Meatball Curry

There is something about meatballs that commands uniform gastronomic attention. Needless to say they are swoon in many a culture and in just about any dish they lend their good forms to. Molded with breadcrumbs and cheese, ladled in tangy marinara pasta, they make for wholesome comfort. Needled onto kabobs, these are the perfect fingerfood. In soups and stews, orbs of meat offer welcome surprise for the unsuspecting mouth .

But what if I tell you there consists something way beyond for these spheres of joy, even better than your senses can fathom? Yes, tis true, much and more lies in store for these plumped meat rounds. Where pools of curry and spice make for new ground of unsurpassed texture and flavor. And here starring in our ball making role is the white meat often overlooked for these exotic productions, a new hero. Today we call in turkey, lean, mean and yes, minced to perfection. It will be that which gives meaning to healthful, wholesome Indian, meatball curry gorgeously laden with balls of turkey meat.

Let me tell you, extremely magnificent things happen on combining this virtually mellow tasting meat  with texturally vibrant curry. Scoring few pantry staples and one that is vital for any Indian kitchen, these ground balls of meat become showstoppers all on their own. They also take on the role of edible sponges soon bearing likeness to their gravy rich habitat. Balanced with complementing spice and creamy coconut milk, this is that unique which creates generous but tolerable kick. Cut in with a final dollop of tangy yogurt, there be the final hurrah, a curry marked to refinement and spot on Indian.

As with all Indian meals, fragrance rendered from the heating and blending of spice elements is glorious. Makes the almost half hour wait all the more worthwhile.

This is curry to fiend for my friends, one where you will fight to the last for that final meatball. Just like we four did the previous night. Not saying who won, since I'm not one to brag.

For the meatballs~

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 2 tsp pepper
• ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt or enough to flavor

Directions:

• Combine together the meat with the other ingredients and roll gently into 1" balls. Makes 20
• Refrigerate until curry beckons.

Rolled to twenty balls. Ball curry will generously feed a hungry crowd of 5. In most cases had with rice or Indian flatbreads such as chapatti, naan, a less than charitable serving of 6 or 8 works, leaving some better off than others.

For the curry~
Ingredients:

• 2 jalapenos, halved
• 1" piece ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp canola oil (or any cooking oil)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• handful curry leaves 
• 1 medium onion, diced fine
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp cayenne
• 3 tbsp coriander
• pinch turmeric
• ½ c  warm water
• meatballs
• 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk 
• 1 tsp salt or enough to flavor
• ¼ c nonfat plain yogurt
• a few sprigs cilantro (optional)

Directions:

• Grind in a grinder or blender jalapenos, garlic and ginger to a chunky paste. 
• On medium high, heat oil in a large, deep sided skillet or dutch over. Put in mustard seeds and curry leaves. Part cover pan (to shield yourself and surroundings) and allow mustard seeds to pop.
• Add onions and saute until translucent and wilted
• Add the ginger/garlic mixture. Stir until cooked through, a minute or so.
• Add tomatoes and powders, from cayenne to turmeric. Stir and cook for an additional minute on medium heat.
• Pour in  warm water. 
• Pour in half of the coconut milk.
• Carefully add refrigerated meatballs, gently stirring.
• Increase heat to high and let it come to a boil.
• Lower flame to medium low, and let simmer until done about 15-20 minutes until done.
• Stir in remaining coconut milk. Add additional warm water if a thinner gravy consistency is desired. 
• Stir in the yogurt, mix well and cook for an additional  minute.
• Sprinkle in cilantro.

On all accounts this is the consummate weeknight meal. It will definitely be the cure all for my shameless holiday gorging, and a needed spicy respite for the back to back sugar highs someone's been lending you.
 😳😲10-31-2017**Update** Thanks to a diligent reader, it has been brought to my notice that I totally left out the coconut milk from the list of directions (oh my!!). Please note that it has been rectified and the recipe updated. I apologize and hope that such oversights don't happen again. Thank you.

