Paalappam

Ingredients

    Rice Flour -  2 cups
    Rapid Rise Highly Active Yeast – 1 tsp
    Sugar – 3 tbsp
    Rava (Semolina) – 2 tbsp
    Thick Coconut Milk – 1/2 to 1 Cup (I use Canned Coconut Milk)
    Water – As needed
    Salt – to taste

   Preparation Method for Batter

    For making Rava Kurukku (Semolina Paste) which is a thick paste, take 2 cups of water in a saucepan and add 2 tbsp of rava (semolina). Bring it to a boil stirring continuously. Reduce the heat to low and continue stirring. When the mixture changes to a thick paste, remove it from heat and allow it to cool.

    If you are in a hurry and do not want to keep the batter overnight for fermenting, then you can use any Rapid Rise Yeast. I use Fleischman Rapid Rise Yeast for quicker fermentation.

    In a big bowl, combine 2 cups of Rice Flour, 3 tbsp Sugar, cooled Rava Kurukku (Semolina Paste), 1 tsp Rapid Rise Yeast along with 1/2 cup Coconut Milk and a pinch of salt. Add around 1/2 to 1 cup water or more and whisk everything to form a smooth and thick batter. The batter
    should be thick because after fermentation it will rise and become thinner in consistency.
   
    Leave the batter in a warm place for around 3-4 hours and allow it to ferment.

   

    For making Palappams in a Palappam Chatti

    For making Palappam with the same batter, just before preparing palappam, add 1-2 tbsp of sugar and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of coconut milk to the batter and mix well. The batter should be loose in consistency similar to that of Dosa batter.

    Pour a ladle full of batter into a Palappa Chatti (deep round pan used for Palappams) and swirl the pan lightly, spreading the batter to the sides of the pan.

    Cover with lid and allow it to cook for around 3 minutes on medium heat. When the center of appam is done and the edges start detaching, remove the palappam carefully from the pan. Do not flip palappams.

    If you like the edges or laces to be golden brown, add more sugar to the batter.

Christmas celebrated in Kottayam

Christmas was observed in the Kottayam district of  Kerala with religious fervour and joyful celebrations.
Special masses were held in every church amid huge turnouts of devotees thronging the surroundings in many places including the C.S.I. Holy Trinity Cathedral, Christ the King Cathedral, Lourde Forane Church, Mar Elia Cathedral, St. George Orthodox Church, Puthuppally; and St. Mary's Cathedral, Manarcad.
People representing all sections of society actively participated in celebrating the occasion.
In a statement, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Metropolitan and Catholicos of the East Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II urged the public to refrain from celebrating the occasion in a lavish manner.
He also stressed on the importance of co-existing with one another in harmony.
Delivering his address at the Christmas eve celebrations at the St. Thomas Orthodox Church in Kangazha (Changanassery taluk) on Friday night, Mar Thoma Syrian Church Senior Metropolitan Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostom pointed out that the Christmas is a celebration of peace and hard work.
The Almighty resides in the minds of those who selflessly support the needy and deprived, he said.
Dr. Thomas Mar Themotheos, Metropolitan of Kottayam diocese, Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, in his Christmas message, called for peace and harmony all over the world.
He also warned against the dangers of consuming alcohol, which is wrongly being perceived as a norm during such celebrations.

CUISINES:

Like the unique cultural and heritage of the state, the cuisines of Kerala are unique, special and remain unmatched when it comes to pleasing, the plates. The Malayalee food platter reflects the culinary expertise of the people. Generally, Kerala’s cuisine is hot, spicy , fresh, aromatic and flavored.

Since Kerala is a rice producing state, keralite thrives mostly on fish and rice. Some of the most commonly used ingredients in its traditional food are coconut, chilly, curry leaf, mustard seed, tamarind and asafetida. Thus the dishes are a mix of the local produce and the traditional expertise, with the coconut and banana being the inseparable part of the delicacies. Besides the cuisine can also be classified under the two categories – vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. While the non vegetarian dishes are all heavily spiced, the vegetarian repertoire is mildly spiced and feels especially easier o the non native tough.

