Monday, October 12, 2009

Kuzhalappam – An old world crispy treat from Kerala….A rookie attempt…..Hits n misses…..



For me the thought of Kuzhalappam takes me back to those days when I sneaked a peek into my grandma’s built in snack cabinet and reached out for those crispy tubular shaped snacks during those afternoons, when she was enjoying a nap after lunch and I had a craving to munch on something……it also takes me back to those days when my father took me to the bakery in our city to get our quota of pastries and sweets and me grabbing a packet of Kuzhalappam, at times dusted with sugar or lightly coated with sugar syrup. I also have vague memories of women selling stacks of Kuzhalappam packets wrapped neatly in clear plastic, at those densely crowded Ulsava Parambu/ festival grounds………

But when it comes to my mother’s generation, I learn that they associate this snack with a different set of memories. My mother’s recollections about this snack does not include a bakery or those stacks of crispy tubes wrapped neatly in plastic…….for her, it was part of festival fare- like Onam or Christmas ,when women in the family fry up a huge batch of Kuzhalappam or Achappam or some other traditional snacks, so they could feed their guests, distribute as gifts and also fill up large boxes to send it over, on their daughter’s return to her husband’s place……..it was also part of functions like Kalyanam/marriages where such homemade treats were served to guests on the eve of marriage/Kalyana Thalennu…………these crispy treats also made regular appearances at special occasions like ‘Vayaru Kaanal Chadangu’ , when a woman was pregnant and as the custom goes, her family visited on the seventh month of her pregnancy to bring her back to her house, from her husband’s place; on such occasions, an array of traditional snacks were prepared at the girl’s side, either by women folks in the family or by a specially appointed pachakakkaran/cook , to carry them along on their visit, and Kuzhalappam was one of the main items.

On one of those days when nostalgia hit the shores and craving for the taste and smell of home was at its high, I ventured out to try my hands on this old time favorite, without realizing that it requires certain skill, expertise and patience. Did I get the desired result? Well………

Well, you might notice some differences in terms of thickness and size between the fried ones and the ones in the pictorial below. The ones in the pictorial are from my first attempt last year around Christmas time and the fried ones are from our recent second attempt. I had my lucky stars smiling at me pleasantly on my first attempt, till the shaping part but everything took a sudden U –turn when I started frying them up. Not only did the fried ones failed to crisp up well, but they got browned quickly, forcing me to remove them from spitting hot oil. As always, , my mother ,my 911 for kitchen mishaps shared her words of wisdom listing out the causes for all mishaps, and Lesson No: 1 Learnt was: Heat needs to be adjusted often, allowing it to cook on its own and crisp up well; it is not as easy or quick as frying Pappadam !

Another challenge was that the tubular shaped ones started flattening out as though a flying saucer fell on it as soon as I dropped them in hot oil, giving me an end product that can be called Kuzhalappam without its typical ‘Kuzhal” or that tubular look. Lesson Learnt: There needs to be enough oil for the prepared dough tubes to get fully drenched in oil and as soon as you drop one. No skimping on oil.

The ones that showed resistance to flatten out and maintained a not-so-pathetic shape did not crisp up enough and had sogginess to it. Lesson Learnt: When the two edges of the circle are pulled together and folded to seal tightly, overlapping should not be more than ¼ inch as that part takes more time to cook and crisp up to perfection, compared to rest of the thinnest parts of the tube.

With the realisation that it was the shaping part and frying part that led to the catastrophe on my first attempt, conscious effort was made to take care of those areas but over confidence on the dough part forced me to blindly follow the same measurements for the rice flour- coconut milk proportion and the result was a bit disturbing; as the dough was rolled out and folded and shaped, it started tearing up a bit here and there and at that point , the bulb of enlightenment lit and Lesson 4 & 5 learnt: A very soft and smooth dough is mandatory to roll out thin flat discs and to get such a perfect consistency, it is best to know your rice flour well and depending on the nature/quality of flour, quantity of coconut milk should be adjusted ( increased or decreased); also it is to be made sure that dough does not dry up quickly, so always keep it covered, locking in the moisture coming from warm dough.

So, here’s how it finally turned out for us with all the above mentioned hits n misses and I am sharing the recipe we followed.