Tender moist and flavored just right. This will be curry which commands many a repeat performance. Wait and see.
******

Faithful and reliable He is~

 ^"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

Basic chicken curry

Spanning roadside stall specials to multistar menus, there is an impressiveness in molten, sienna colored wellfragranced gravies, replete with protein, served straight over hot rice and/or flatbread. So splendid it definitely demands regular rounds at weekly dinner tables. A simple curried chicken that takes comfort in a bowl or in this case, plate to a whole new level.

Of course, you shouldn't let the word basic undermine the fantasticness of what's been set before you today. This is special, your welcome door to the tastes of the Southeast Asian part of the world. What most people, especial of India, get handed down from generations combined, you will receive in this quick 100 word/ three minute read(even shorter if you ace speed-read).

Just know you're bound to find as many versions of chicken curry alone, as there are people in the Indian subcontinent. Maybe an exaggeration, maybe not. A mix of onions, chilies, garlic, ginger, and melange of spice rendered into the cooking pan at separate intervals, plus or minus a few others, can produce thousands of possibilities, all combinations that can scoot under the  "curry" umbrella.  Wet, or dry, it may be named after the dish it's cooked in, from the area it was invented in, the amount of spices it should be roasted in, so on and so forth. We've even spotlighted The Illustrious 65, where the number of theories that make the name are as popular as the dish. 

Today, we go through a fundamental, easily digestible (Yes. Pun!) curry construct, a workflow that doesn't require a whole lot of substeps. This can be the foundation to more advanced concoctions. Of course, there is a certain magnificence in a well rounded, straightforward, tremendously good curry. And I believe I have perfected the art to it.

So, shall we begin?

Fiery red chillies, pops of mustard seeds and beneficial coconut lend not only depth of flavor, but fantastic texture, as well. Onions, curry leaves and a crush of all the right spices add body and aroma, while meat juices with help from a cup of water bring in a gravy, stocky enough to cling to pieces and not so insubstantial for pieces to play hide and seek.

A point to take along in task; when cooking large amounts of nonmarinaded white meat, chances are it will taste just like that...white meat..swimming in sauce, and so not ever a good thing. You want those elements that endow to the masala mix to combine and coalesce in a long-ish cook time, essential for flavors to hinge on to meat and and have your house smell like a first-class Indian restaurant.  

Don't be overwhelmed with the component number required in making this onepot wonder. Most of it's tossed in quick succession, building on and balancing a flavor index that takes you from raw spice to rightful curry perfection. Bonetender pieces get inundated with unbeatable kick and well rounded warmth, so utter you'll need to doublepat yourself on the back . 
  
Give it a try. A few times over and you may find you're eligible to compete in Master Chef, Indian edition. Or just smitten with a new favorite chicken dinner you can't get enough of. Either way, it's a win-win. 

Think fresh, people. Don't plow the depths of your refrigerator looking for that end piece of ginger/onion/garlic that's seen better days.

Chicken curry~

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 crushed cloves
• 1 crushed cardamom
• 2 crushed peppercorns
• 2 medium sized red onions, sliced thin
• 1 tsbp finely chopped ginger
• 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 3 serrano peppers, sliced in half
• handful curry leaves
• 1-2 tbsp red chili powder(cayenne pepper)
• 3 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 tomato, diced
• ¼ cup unsweetened, frozen coconut slices, thawed at room temperature (optional)
• 1 lb skinned, bone-in whole chicken, cut into 2 " pieces 
• ½ to 1 cup water
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• 2-3 sprigs cilantro

Directions:

• Heat oil in a large dutch oven or heavy based pan.
• Add mustard seeds, cloves, cardamom, pepper corns. Allow the seed to pop.
• Add sliced onions, saute tll translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add ginger, garlic, serrano, half the curry leaves. Stir until ginger garlic cook through, 1-2 minutes.
• Add cayenne, coriander, cumin, turmeric and tomato. Saute for a minute.
• Stir in coconut.
• Put in cut chicken pieces. Combine with the onion-spice mixture over high heat.
• Add water. Allow the chicken mixture to boil on high.
• Once it comes to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 35-40 minutes on a low flame. Open lid to stir at regular intervals. 
• When chicken is tender, stir in garam masala and turn off heat
• Sprinkle in the remaining curry leaves, along with cilantro.
• Serve hot with rice or Indian flatbread, such as naan, chappathi.

