Microwave Idiyappam

The schools are closed here for the summer holidays and so I have a 2 weeks long break from work. Holidays give me another reason to celebrate, experiment and relax in my own way. I think this break is going to turn out to be a South India cuisine week, apart from the other non-food things planned. Yesterday I made neer dosas. There is idli batter fermenting in the kitchen right now. Today I made amazing idiyappams/string hoppers/shewey/semiya for lunch.Here's the recipe.

You will need: Serves 2-3
A non-stick pot
3.5 cups water
1 tablespoon of oil
salt
3 cups rice flour
idli steamer
oil for greasing the idli stands
Sev maker

Boil 3.5 cups water with salt and 1 tablespoon of oil. Add 3 cups rice flour to the boiling water. Turn off the stove immediately and mix the ingredients thoroughly. It'll form into a dough. Divide it into 6 portions.

Push the dough into the sev maker. (Remember to choose the correct sev attachment, not too thin, nor too thick.) Close it tight and press the noodles onto greased idli plates.

***Please note that the process of pressing the idiyappams can be tiring, so relax your
hand muscles when a batch is steaming.

I used a microwable idli maker. If you don't have one you could use a regular steamer. Microwave for 5 minutes. 

That's all! The Idiyappams are ready. Turn them over into a keep warm casserole and serve hot with stew or yummy egg curry like we did. :)

(Repeat the process of pressing the noddles and steaming till all the dough is over.)

Coffee time special: A date, walnut, apricot and cranberry cake

My parents are here this summer and that is enough reason to celebrate. Here is one of the many treats I prepared for them. 

This recipe is a variation of a date and walnut cake recipe I found online. The original recipe had too many fruits in comparison to the cake, and raisins instead of apricot and cranberries. I also recommend roughly pureeing the dates in a blender.

Here is our last Sunday’s Coffee time special:

150 grams brown sugar

100 grams butter

3 eggs

150 grams all-purpose flour

1.5 teaspoon baking powder

100 grams seedless dates

100 grams walnuts

60 grams dried cranberries

40 grams dried apricots

1 cup water

In a cooking pot boil a cup of water. Add the dates. Turn off the heat and keep covered.

Cream the sugar and butter.

Whisk in the eggs and scrape the sides of the vessel at regular intervals.

Fold in the flour and mix well.

Now puree the dates in a blender and add to the cake mix.

Add the other fruits and mix well.

Pour the batter into a greased cake form and bake at 180 degrees C for 45-50 minutes or till a toothpick comes out of the cake clean.

Relishing the last piece of this cake as I write this post! Yummm!

DIY: Plant holder for a vertical garden

As a teenager it always fascinated me to watch carpenters at work turn planks of wood into beautiful pieces of furniture. The strength and the skill appeared magical. When I first came to Germany on holiday at the age of ten, I noticed that our German host had his own carpentry workshop in the house. He would spend few hours a day working on his masterpieces. Then I learned that it is very German to have at least some part of one’s home built by oneself. I was impressed then and continue to be impressed with the German attitude of self-reliance.

At the same time it's not that difficult for anyone to try their hand at carpentry or any other activities since the tools are easily available in specialised 'Baumarkt's (hardware stores) and often also in regular supermarkets at offer prices. Moreover, the staff at the stores give you all the guidance you need about the tool, its use and maintenance. If you are someone who prefers to watch and learn, then there are plenty videos to watch on the store’s website itself. Besides, Youtube is always there to help!

Over the last couple of years my husband and I have been collecting different tools to build and repair things at home. I had been thinking over a year to add to that collection and finally bought myself an electric saw earlier this year.

My first attempt at carpentry is this simple holder for hanging plants on the wall. Here is the intended framework.

I combined a wooden square frame that came with some electronic device we had ordered and added two scrap wooden pieces to form a cross in the centre of the frame.

I trimmed the sides with an electric saw and reinforced the joints with nails and carpenters glue.

Finally I sprayed the entire piece with white varnish and randomly sprayed red varnish to decorate.