Recipe Source: Aunt S from my paternal side.
Ingredients:
  • ¾ cup rice flour, lightly roasted and cooled
  • ¾ to 1 cup coconut milk, medium consistency ( varies with rice flour quality)
  • 1 tsp black sesame seeds/ellu
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds/jeerakam
  • 2 tsp small red pearl onion/Kunjulli, minced
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for frying
Directions:
  • Heat medium consistency coconut milk and bring to a boil. To this add, salt and minced small onion and stir well; then add rice flour and mix everything with a wooden spoon and when everything is wet enough , add cumin seeds and sesame seeds, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and let it rest for about 10 minutes. When the dough is warm enough to touch, knead the dough gently until it gives a smooth and soft texture.
  • Divide the dough into small balls and start rolling out one at a time, into flat thin rounds and using a cookie cutter or lid of a jar, cut them into a perfect circle. As shown in the picture, pull the edge from two sides, folding to place one on another (overlapping only about ¼ inch or so) and press down with your fingers and seal them tightly. Sprinkle some all purpose flour/ Maida while rolling out the dough to make the process easier. (Note: Back home, this is done on a cassava or banana stem ( kappa kuzhal/Vaazha-thandu), to get the tubular shape. You can use anything in a tubular shape but I find my alternative method easier, atleast it works well for me.)
  • When you are done rolling out and making about 5-6 tubes, heat oil in a small wok/cheenachatti; when it is really hot, slide in one at a time, making sure that there is enough oil for the prepared dough tubes to get fully drenched in oil and as soon as you drop one, you see the oil bubbles multiplying . Adjust the heat to make sure that it doesn’t burn or brown immediately and has enough time and heat, to crisp up perfectly. Keep flipping the sides, until it is cooked well and when crisp, remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a paper towel; fry rest of them and when it is completely cooled, store in an airtight container. Repeat this process till you finish rolling out, shaping and frying the entire batch. (Note: You can fry 2-3 at a time, depending on the size of your wok and your expertise)
  • Serve as a crispy treat with tea or coffee or just munch on them whenever you feel like.
Variation: If you want the sweeter version of it, you may coat it with sugar syrup, after frying, as diamond cuts are coated with sugar syrup. You may also dust it with some superfine sugar (after frying) to lend a mild sweetness to Kuzhalappam. I feel this sweetened version is a bakery innovation and not an old world discovery.

Hope you read through the mishaps mentioned in the introduction and take tips before venturing out to fry up a batch of these crispy treats. It takes practice and time to perfect these crispy tubes, so don’t be disheartened if it turns out flattened or burnt or soggy. Know your ingredients, polish your skills and master the technique, you are sure to get a taste of the old world.

For more snack recipes, check complete recipe index.

Luv
Shn

No part of the content ( articles, photographs, recipes) of this blog may be reproduced without my written permission.Copyright © 2007-2010 Kitchenmishmash.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.

25 comments:

  1. Gearing up for Xmas I see !!!!
    I think you can add couple of pods of garlic as well..just for hint of flavour...
    Kuzhalappam and Achappam are my fav snacks nt only bcoz of taste bt coz u cn play with it while eating by poking ur fingers into them....
    Should the readers be expecting avalose podi or Unniappam next ???
    Hmm....eagerly waiting in anticipation :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow , wat a click.. This appam is new to me..Looks really nice ..Happy Diwali to u & ur family in advance. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. That was a lovely post....The pic was too good.....In our side, there are variations of this one made in different shapes, called churulappam, kaaja and so on..Churulappam has a nilachhakram shape and kaaja looks like a latered and fried pancakes.....And sometimes it is just flat and not churul and has some other name.......This is one of the snacks that in malabar region we take to the newly wed groom's house in large(very very large)baskets after wedding, as a part of the 'maamool' or the traditional custom....Not only just afetr marriage, whenever we visit the groom's house we take some palaharams.......Avarude okkey oru bhaagyamey!!....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow looks perfect and crunchy....Kothiyavunnu sharikkum.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi , Thats my favourite , all time favourite snack. I wish I could also make this but my little one does not let me spend much time in kitchen even for the normal cooking.. sigh.. may be after a year or so .. till then I will drool at these pictures.

    take care
    Rekha

    ReplyDelete
  6. It is nice to see the kuzhalappams decked up with ribbons :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. wonderful...yummy...must snack during x'mas

    ReplyDelete
  8. U make me nostalgic with ur recipes.beautiful click

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mom makes similar things with butter and not coconut milk. They are super crisp and melt in mouth, yumm!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love kuzhalappam but I have heard it requires special skill to make it.. so have never tried it myself.. I thought it is the specialty of x-tian families as I have seen some of my neighbors making it with perfect ease.. They used to joke that in their families MILs the rate their DILs according to how they make kuzhalappam :P

    ReplyDelete
  11. hi shn,

    The post and the photographs are really superb. I just love those kuzhalappams and achappams. Like you said, these bring back memories of going back to my grandma's house for our school vaccations and getting these snacks from big aluminum dabba's. Those were the days! by the way, do you have a good recipe for achappam? Whenever I try my hand at it, there is something wrong!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gr8 job Shn!!!sammmathichu thannirikunnu...sherikum itra elaborate aayittu pics sahitham post cheythathu valiya upakaaramaayi....for sure will try this