~Add water according to the consistency and amount of gravy you need. I use upto 1 1/2 cups at times. 
~The above is a general spice guideline. I like to adhere to the adage (mine), a bit more spice makes everything nice :-) and am especially partial to the heat renderers, plenteous amounts of cayenne and peppers, particularly in this chicken which give it color as well as a good build of flavor. Play around with what works for you...it could translate from a pretty good curry to an astoundingly great one.
~What is garam masala? Translated as hot mixture, this is a blend of spices common to Indian cooking and usually consists of a combination of cinnamon or cassia bark, cumin seeds, cardamom, fennel, cloves, star anise, bay leaves. The spices are ground to powder form in either a spice mill, grinder or coffee bean grinder(preferably one not used for coffee) and can be stored in airtight containers. No time to mill and grind? Find it right here.

This has forever been in that extremely long list of recipes that I do and wish to surely, if not slowly unbundle here. To punch out a draft that's spent so long in queue seems Herculean at times. Picture taking faces many odds. Curry is rarely photogenic. Light becomes The Issue when cooking ends late and Fall decides to deduct daylight from my life. And I am so not in the mood to click what I could just be eating. Right. At. That. Moment. Ah the reasons! But then we come through, here be the finished product and a fairly pixellated page that looks decent enough to have it's screen debut. 
God is good.  All the Time

1 year ago: Besan laddoo

3 years ago: Omeluffin

******

Supermoon/bloodmoon eclipse 2015 and some Redrocks staring at my lens. Prettiness that my camera occasionally gifts me must always be shared.

 "When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?" Psalm 8:3,4

Vegetable Curry Bun

The Curry Bun. A clever invention made popular to meet a region's need for curry and starch. It satisfies the Indian's fierce appetite for spicy along with a fair share of grain. With more than half the population of India favoring rice as their number one staple, a good many would very well claim bread as a well standing second. Carbs are delicious, no doubt and when they're dished up with a pool of curry, it becomes a desirable meal. Served on occasion, in Kerala households, it is the lazy man's solution for quick, semi-traditional and oft-sustaining fare.

So, here we have a bun or roll, kneaded and shaped more like an edible cave making room for lightly seasoned ingredients. Rolling dry curry into dough bun seems a technique too complex for layman, but not so . This recipe requires no Master Chef skill, nor much fanfare. Curried vegetables come together in all of 10 minutes and breadmaker meticulously churns out a blooming good dough. Assembly is effortless, and bundles rest a bit before their entrance into the oven. 


A base of of black eyed peas, a throw- in of mushrooms, the usual mix of onions, garlic and ginger give in to a beautiful bun stuffer. But only after being the side to our dinner plates the night before (hence, we experience leftover magic). With the background elements of fragrant masala and tangy lemon doing their thing, black eyed pea/ mushroom curry becomes the exceptional end product to dressing a superior and satisfying bun. 

The breadmaker's dinner roll dough turned out to be fantastically sturdy, with just enough pull to envelope an oversized tablespoon of vegetable curry. Not to mention it's so round and cute, an impressive dough giftwrap packaging a blissful and savory surprise. 

Curry buns can pretty much be served any time of day.  It makes for a great breakfast shortcut when heading out the door in the morning, a meal held in the palm of your hand and possibly one stuffed between both cheeks.

For the Bun ~

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 ¾ c bread flour
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• ¼ c water
• 1 egg
• ⅞ c milk, 
• ¼ c butter

Directions:

• Measure all ingredients into bread pan.
• Select dough setting
• Press start
• When finished and unit signals 0:00, take dough and turn out on counter.
• Punch down and divide dough into 12-16 equal sized balls.

Notes:

All ingredients should be at room temperature when preparing dough in a breadmaker.

Don't have breadmaker?  I'd try the dinner recipe roll here, it provides a yield close to the one above.

