Thursday, April 20, 2006

Kerala ishtyle mutton ishtu and aripathiri



Mutton Stew /Mutton ishtu

Aroma of fresh herbs and whole spices, tanginess of lime, mellow sweetness of coconut milk: this stew combines amazing flavors into one tantalizing dish. No more words, dive into a world of goodness.

Mutton pieces, with bones : 2 lb
Coconut Milk: 1 cup
Green chilli : 3-4 medium sized
Onion , sliced: a quarter
Ginger paste: 1 t
Garlic paste: 1t
Potato, cut into large pieces : 1
Cilantro, chopped: 1 cup
Mint, chopped: ¼ cup
Cinnamon : 3 to 4small sticks
Cardamom: 3-4
Clove: 3
Fenugreek: ¼ t
Corriander powder (roasted): 1t
Lime: 1
Hot water: 2 to 3 cups
Oil: 2T
Salt


Heat oil in a pressure cooker: add fenugreek seeds and fry for a minute.

Now cinnamon, cardamom and cloves to the hot oil, and fry till their aroma seeps out.

Throw in the onions, ginger-garlic, green chilies, coriander powder, mint leaves and half of the cilantro. Stir,stir,stir for two minutes so that the coriander powder doesn’t stick to the bottom. A lovely aroma should hit your nostrils now, reminding you to Thank Someone for such small pleasures in life.

Add potato and mutton and cook them in the mixture for three to four minutes. Now pour hot water, add enough salt, cover the cooker and let cook till it gives two whistles. You may whistle along with the cooker, if you please. Turn down the heat to low and cook for a good 45 minutes to 1 hour. This slow cooking under pressure gets the meat to a soft, buttery texture that goes so well with the coconut milk in this curry. Turn off the heat, let the cooker cool down and open the lid. Pour the coconut milk, and bring to a quick boil. Remove from heat, add rest of the cilantro, and lime juice and your stew is ready to be sapped up. Thank God for such pleasures!



Rice roti / Ari pathiri

As I have mentioned earlier, Keralites have gazillion ways of eating rice. Pathiri, though mostly made out of rice, can be compared to the roti of north Indian cuisine. There is a delightful variety of pathiris, some plain, some stuffed, and some layered and steamed. This recipe is for the basic pathiri with variant names like aripathiri /ari aracha pathiri/ arichu chutta pathiri / thadicha pathiri .Traditionally, soaked rice is stone ground into a thick buttery paste , and pathiris are shaped out of this dough with hands directly onto the hot pan. An art, nothing less. With no stone grinder here, we simply make a fairly thick batter in our meek food processer, and pour it out into the pan. A poor substitute, you say? The pathiris turn out to be pretty good though, and would almost pass out as the authentic one. Almost, stresses the dissatisfied pathiri connoisseur in me;)

The trick in getting these pathiris real soft is in the rice you use and in soaking it in boiling water. I stick to Ponni rice, since that is what my mother and her mother and so on have been using to make perfect pathiris. Dipping hot pathiris one by one as they come from the pan in coconut milk is a grand touch to this dish, adding a mellow taste to them. I did not follow it as the curry is a coconut milk based one, and the fat content on the can’s nutrition label always stirs up a fear somewhere.


Okay stop talking, just give me the recipe:

Ponni parboiledRice, washed, drained : 2 cups
Salt

Bring a large pot of water to rolling boil, and take the pot off heat.

Add the washed rice , cover and keep aside for 45 minutes. After this hot water soaking the rice should look like cooked on the outside, but should have a bite to it.

Drain excess water. Add salt and blend the rice into a smooth paste adding a little, about ½ to 1 cup of water. Try adding the water little by little , so that you can get your blender going using as little water as possible.

Heat a thick pan. Pour a ladle full of batter, and let it spread out on its own into a thick circle. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn over and cook for another two minutes. Once this side is fairly cooked, gently press on the rotis with a spatula so that little bubbles rise up, turn over the roti again and repeat the process on this side too. This is to make sure the pathiris thoroughly cooked inside. Your pathiri is done. Tear a piece gently, dip into your stew and enjoy bliss.

27 comments:

Sarah said...

help:
The pathiri I ate when I was in kerala was like a chapathi..albeit white colour..I make it by boiling water and adding the rice flour and burning my hands kneading it..my kids love it..Sigh
If I follow ur recipe, would i get the same stuff or would it be more like appam/dosai type?

reshma said...

Nah nah immigrant, the pathiri you are talking about is 'neeriya pathiri/vaattipathiri'and yes to get those so thin ones that makes you sing out with joy, hands have to be singed.This is a completely different pathiri, thicker, denser yet soft.