Spice of life:

Kerala is famous for its traditional Sadhya, a vegetarian meal served with boiled rice and a host of side dishes. As per custom, it is served on a banana leaf. Traditional dishes include sambar, avail, kalan, thoran, injipully, pulisherry, and so on. Coconut is an essential ingredient in most of the food items and liberally used.

Puttu is a culinary specialty of Kerala. It is a steamed rice cake, which is favorite breakfast dish of most Malayalees. Puttu is prepared from rice flour and steamed in long hollow bamboo or metal cylinder served with either brown chickpeas cooked in spicy gravy, papadum and boiled small green lentils, or tiny ripe yellow Kerala plantains. In the highlands there is also a variety of Puttu served with paani( boiled down syrup of sweet  palm toddy ) and sweet boiled bananas.

Another popular dish in Kerala is Appam which is a soft pancake made from toddy fermented rice batter, with a softy spongy centre, laced with a crispy edges. Appam is generally eaten with vegetable, chicken or mutton stew thoroughly mellowed with thick coconut milk and garnished with curry leaves.

A combination of kappa (tapioca) and Meen (fish) curry is every Malayalees delight. This delicious fish curry is prepared from garlic paste, onions, and red chilies and seasoned with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Apart from meals, various snacks also form integral part of the keralite cuisine. Snacks like banana chips; murukku, made from batter of rice, pulses and spices; shakkaraperatti made of banana chunks coated with jiggery and ginger; and various kinds of halwas, made from flour and sugar, and flavored with fruits and nuts, can be munched on through out the day.

A meal is not complete without a desert right? Yup, desserts are served midway through the meals. There are different types of payasam, such as the lentil payasam, jackfruit payasam, Bengal gram payasam and so on. Adapradhaman, a rich payasam with thin rice wafers is considered as top delicacy. Another type o payasam, which is also delicious Palpayasam which is made out of rich milk, sugar and garnished with cashews and raisins.

AYURVEDA:

Ayurveda is derived from two Sanskrit words Ayur that means life and Veda mean knowledge or science. The origin of Ayurveda has been traced back to the Vedic periods, particularly to the Atharva Veda. As a formal and organized system of health care, it has a history of a little more than three thousand years. It is a fact that, among the entire complimentary and alternative systems of medicines like, traditional Chinese medicines, Tibetan medicine, unani, African and European herbal medicines. Ayurveda is unique in its vast volumes of documented knowledge, which is also known to be the oldest. Oldest documented treaties of Ayurveda are Charaka Samhita, which was written in the early periods of the Christian era. There are very many classical formulation mentioned in it, which are still in vogue. Several other treatises like Susrutha Samhita, Ashtangahridaya, etc followed in the subsequent centuries. They are all written in the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. There are others written later in Hindi and other Indian regional languages like Malayalam. All these treatises, which are more than a few hundred in number, are all recorded documents of collective experiences.

Ayurveda is essentially a philosophy of life. It perceives human beings as integral parts of nature. a traditional healing system, it brought to fore the fact that good health is a combination of a healthy balance between the five elements: fire, earth , ether, water and air. Ayurveda works by stressing on these factors and follow the concepts of three bio-energies known as doshas- vata, pitha and kapha. Vata is ether and air, pita is fire and water and kapha is water and earth. All these dosha’s exist in al human bodies n varying degrees. When their constitutions become unbalanced, the human system feels discomfort and unease.

Ayurveda aims at detoxifying the body and restoring its overall balance. This process includes meditation, yoga and massages and a specific diet is prescribed after observing a person, by prasna (questions) and by sparshana (touching). Food pollution, stress, and climate can disrupt the bodies equilibrium. A controlled lifestyle keeps the human system healthy and ensures a perfect balance between the body and the mind.