For the Curry Stuffing~

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs cooking oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ medium onion
• 1-2 jalapenos, chopped fine (deseed, if preferred)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• ¼" piece ginger, minced or grated
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1-2 dried, crushed red  chili(optional)
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ c sliced button mushrooms
• 1 c softened and cooked black eyed peas or ¾ of 15 oz. can of black eyed peas, strained and rinsed
• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp salt or more, according to taste
• few sprigs of cilantro, chopped

Directions:

• Heat oil in a medium skillet  and temper mustard seeds until they pop.
• Add onions and fry until soft and translucent.
• Add jalapeno(s), garlic, ginger and saute for a minute until cooked.
• Stir in the spices from coriander to cumin, cook an additional minute or so, until oil lightly separates from the ingredients, (when you get a good whiff of the spices).
• Put in the mushrooms, fry until brown and cooked.
• Stir in the black eyed peas. Combine.
• Pour in lemon juice, stir an additional minute until all moisture is absorbed. 
• Add in salt, stir. 
• Sprinkle with cilantro.
• Take off heat and set aside to cool.

Assembly~

Ingredient needed: 1 egg, beaten

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Flatten or roll out each ball with rolling pin into a 5 -6 inch disc.
• Place 1 generous tablespoon of filling onto center of the round.
• Take up the sides up and over the filling, closing dough and pinching ends together smoothing seam. Repeat with remaining.
• Place seam side down on lined baking tray(s) and leave to proof 10 minutes.
• Brush top and sides of buns with the egg wash. 
• Place in oven on middle rack and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Meat and seafood make for perfect bun fillers. Use rotisserie for easy Tandoori chicken buns/ chili chicken buns.

I had my first bite of curry bun at Hot Breads after moving straight out of college and to the city where I got my first job, when plentiful rolls and croissants were becoming a common item on menus throughout  Kerala. My best friend and I would frequent the famous bakeshop and gully away stuffed flatbreads, curry buns and taco rolls. Because back in the day, metabolism was on my side.

Sidenote~ No, it's not your eyes. The font has a mind of it's own today. I'm sorry for the crazy appearance of script on the page. Blogger has been acting up and for some reason has decided not to straighten out, hopefully it stops with just this post. 

******

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

Let it sparkle, let it glow, Let It Shine!

Cashew chicken curry

I bet we can all agree on how rushed-quick the past 10 months of 2016 flashed through, much like the incredible hero scenes from Barry Allen's secret  life.  Right? Right. And if you can't, let's not take this to word. Just nod along and pretend you do.

We  are at second to last holiday of the year, one which reminds us to live in thanks, is opener to THE most extensive meal our plates have seen in 364 days and official  kickoff to the yuletide season. Not to mention the joyride of weeklong leftovers that everyone looks forward to all year long. This, in less than four days, and here I am between bouts of panic and absolute procrastination swims. What do I do? Probably as I type this, keeping my mind at ease in the knowledge of saving precious refrigerator space for the few days working up to The Great Feast. 

And so we go on to more pressing things in life.

The time you visit the neighborhood Indian restaurant and order a meal, possibly(?) better than some things you've ever made, and you begin to question your existence. I know. I try shamelessly to plug my stellar cooking mastery here, (thank you for putting up with the ego parade) and it is hard to admit great food might exist outside the confines of my kitchen. Ahh, did I just say THAT?! You know, we don't need to repeat everything I say. Please.

Things happen when people who live under your roof, whom you feed, clothe, care for and rightfully demand loyalty from, claim that a menu produced the most excellent thing they have ever tasted. It gets personal. And offensive. You forget the 14 pound turkey you were supposed to buy yesterday and get to work on restoring your reputation.

Not that comparable results haven't passed through this kitchen, with some chronicled into plating here. But it is hard to be outmatched by an item on an order list of 20 things that people make at least 50 times a day. 

To recreate/remaster/reclassify a masterful carte du jour, and similar renditions that I've probably eaten my way through countless times than recalled, became my mission, right after my midday nap/yoga/run or whatever initiative my mind had been preset to.

