both. I guess taste changes over the years. Jacob and Jordan both prefer vattayappam over Indriappam. So we make both Indriappam and vattayappam and hot cross buns for our Maundy Thursday celebration. And yes, Pesaha Paal is a must. And it is liked by all.

This Indriappam is from our last Pesaha. Yes, as usual I have been delaying the post and then I thought I should post it atleast before next Pesaha to share the recipe. So here it is . Have a blessed Pesaha and a very happy Easter in advance. oh ya, and you could add may be a small piece of turmeric to get hold of Judas in your group. The person who gets the piece with turmeric is called Judas. Just for fun :).

Ingredients

For Pesaha Appam/ Indriappam

1. 1/4 cup of urad dal
2. 3/4 cup of roasted rice flour
3. 3/4 cup of grated coconut
4. 2 shallot, peeled and sliced
5. 1 clove of garlic
6. 1/4 tsp of jeera/ cumin seeds
7. Salt to taste

For the Pesaha Paal

1. 3/4 cup of shaved jaggery
2. 1 1/2 cups of medium thick coocnut milk
3. 1/2 cup of thick coconut milk
4. 1/4 tsp of chukku powder or dry ginger powder
5. 2 tbsp of rice flour
6. A pinch of salt

Method

Making of Pesaha Appam

• Soak the urad dal for couple of hours. Wash and drain it. 
• Grind urad dal, grated coconut, shallots, garlic and jeera together with minimal water to form a paste or thick batter.
• Transfer it into a bowl. Add the rice flour and salt to it. Mix it all together while you add water just enough to form a thick batter.
• Grease a steaming tray/pan. Pour the batter into it.
• Prepare the steamer and once the steam develops, place the pan with batter in the steamer and steam it for about 15-20 minutes or untill done.

Making of Pesaha Paal

• Melt the jaggery in very little water(2-3 tbsp). Strain it to remove any impurities. Place it on medium heat.
• Add the medium thick coconut milk and stir it to combine and cook it, untill the mixtures evaporates and turn down half in volume. Add the ginger powder and salt to it and stir in.
• To the rice flour, add some of the heated coconut milk mixture and stir it to form a paste free of lumps. Add it back to the coconut mixture.
• Now, add the thick coconut milk and cook it again for another minute or two. 

Tips

1. Adding rice flour helps thicken the Pesaha Paal.
2. You could also add cardamom or little cumin powder for additional flavours in pesaha paal.