Idiyappam or string hoppers are popular South Indian breakfast dish made of very few ingredients like rice flour and water. In Kerala, these are usually served with vegetable stew. In some parts of Kerala, these are called nool puttu, while in Tamil Nadu, sevai is a popular breakfast dish. I’ll give you plenty of tips and tricks to make your family go ‘wow’.Ok, let’s do this. Start with the number one tip.1. Use good quality rice flourIf you really want to make idiyappams that taste great, you need to buy good quality rice flour. Classic idiyappam recipes call for raw rice flour. And that’s exactly why you must visit your local Indian grocery store. Raw rice flour is totally different from the regular rice flour you buy from other grocery stores.2. Roast the flourRoasted rice flour is readily available from Indian chops. Look for “idiyappam podi, appam podi” etc. If you can’t find roasted rice flour for your idiyappam recipe, buy regular rice flour and roast it at home. All you need to do is lightly fry it over low flame. Don’t forget to stir continuously.3. Use boiling waterIt is important to allow the water to come to a boil before adding it to rice flour. Warm water is not enough if you want soft and delicious idiyappam.4. Don’t let dough cool completelyWell, this is obviously a very important tip. While you’re pressing the idiyappam, the dough needs to be slightly warm. That way, idiyappam remains soft and holds it's shape really well.

#deepfried - This can be a perfect party appetizer. Made from some leftover Idiyappam (string hoppers) and ground urad dal. My first try and they came out absolutely yummy. So go ahead and give it a try and surprise your loved ones. Serve along with tomato sauce, green chutney, mayo or hummus. They can also be relished as a side dish with dal chawal, curd rice or sambar rice.

#colourwhite

#FestiveModak is the most popular dish of the festival Ganesh Chaturthi. Generally modak is made with rice flour and coconut stuffing. I made these modak little different from the traditional one, with the flavor of Puran poli which is also a very famous festive dish.

It is a savoury, crunchy, cracker made from rice flour, with peanut sprinkle or anchovy.

ITAK GURGUR or often called Pancasila cake because this cake is shaped by gripping with five fingers. "Itak" in Batak language means rice milled traditionally, "Gurgur" means burning / scalding. Thus, itak gurgur can be thought of as a food for encouragement.Itak Gurgur is usually made on certain occasions in Batak, such as when mutual aid is needed, like when raising a pillar of the house. Itak gurgur is made of very simple ingredients, namely rice pounded into flour.As already mentioned earlier (in the Pohulpohul recipe), that both of these cakes are similar but have some differences. The information obtained from various sources, one of which is from Restawati Manurung in an undergraduate thesis entitled : Descriptive Study and Musicological Gondang Sabangunan in Mardebata Ceremony.HOW TO MAKE Rice Flour: soak the rice overnight or 12 hours, then drain. Air dry, then mash or blend in a chopper/grinder or food processor. Sift, then steam or roast for 20 minutes. Cool, and it's ready to be processed into itak gurgur. Pandan leaves are used when steaming/roasting flour.TIPS : Because the flour is basically cooked, after mixing the ingredients... Itak Gurgur can be directly eaten. The use of hot water in the recipe below is used when using roasted flour, but if using a steamed flour the hot water is not needed (because steamed flour is already moist, making it easier when mixing --- do when fresh out of the steamer and still in warm).

#reststyle - This is a very popular side dish from the State of Tamil Nadu and is included in the menu platter / meal in any South Indian restaurant. It is a simple preparation of raw banana with lots of fresh grated coconut added to the end product. This simple delicacy is traditionally served with curd-rice, sambar-rice or rasam-rice. You may also have it with any kind of Indian bread. It is a quick recipe, both healthy and nutritious with minimum of oil and spices.

This is a recipe I learnt from my parents. This is a traditional mangalorean dish, and tastes amazing!There is another variant of this made in northern India ( Gujarat ) where the rice and the coconut are replaced with gram flour.Try it out, and enjoy!

This was my first attempt to make rice pancake or appam or hopper. It is made from rice flour, fresh coconut milk and yeast. In this recipe I use small moulds to cook them instead of a non-stick appam pan.I lightly beat four eggs and used a spoon to scoop in the egg.

#nonindian - This is a typical East African breakfast menu that are very popular. On this platter you will find MANDAZI, a deep fried doughnut which is the most favourite of all. It is generally served with tea or chai in the Swahili lingo. The other dish is UJI WA WIMBI, a porridge made of millet flour. Next comes NDUMA (Arrowroot) & SWEET POTATO, that are boiled and shallow fried. So the locals generally start their day with either of these dishes or as preferred. All in all a healthy breakfast to kick start a day.

Avial or Aviyal is a traditional side dish served as an accompaniment to rice. It is considered as an essential side dish of a Sadya especially Onam Sadya (a traditional vegetarian banquet). Avial has a unique position in Kerala as well as Tamil cuisine. It is a mixture of all kind of vegetables except soft and pulpy vegetables. You can include or exclude a vegetable, depending on the availability.

 #cookpaddessertPatishapta is one of the popular dessert related to Bengali Tradition. It's very tasty and popular dessert, has made with very simple ingredients available in your local market. A sweet flavor of coconut make it more delicious. Let's cook.