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow...one of my favourite snacks featured here!! I've never heard of the sweet version though. But then, again I didn't grow up in Kerala. We always made this during Christmas at our home.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi dear...your pics are a treat by themselves.. i love tkis kuzhalappam..when i did my engg at kothamangalam, there was an 'ammachi' near our hostel who used to make real heavenly kuzhalappams at her home and i was addicted to it for life..as u said it was the older version, "unsweetened ones"..anyway thanks for the post and for bringing back vivid memories associated with it..Happy Diwali to u and family!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ah ha...not as easy as it looks then. The name comes from the shape ?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ente shn,
    njanithu vayicha samayam kondu ethra kuzhalappam undayikkazhinjirikkum? ethithrom valiya 'sambhavam' aanennu eppozhalle arinjathu! Anyway they looks so beautiful...sundarikuttikal...!
    Liz

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Shn...love kuzhalappams..... also just wanted u to know I have now added you to my blog list on the main page of my blog....Keep up the good work!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Looks perfect...:)
    I doubt whether my mom grind fresh coconut and add instead of coconut milk..
    I am surely gonna try this sometime..One of my all time fav..
    I will send u mushroom thoran recipe sometime soon..

    ReplyDelete
  19. AMAZING PICS!!!!!

    I LOVE kuzhalappam! My mom rolls the flattened dough on papaya stem to get the perfect shape...thinner the stem, delicate the tubes would be :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nice click.....u have been a gr8 inspiration to me and ur in my blog list.

    Do peep into mine when u are free.

    ReplyDelete
  21. these are really hard snacks to make ( as to me ) and you made them ?? wow !! kudos to you. I have not had sweet version of this. Nice attempt.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Small Talk, yeah...some add a small clove of garlic as well...and poking fingers into them...so true :) unniyappam is in my yet to post folder...avalose podi...well, that will take some time :)

    Chitra, thanks...hope u have a beautiful diwali too :)

    Shabs. churulappam and kaaja are such sweet names...yeah, for such virunnu and visits, some take these snacks even today...

    Tina, entha kalyana photo okke vechu aake oru nostalgic mood-l aanennu thonnunnu...sundari aayittundu...:)

    Rekha, yeahhh...I understand...:) kiddo needs ur time for sure :)

    Rachel, :) thx!

    Jaz, u can try this year :)

    Priyanka, really? :)

    HB, would love to see it in ur blog :)

    Dhanya, true, it does require some skill and practice n patience...and not just with one set of communities...my maternal side used to make it quite often....pinne, I had mailed u ....kittiyo..?

    Faby Zerin, good or bad, i do have a recipe and picture ready in my yet to post folder for achappam....just dont find time to put together a post these days....will do it sometime soon...thanks for dropping by :)

    Zareena, try cheyyumbo nannayi varatte ....kurachu sradhichu cheytha mathee....aadyathe batch kolam aayalum vishamikkanda..best wishes :)

    Mini, sweet version is the bakery twist i guess :)

    Dhanya, thank you....it 's really a skill and if u re still raving and craving about that kuzhalappam that ammachi made, am sure she had magic on her hands :)

    Bong Mom, yes..kuzhal means tube...

    Liz, heheh valiya maha sambhavan aayittonnum alla...enne pole ullavarkku ethu kurachu sambhavan thanneya....atha enikku pattiya mandatharam kurachu detailed aayittu koduthe :)

    Priya, thank you..will drop by ur blog for sure...

    Shankupushpam.my maternal grandma's method is what u suggested..she grinds the coconut...but my mother is not very sure of her recipe, so followed the one from paternal side...

    Ria, thank you :) pls do blog that next time she makes these crispy guys...am sure she would be having some great tips to share .

    Latha, nice to read that...will sure drop by....best wishes to u and ur blog :)

    Pravs, well, attempt is the word :P

    Shn

    ReplyDelete
  23. beautiful pics! they look inviting indeed, and great step-by-step details:)


    btw, it'd be great if you could find some time to sned in something for my sweet celebration recipe contest running on my blog:)

    ReplyDelete
  24. I have always tried out a lot of your recipes and must say all of them turned out great.But this one? I am afraid to try since I am scarred, not literally,from my previous attempt to deep fry something.Still your post was a good read as usual and I enjoyed it.Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  25. WOW Super Awesome!!
    Just thought of a few facts from my family too...
    In Thrissur side, this kuzhalappam is longer and they are rolled out in banana leaves just like the picture you have for ila ada. Later using a thinner roller its slightly removed from the ila and then rolled length wise then pressed at the edges. Then roller gently removed from inside. And making kuzhalappam needs extremely special talent( due to the rolling ) and man power to mix the dough while still hot.
    Keep more coming!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.