Sarah said...

i hv a chapatthi kallu.. can i make it on it and do I have to do like dosai to get the shape(round?)..Unlike chapathis, mine resemles australia most of the time, I can make pretty good round dosai..and I really don't want to see the kids taking each pathiri and passing a comment like..this one looks like......

Anonymous said...

That looks good...

Lakshmi said...

looks nice

Kitchenmate said...

Reshma: As always i enjoy reading your blog with frequent smiles :)
I will try your version sometime and let you know! Thanks for sharing this recipe buddy:)

archana said...

Hi Rshma,
Your pathiris look so delicate and smooth. How did you manage to get the pathiris to cook evenly with out even getting a shade of brown on it. Fabulous. Adipoliyayirikkunnu. Well done !!!!
Archana

Anonymous said...

reshma,
can we use chicken instead of mutton to make this ishtu?
rekha

Anonymous said...

Hi, Nice post ! There's so much to explore,Kerala cuisine indeed is rich with nutrients...love to taste this dish going by the pic...:)

reshma said...

immigrant : a 'chappathi kallu' will work just great. No, you don't have toe make dosa like swirls to get a round shape, simply pour a ladle full of batter on the center and it will spread out into a neat circle on its own. and about chappathis fashioned after Australia, been there! I used to call them 'designer rotis', they were so unique you see;)

Gini, Lakshmi: am glad you liked the pics.

kitchenmate: feels good to know that!

Archana: if i can do that, trust me, it has to be that easy.

Rekha: Yes, you can. with chicken the cooking time wouldn't take more than 30minutes too.

Lera: Thankyou

Courtney: am thrilled, and thanks for letting me know!

Ashwini said...

Wow! I dont know about the connoiseur in you but the pathiri sure satisfied this naive foodie!
Is ishtu made out of a variety of veggies too (like avial)? Or is it just meat ishtu?

Anonymous said...

Hi Reshma,
Are you from North Kerala? Oh,How did I miss your blog all this time? I was always looking for North Kerala kind of recipes - since you know North Kerala has a totally different way of cooking and it is soo tasty. I will try out this recipe and let you know.

CyberRowdy(Q8TechDrive) said...

you said it...ishtyle aah? like uschool...lol...super recipe...

IIC, what are you doing here? go back and write something more on the blog...lol...

Anonymous said...

looks good reshma! can the ishtu be made without meat for veggies like me?? :)

cheers!

Anonymous said...

err...make that veggie'tarian!!!

sometimes the hand is faster than the brain :)

cheers!

reshma said...

Ashwini, Saffron Hut :yes, ishtu can be made with vegetables also- potato, cauliflower, carrots, beans, peas...after all what's life without a few blunder's Saffron?;)

l: yes, am from kozhikode . I haven't tasted much of authentic south-kerala dishes, so this could be a win-win for both of us:)

qtech : athanne ishtaa!

Anonymous said...

Hi Reshma,

That is a fantastic ari pathiri. I found easier way of making that by using rice powder. But must be more tastier i think. I will try this and let you know.

Shah cooks said...

hi,
Your ari pathiri is definitely worth trying. I make the neriya pathiri from imported pathiri podi but this looks like one in between the neriya and katti pathiri.How liquid should the maavu be? like dosa or like appam?

Anonymous said...

I wonder if you have tried cooking in olive oil. There is a common misconception that olive oil is only for mediterranean food. This isn't the case. Olive pomace oil is great for Indian food. It isn't too expensive either - because it is used in 1/3 the quantity and is reusable 3 times. You can fry in it too. And, of course, it's the best oil for health. Try it out. You can get it easily at www.leonardoolives.com . They provide the entire range of olive oil and of very high quality. And they deliver free and have a special discount for caterers! Olive oil is my new discovery as a cook. It seems you also look at cooking as a creative experience, so I'm sure you'll enjoy experimenting with it. Try it out.

Anonymous said...

I am slowwly getting drawn to kerala cuisine. I have only had appam and avail before but seeing the gamut of recipes, I should plan on cooking it ...Thanks... love your recipes.

Unknown said...

hey..u always specify things in terms of lb instead of kg.What exactly is lb?

reshma said...

Nisha, by lb I mean pound, and accoprdning to dear old wikipedia one pound is equal to 0.45359237 kilograms.

Anonymous said...

Wow ! The photographs are mindblowing.Its tempting.Reshma,ponni rice we dont get here.What if I try with Basmati Rice ? will be alright ?

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viswa said...

Delicious and pretty Mutton Curry, Mouth Watering.

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