I've gone into the variables of what can make a masala medley magnificent (sounds nice, right?). As is it's without doubt, totally one's own jurisdiction to whether onions, garlic, ginger merely coalesce, mildly mingle or strongly stampede, decisions to turn your own Indian cuisine borderline meh or an arrant outrageous.

Chicken is good. Curry is good. Chicken curry is very very good. And innumerable kinds and types should be, always are needed, welcomed, and greatly applauded.

Cashew chicken curry as I would like to call it, possesses an old world grand. Almost like a throwback to how glorious Central Asian cuisine could actually be. It bears a stamp from medieval India, of those regal Mughals and their spiced loaded, crazy aromatic gastronomics . Other recipes that c. chicken curry can be pen named under: Chicken Korma, Rezala, or Mughlai chicken. I really am no pundit in ranking curry, though I believe I am the best you would probably come to know(😀).  I do, however, know that this can ideally be that meal fit for kings.

It is quite indisputably a feast. For the eyes. For the belly. And though it may sound cliche, for the very depths of your soul.

There is comfort in the velvet cream of cashews and spices pasted. Quick heat renders meat pieces a true envied char. The steeping in topnotch ingredients, somewhere, somehow brings us to beauteous curry making reality A distinctive, air-scenting finish becomes the thick, luxe end-all we so clearly associate as the accompaniment to rice/ naan dishes in formal or less formal settings. It is magnificence that should be lauded in the courts of any layman's dining room.

Don't let the expansive ingredient list scare you. It might be shocking to see how a mere (no smirking) 27 ingredients come together, in perfect harmony, while still pulling off what's arrogantly impressive. Which definitely works in any favor, as your home cook status gives way to chef magnifique, and those many revisits hereafter will make you master of a cultish curry cuisine.

An assembly of The Superior, ready to coalesce on to the perfect destination.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds skinned, bone-in chicken, cut into 1- 1/2 inch pieces
• 2-4 tbsp red chili powder or cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp turmeric
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt
• ½ inch piece peeled ginger, roughly chopped
• 6 whole cloves garlic
• 4-5 sprigs cilantro
• 1 sprig mint
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• ¼ cup cashews soaked in ½ cup water
• 1/4 cup tbsp cooking oil(I use canola)
• 1 whole star anise
• pinch fennel seeds
• 1 small stick cinnamon
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 large red onion finely chopped
• water(upto 1- 1/2 cups)
• salt
• ¼ cup plain nonfat yoghurt
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¼ cup half and half
• chopped cilantro(2-3 sprigs) for garnish

Directions:

• Marinade chicken with red chili powder, black pepper, turmeric, lemon juice and salt. Keep aside for 15- 30 minutes to half an hour.
• Meanwhile, process the ginger, garlic, cilantro,  mint, cumin, coriander, cashews with water in a food processor or mini prep until a smooth paste forms.
• Heat oil in dutch oven/large deep set skillet. Add chicken and deep brown on all sides of pieces for about 7-10 minutes. Pieces do not have to cook through.
• Take out chicken from oil and set aside.
• Crush star anise, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in mortar and pestle. Add to the oil used for chicken, in the pan.
• Stir in onions on medium heat. Cook until soft.
• Pour in the ground paste. Add a small amount of water into the blender vessel to shake clean any leftover paste. Pour this into pan.
• Saute ingredients until moisture evaporates,  mixture is fragrant and color changes to a pale green/brown, about 5-7 minutes. 
• Add chicken. 
• Add remaining water.
• Add salt to taste.
• Bring ingredients to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to cook for an additional 25 minutes.
• Stir in yoghurt until blended with curry.
• Add garam masala, sugar. Stir.
• Pour in half and half.  Mix once and turn off heat.
• Sprinkle with cilantro.
• Serve warm with green rice, white rice, naan, maybe even K parotta Anything that spins your orbit.

Notes:

If you desire to inhale higher levels of heat, upto inferno, by all means marinade with more red chili powder(cayenne).