Though Ayurveda has been a popular form of medicine for centuries, it could not gain the prominence it deserved in India. There are many reasons – firstly the foreign invasion affected the practice of Ayurveda. The Muslims who invaded India closed down a lot of Ayurveda colleges, and later the Britishers shut down the remaining ones. It continued to be practiced secretly and so did not totally lose its significance. It regained its lost prominence after India attained independence. Ayurveda colleges and institutes were re establishment of universities and colleges and the 1970s saw a rise in the popularity of Ayurveda form of medicine.

Over the past few decades, the power and popularity of this ancient medicine has risen considerably. Kerala with its abundant fauna and flora provided an ideal location for the science to evolve and develop, as this form is largely inspired by nature and natural produce. Ayurveda and its success stories got global appeal, giving it international acceptance. Awareness about its curative effect and lack of harmful side effects made it a preferred choice among people- both in India and abroad. An Ayurveda treatment aims at rejuvenating the mind and body by flushing out the toxins and brings back the body to normal condition.

There are three dedicated Ayurveda universities and more than a couple of hundred colleges imparting Ayurveda education in the under graduate, post graduate and doctoral courses. Similarly the drug manufacturing industry is also highly regulated under the provisions of the drugs and cosmetics acts and rule of the government of India. Only licensed and GMP (good manufacturing practices) accredited manufacturers can produce and market Ayurveda drugs now. The department of AYUSH is also engaged in long term projects of bringing out official formularies and pharmacopoeial standards for ayurvedic medicines. Several volumes of these statutory documents have already come out.

The government also supports formal research in core areas of Ayurveda. There are almost 9500 Ayurvedic drug manufacturing units across the country; some are major does with an annual turnover of more than Rs 200crore, and several others that are much smaller in size of operation, market reach and product range. Similarly, the drug sector also deals in exclusive classical formulaions whereas there are others which specialize in modern derivatives which take off from classical knowledge base.

SHOPPING

A visit is not complete without a shopping. Kerala is a shopping paradise. Choices are so vast that we ourselves will get confused what to buy from Kerala.  Every thing in Kerala is unique and extra ordinary Like Kerala handloom, spices, gold ornaments and souvenirs. Remember one thing while going for shopping in streets meant for that everything will be over priced. It is very common in all tourist destination that’s everything will be over priced. But taking back a souvenir from Kerala will remind you a wonderful holiday spent in God’s own country. Kerala shopping offers a wide variety of artifacts from traditional to modern. Anything and everything is available in Kerala.

• Spices:

The main reason Vasco De Gama coming to Kerala and all the other traders that followed were for its apices. Because of its tropical climate and the growing conditions Kerala has a wide variety of spices the state produce over 12 variety of spices including pepper , cardamom, clove, cinnamon.

• Aranmula Kannadi:

Aranmula Kannadi must buy from Kerala. It is specialty of the small village in Kerala Aranmula, which falls towards the south of the state. It is prepared by an alloy of copper, silver, brass, white led and bronze which is cast in wax before being finished by hand.

• The Kasavu Mundu and Saree:

This is the traditional outfit of a Malayalee. It is cream colour with gold border. The cooling colors of the outfit are keeping in mind the climatic conditions of the state. The Kasavu Mundu and Saree are available I most of the garment shops in Kerala. Though today the Kasavu Mundu and Saree have changed and they come in different designs and color but background colour and gold border remains the same.

• Jewellery:

Gold jewellery is the specialty of Kerala. All keralite love gold. It shows the status of the family. Every city of the state is full of numerous gold shops with a wide variety of designs and price range to choose from. Though a lot of silver places have been set up Kashmiries in the state, which offer a lot of north Indian style of jewellery.

• Mural Painting:

Mural painting is a traditional Kerala art, which was developed between 15^th and 19^th century. Mural art works adorn the walls of temples depicting mythological scenes. These art forms generally use rich colours like red, green and yellow. The price of the painting varies according to its size.

