Corn meal idiyappam

Well...!!! The story goes like this. I was running in short of corn flour and asked my hubby to bring 1 pack of it. He, by mistake, bought 'Corn Meal' instead of 'Corn flour'. It looked almost similar to gram flour. I came to know it is healthier than corn flour as it is very natural. So, I used it for making koftas. But was not very happy with it. So, I was just googling about it and things to do with it. Found nothing as per my preference. Then, it was my hubby, who is a big idiyappam fan, gave this awesome idea. He, of course was joking about this, but I took it serious and simply gave a try. Both me and my darling hubby liked it very much. A biig thanks for my hubby, for bringing me this stuff and especially for giving this awesome idea.

I have used some rice flour to bring out a nice texture to these idiyappams. It makes a very healthy breakfast or dinner menu.

Ingredients

• Corn meal - 1 cup
• Rice flour - 1/2 cup
• Salt - as per taste
• Water - 1.5 cup (or as required to knead the dough)
• Oil - 1/2 tsp
• Oil for greasing idli molds

Method

• In a pan, dry roast the corn meal. Keep stirring it continuously. Roast until you get a good aroma out of it. It will take up to 5 minutes. Keep the heat in medium.

• Turn off the heat and add the rice flour. Mix well and keep it aside

 

•  Bring 1.5 cup of water to boil. Add salt and oil. It should boil really well. 

 

• Pour this water to the flour, slowly, continuously mixing and make sure that the water should not be added too much. Also, do not add cold water. So, boil some extra water in the begining.

 

• Make this to a smooth dough

 

• Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes
• Grease your idli molds with oil

 

• Divide the dough in to 2 equal portions and fill your idiyappam press with this dough. Use the one with small holes.

 

• Press it in a circular motion on idli plate in the form of long strings. 

 

• Stake them in a steamer and steam for 8-10 minutes in a medium heat.

 

• Serve hot with chutney or sweet coconut milk or any coconut based curry.

 

 SERVE

Wheat Idiyappam

 

I Love Idiyappam / String hoppers / Nool puttu or whatever you call it. I often prepare Rice Idiyappam and then thought of making a slight variation to the same recipe, by adding wheat flour to it.
We had it with coconut chutney. These are perfect for breakfast / dinner, as it is steamed and is easy to digest. And of course, it is easy to prepare.
I roasted the wheat flour a bit in order to remove the raw smell from it. Adding little rice flour will make it more fluffy.
So here's the recipe.

Ingredients

• Wheat flour - 1 cup
• Rice flour - 1/2 cup
•  Water- 1 cup and little more
• Salt - as per taste
• Oil - 1 tsp

Method

• In a pan dry roast the wheat flour. Roast it for about 5 minutes. You will get an aroma from it. 

• Switch off the flame and add the rice flour. Mix well and keep it aside

 

• In a vessel, bring water to boil. Add salt and oil to it. Allow it to bubble. 

 

• Pour this hot water immediately to the rice and wheat flour mixture. Mix with a spoon or spatula as it will be very hot to deal with your hands. Try to make a soft dough. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

 

• Take your string hopper/ idiyappam maker and fill the dough. Use the one with thin holes.

 

• Grease your idli plates and keep them ready. 

• Press the idiyappam maker in a circular motion on the greased idli plate. 

 

• Do it for rest of the dough.

• Stack the plate and steam it for 8-10 minutes in a medium flame. 

 

• Your wheat idiyappam is now ready. Serve it with chutney / any coconut based curry.

 

Notes

• Make sure to boil the water really well before adding it to the flour. It will make your idiyappam light and soft. Also, make sure to add water little by little, mixing it continuously, so that you don't add more and make the dough watery.