Past Novembers~

2015: Stuffed acorn squash

2014: Chili roasted cauliflower

2013: PB Oreo blondies

2012: North Kerala stuffed chicken

 The star that perks the overall scene.

A few decades ago( it surprises me how long I've lived) I'd visit a restaurant that served a similar, if not better cashew creamed curry. My friend took me there to perk me up after a particularly hard day. Yes, people, it had already begun, where food was solution to all my world problems. For a year or so, it became a routine for us. So also, memories that would last a lifetime. A friend that would too. Love you Ranikutty❤️

We love moon watching. And the super one that came up November 13,14 had me taking over 1000 pictures. Because people. I really have nothing to do. I played with different shutter speeds, apertures. I don't know if any of this constitutes as good photography, but it made for some very enjoyable bonding time with my tribe.
******
John 1:3

Yes. All pictures taken by me. Tisa Jacob. Do not borrow without asking. Not nice. Thanks:-)

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Appam and Beef Mappas

 Appam and beef mappas. I didn't think that I would add this recipe so early on...just the thought of the steps involved and typing the whole method of appam/ curry making made me get to slacking a few days. Trust me, though, the preparation and number of steps look daunting, the process in itself is not .

The  meal and the consequent post are a result of having made this as a special request dinner for my older child's birthday, specially requested by her, of course. She is our baby #1, born with a keen love and inclination towards all foods South Indian.

Although, officially tagged a breakfast food in Kerala, appam and beef mappas are deemed fit  to consume any time of day. It is also a celebration dish of sorts. Easter and Christmas mornings are hailed in with feasting on this sumptious breakfast fit for champions, or should I say kings? Kerala breakfasts are usually elaborate affairs, often bordering on extensive menus. Many of us, however, neither have the time, nor the energy to prepare and scarf down a huge, uber- exotic meal at the break of dawn, so this can be a perfect "breakfast for dinner" experience.

Appams, also known as hoppers (I have yet to know why... your guess is as good as mine), are made with a fermented ground rice, coconut batter and griddled like pancakes. They were originally made to rise using the fermented alcohol sap, toddy, of the palm tree. But down the line, people realized that rising can happen without inebriation, though toddy is still a favored leavener for this soft rice pancake. Yeast is used as an alternate to bring out the rising and doubling of the batter.

Beef curry, mutton curry, egg roast, vegetable stew are some of the well known sides that best complements the hopper. The beef preparation here is known as mappas, a curry native to Kerala involving a slow simmering of spiced ingredients in rich coconut milk.
Appams rely on some advanced preparation, but  are so worth it. Here goes: listed in the order it should be done-appam prep, beef curry, finishing the final appam cooking on a griddle. 

Appam:

• 1 tsp yeast
• 1/4 cup  warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• *1  cup fresh or frozen shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• 2 cups rice flour
• 1-2 cups water, maybe more to achieve a "pancake- like" batter
• 5 tbsp sugar 
• pinch of salt

 Appam Method: 

Step 1:

• To proof or test yeast, combine it with 1/4 warm water and 1 tsp sugar in a small bowl, stir and let alone for 10 minutes. A creamy foam should form on top- it's ready to use!
•  Put your cooked rice and coconut , along with your yeast mixture in a blender/grinder, to help grind on high for a 2- 3 minutes until well blended, don't allow the coconut to grind to a paste, there should be a light chunkiness to it. .
• With the blender on a medium setting, drop in half cupfuls rice flour alternatively with the half cups of water until a smooth, thick batter forms, use a rubber spatula to help you blend the ingredients.
•  Add sugar, salt and give the blender a final whir for a minute or so until all ingredients are incorporated well.
•  Pour into a bowl, large enough to let it "grow".Cover and keep aside in a closed, warm, dry place, preferably an oven ( turned off) , undisturbed for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight. 

Scroll down below and you will see the second part of this recipe.

Now you can start on your beef mappas.

