Thursday 2 July 2009

Kalathappam/ kalthappam (Unsweetened)


Kalathappam is a rice cake and is one of the famous speciality of Muslim cuisines in Kerala. There are two kinds of Kalthappam. One is sweet version which uses sugar or jaggery to sweeten, and the other one is unsweetened one which is normally eaten with curries. It is commonly made in Malabar regions (Im not sure about other regions of Kerala,sorry) as an evening snack (sweet one) or for dinner or breakfast with any spicy curries. I was googling for the recipe of kalthappam without sugar and I found none!!! The other day I soaked some rice to make Neypathal or neypathiri which are fried rice pan cakes which requires quite lot of time and effort. And since my little one was sick, I prepared this kalthapam which just takes few minutes to prepare. We just have to pour the whole batter in the sauce pan and cook them. The cooking time may differ depending on the saucepan and the heat used. Anyways, here is a tasty recipe for the Kalthappam(unsweetened one), that would make an easy dinner or breakfast.


Ingredients:
2 cups long grain rice (pachari)
1 cup Cooked rice (same rice as above)
2 cups water
1/2 tbs salt
1 tsp Fennel seeds (perumjeerakam)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
1 large onion, cut in chunks
2 tbs thinly sliced and chopped onion
1/2 medium size onion chopped
4 tbs oil

Preparation:
1. Soak rice for about 4-6 hours.
2. Grind it along with cooked rice, fennel seeds and 1 large onion by adding 2 cups of water into a smooth grainless batter.You might need to do this in two batches.
3. Add salt,coconut,1/2 chopped onion and mix well using a spatula until well combined.
4. Heat a medium size saucepan (I used a nonstick sauce pan of 9" Diameter, you can use one with 10" as well) to a medium low heat. Add oil and add in the 2 tbs chopped onion. When the onions starts turning golden, add the batter prepared earlier to this slowly. You can see all the oil and onions has moved to the top.
5.COVER and cook the kalthappam until the batter is set completely. It will take about 45 minutes-1 hour depending on the heat and the kind of saucepan used. Let it cool slightly. Flip the kalthappam over. For that, place any plate on top of the dish and holding the plate firmly, tip the kalthappam on it. Slide it back into the saucepan with the upper white part of the kalthappam to go facing down and the lower golden part facing up. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until you get a golden and crispy coating . This flipping is just done to get a golden crispy layer all over the kalthappam. You don't have to flip it over,if you dont want the crispy layer. It will be cooked if the batter is set completely.
This can be had along with or Malabar fish curry, Chemmeen Muringavaal curry, Malabar chicken curry etc for dinner or even with sugar. Some times we have it for brunch along with the above said curries or sugar.
Notes:
The addition of chopped onions and coconut is really optional. It really enhances the taste, But you dont have to add, if you dont like them.

12 comments:

Nithya said...

It sounds new to me. We used to make a variety of idly by steam cooking batter of this kind. But this one has few changes and sounds interesting too. will try it out soon. :)

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

Wow! shabs, that looks as good as a cake. Yummy.

Parita said...

This is new to me, never knew about such a rice cake, looks fabulous!

Sarah Naveen said...

Fabulous....You are making me an addict to malabar recipes...

Pooja said...

Oh this looks so delicious Shabs! Need to try it out soon :)

Shabs.. said...

Nithya, do try and let me know.

Smiths,thx:)

Parita, its one of our faves..

Sarah, yes, they r kind of addictive, but too rich to have everyday!

Seena said...

shabs nannayittundu ketto, we too would make this unsweetend version.. :)

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I've never seen this but it looks very interesting! Thanks for the recipe and for introducing it :)

mathew said...

I love this blog...finding lot of tempting recipes here!!:-)

Unknown said...

can v make these kalthappam in oven??if yes hw long shud v keep it n d temperature..

Unknown said...

can v make these kalthappam in oven??hw lond shud v keep it n in wat temperature??

Shabs.. said...

Hi suha, I am not sure if you can bake this in oven. Back home, we make this in a pan and adds some burning coals on top which gives the browning effect on top which is similar to oven, u know. If i were to bake a kalthappam, i would bake it at 170 or 180 until it browns on top and teh skewer inserted in the centre doesnt give me any batter. hope this helps suha..

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...