INDRIYAPPAM AND PAL

The Israelites fled Egypt in a hurry. They didn't have enough time to let the bread rise, meaning they had to bake unleavened bread. Jews celebrate this during the feast of Unleavened bread in remembrance of their escape from Egypt. When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples the day before his crucifixion, Christians celebrated the feast of Passover in remembrance of Jesus' Last Supper. 

In Kerala, India, pesaha appam(indriyappam) and pesaha pal are eaten on Maundy Thursday to represent the unleavened bread of the Last Supper. Every family has different traditions. In my family, on Maundy Thursday night (usually after dinner ), the family gathers around the table, reads the passage of the last supper from the Bible, and then the head of the family dips a slice of indriyappam in the pesaha pal and distributes it to the family members in descending order of age. I was introduced to indriyappam after marriage.(My mother used hot cross buns, available in most bakeries during Maundy Thursday.)

My mother-in-law makes indriyappam and pal in the morning and prepares it for the evening so that she has time to attend Maundy Thursday services at church. My husband loves this so much that he loves idly made with idly batter that's not fermented, which is the same thing.
 So,  indriyappam is unleavened bread, which makes it easy to come up with your own recipe. I make it with my appam recipe, sans the yeast, add some urad dal, do not give it time for fermentation, and pour it into moulds and steam them. You can use unfermented idly batter, too.


INDRIYAPPAM

Ingredients:(it's the same as the appam batter except urad dal is added instead of yeast)

1. Raw rice(raw rice idly rice, or basmati rice) - 1 cup
2. Grated coconut - 1 cup (80 gms.)
3. 1 Tbsp urad dal
4. Salt - 1/2 tsp 
5. Cooked rice (boiled rice or the matta rice) -1/2 cup
6. 1/8 tsp cumin seeds(optional)
7. 1 garlic clove(optional)
8. water-1 cup lukewarm  

METHOD 

• Soak the 1 Tbsp urad dal along with rice overnight or for 4 to 6 hours. 
  

  

  
  
  

  

• Grind it the same way as appam batter. Personally, I don't like adding garlic and cumin seeds, so I skip them.But adding cumin and garlic avoids gastric problems.  
  

  

• This can be made and kept in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours.

STEAMING THE INDRIYAPPAM

• Put a steamer (idly steamer) with 1 cup of water and a separator(trivet) on high heat, covered with a lid.
  

  
• Oil 2 cake pans. I have used 6-inch and 8-inch cake pans for this.
• Pour the batter into the pans to fill about 1 inch of the pan, and when the water in the steamer boils and steam comes out, put the pan into it , cover  and steam it for 12 minutes, on medium-high heat.(reduce from high to medium-high after the steam comes)
  

  

         

            

• My 8-inch pan does not fit into the idly steamer, so I steamed it in my pressure pan (without putting the weight) on medium-high heat for 12 minutes.
  

  

• Let the pans cool for about 7 to 10 minutes. Run a knife around the side of the pan and invert it to a plate. OR alternately the appam can be cut in the pan and taken out as pieces. 
  
  
  
  
  

NOTES

• Rice powder can be used instead of soaked rice(appam /idiyappam podi readily available in the stores). Substitute 1 and 1/4 cup rice powder and use 1 and 1/2 cup water.
• Appam made with basmati rice is the best and softest.
• The leftovers can be stored in the fridge and steamed again before eating. (Microwaving does not work)

PESAHA PAL--INGREDIENTS

1. 2 cups coconut milk squeezed from 2 cups grated coconut(160 gms.), using sufficient water. The first milk is separated; the rest of the milk can be combined.
2.  If it's freshly grated coconut, I extract the milk three times. If using frozen grated coconut, I extract it only twice. 
3. 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. jaggery syrup  or 125 gms jaggery boiled with 4 Tbsp of water 
4. 2 Tbsp.  fine rice powder(appam /idiyappam podi readily available in the stores)
5.  salt to taste(start 1/4 tsp and add more as per taste)

METHOD

• In a bowl, put 2 Tbsp. rice powder and gradually stir in the first coconut milk. Mix well till there are no lumps.
• In a saucepan, pour the second and last milk and jaggery syrup and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Stirring can be done occasionally. It's okay if the milk curdles, but chances are it won't because it's the second and third milk. The whole coconut cream is in the first milk. 
• When the coconut-jaggery mixture boils, pour in the rice powder-coconut milk mixture and salt. Keep stirring the mixture, bring it to a rolling boil, and then turn the stove off. 
• Don't stop stirring. Keep stirring until the mixture stops boiling. Then turn on the stove. Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes, even after turning off the stove. The pal will be thick enough now. Remember that the pal will thicken as it cools, so don't cook too long. Take it off the stove, cover it, and keep it.
•  The mixture will thicken as it rests.

• Check for sweetness, and add sugar if required. The color of the pesaha pal will differ based on the color of the jaggery. The darker the jaggery, the darker the pal. 

                                       

NOTES

• The recipe can be doubled or halved. My family has this for breakfast the next day, too. So I need to make 1-1/2 of the recipe given, both the indriyappam and pal.
• The salt accentuates the sweetness. When you taste the sweetness at the back of your tongue, add a little more salt and you can taste the sweetness at the front of your tongue. 
• The pesaha pal can be stored in the refrigerator for a day. Microwave it on very low power before serving. Anything made with coconut milk will curdle fast while heating, so be careful.
• The pesaha appam, if refrigerated, should be steamed well before serving. Do not microwave. 
• Adding the rice-coconut milk mixture toward the end gives a silky-smooth mixture. This is my mom's technique, and I follow it.