Beef Mappas:

• 3 tbsp oil
• *1 cinnamon stick
• *2 whole cloves
• *1 cardamom pod
• *1/2 star anise
• 1 medium onion, chopped small
• 3 serrano peppers or jalapeno,slit
• 2 tsp garlic
• 2 tsp ginger
• 11/2 tsp cayenne (chili powder) pepper
• 3 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped small
• *1 lb beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup water
• *1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tsp salt or according to taste
• curry leaves (optional)

Method:

•  Take out a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil.
•  Crush whole spices and add it to oil.
• On medium heat saute in onions till translucent.
• Next in order: serranos, garlic, ginger, saute for 3-4 minutes.
• Stir in cayenne, coriander, cumin, saute another 3 minutes.
• Next, go in the tomatoes.
• Stir until tomatoes cook down, 2-3 minutes.
• Slowly add beef. Now, using a strong wooden spoon, stir and press beef into the spice onion mixture, sort of massage -incorporating the beef with the spice mixture.
• Add in warm water, 1/4 can coconut milk,vinegar and salt.
• Bring to a boil and have it cook on medium-low heat for 40 minutes up to an hour
• Check the beef occasionally and stir 
• Pour in remaining coconut milk, simmer on low for an additional 5 minutes.
• When pieces are fork tender, take off heat
• Sprinkle in some curry leaves.
• The beef can be made in advance and once your batter has leavened, mappas can be reheated up to a slow simmer. 

There will be more of a  gravy, I wanted the beef to show through, so I didn't add too much in my plating.

 Appam Method:

yeast proofing, before and after batter, meeting the griddle

Step 2

• After the wait of 6- 12 hours, the batter should have doubled up in volume .
• Stir batter well and season with salt or more sugar, according to individual taste.
• Preheat your griddle, nonstick, preferably. I use a large one where I can cook up 3 to 4 appams at once.
• Smear a tiny bit of butter onto the griddle's surface (intitially), or a light coat of cooking spray.
• Pour in a ladleful of batter  and spread a bit, pancake-likish.
• Once bubbles surface on top, about 2-3 minutes per appam, it is time to flip.
• Another 2 -3 minutes and it will be cooked through.
• Repeat with remaining batter. Makes 25-30 medium sized appams.
• Excess batter can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Forget the silverware, now you have your own perfect utensil to sop up that wonderful curry

Notes:
Shredded, unsweetened coconut needed here can also be found in the frozen section of Indian grocers. Another option are the organic supermarkets, where I've purchased the dried variety.

Traditionally raw, short grain rice is soaked and then ground for appam batter, but after knowing the ease of rice flour, I have never gone back to tradition.

 If you like Indian cooking, a visit to your local Indian or Asian grocer will do you good. Or even specialty spice shops... looking at these recipes you''ll see a uniform set of spices, ingredients that carries through in most Indian preparations .

Whole spices are optional, but it always lends flavorful punch to the dish.

I buy tender stew meat and cut each piece into 1 inch cubes. However, if the meat is not of a tender cut, you can marinade beef in spices,ginger/garlic, tomatoes with the vinegar  and pressure cook for 20-30 minutes and then finish the dish by sauteeing onions with your cooked meat and adding any remaining ingredient.

Though, I haven't mentioned it in the recipe, I sometimes add a couple of potatoes ( cooked in the microwave and added to the curry at the end, in addition to coconut slices simmered along with the beef. It is optional, though it gives a flavorful texture to the dish.

Hope for leftovers on the beef mappas -it tastes so good the day after and can complement  sweet Hawaiian rolls, white rice or chappatis ( flatbread) .

So, like I said earlier, it's not half as difficult as it looks( is, it?) and the end result a tot-ally delicious Indian meal, that you prepared all on your own. So come on, give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Tips:
Be mindful of the climatic conditions in which you live, it contributes a lot to the proofing condition  of your batter. Cooler climates require more a wait time ( and possibly some help) for the batter to rise. I have lived in one of the coldest places in the U.S. and it would take more than 12 hours for the batter to rise, sometimes using the warming option on my oven to coax it.
Now, at the extreme end of the weather scale, I'm housed in one of the warmest states, and, as you can see in the pictures the batter needed no coercion, in a mere 4 hours it tripled in volume!