• Food:

Because of its history of invaders and traders the cuisine of Kerala is very different. One can use from scrumptious vegetarian food to very spicy on – vegetarian dishes, to biriyani to sea food. The Muslims in Kerala are famous for the mouth watering biriyani they prepare. Kerala has a long cost line and thus a lot of exotic sea food dishes are prepared here.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The traditional Kerala spread is known as sadhya. A sadya is a big feast associated with a special occasion, such as marriage, birthday child birth etc. Sadhya is traditionally a vegetarian meal served on a plantain or banana leaf; people eat sitting cross legged on the floor. Sadhya can have 24 – 28 dishes served in it. The dishes are plain boiled rice, many curries, papadum, plain yogurt or butter mil, Dal, sambar, Rasam, banana, plantain chips and 2 or more sweet dishes called payasam. The curries are made of different vegetables and have different flavorings.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

AREA: 2192 Sq Km

POPULATION: 3234707

ALTITUDE: Sea level

ACCESS: 
Air:  Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (6 Km)

Rail: Thiruvanthapuram Central.

Thiruvananthapuram is a perfect mix of nature’s beauty, art, culture, history, legends and business alleys. The southernmost District of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram city is the Kerala’s capital and houses central and state government offices and is also the political nerve of the state.

The name is driven from Thiru- Anantha- puram, meaning the “Abode of Lord Anantha”. The city built on seven hills has a long history and is dotted with Palaces and temples dating back centuries. Marthanda Varma (1729-1758AD), the father of modern Travancore was a great ruler. However, cultural progress and economic stability came in with the rule of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal (1829-1847AD) . Formally known as Trivandrum, the natives had trade relations with the outside world from as early as 1000 BC.

Thiruvananthapuram continues to an important centre for industrial development. India’s first IT Park, Techno Park was established herein the year 1995. District is an Ideal location for an enthusiastic and adventurous traveler to explore.

Can’t miss in Thiruvananthapuram:

• Kovalam Beach
• Varkala beach
• Ajengo fort
• Ponmudi Hills
• Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple
• Kuthiramalika Palace
• Sree Chitra Art Gallery
• The napier Museum
• The Zoological Park
• Kanakakunnu Palace
• The Akkulam Tourist Village
• The Veli Tourist Village
• Agastyakoodam
• The Neyyar Dam
• The Aruvikkara Dam
• The Padmanabhapuram Place

KOLLAM

AREA: 2579 Km

POPULATION: 2584118

ALTITUDE: Sea level

ACCESS: 
Air: Thiruvananthapuram International airport (78 km south)

Rail: Kollam junction

Kollam, formerly known as Quilon, is endowed with a long coastal region and an old sea port town covered by the renowned Ashtamudi Lake. The district is blessed with unique features such as stretching from the mountain of the Western Ghats to the waters of the Arabian Sea; this south Kerala district has all the natural attractions that can be found throughout the rest of the state. Dense reserve forest with an eco tourism destination in the high ranges, verdant plantations with commercial crops and spices in the foothills, lush paddy and other cultivation in the plains and the costal belt, and the sparkling beaches along the sea cost – the essence of God’s Own Country.

The 16^th century Portuguese writer Duaret Barbossa mentioned about Kollam as “A very great city “. Extolled by travelers like Plini, Marco Polo and Ibn Batutta, Kollam was an ancient Urban maritime trade centre from the beginning of the Christian era.. Frequented by travelers and traders from the days of Roman Empire who came seeking the famed spices of the coasts, Kollam has since 19^th century been home for the cashew industry. The busting town is located on the sea shore and alongside the Ashtamudi lake. It is the centre of Kerala’s cashew processing industry. Its ancient sea port has attracted traders and travelers from different parts of the world. From centuries past. They include Marco Polo, Ibn Batuta and Sulaiman of Siraf (Persia). Though a Syrian trader is credited with developing the town in the 9^th century, there is a advance of a flourishing community in the locality with ancient trade and cultural links to Far and Middle east Asian trading centers. Portuguese traders started settlements in Kollam around 1500AD, and they were followed by Dutch and the British.

Can’t miss out in Kollam:

• Ahtamudi Lake:
• Thangassery (Colonial Village):
• Thenmala Ecotourism Destination:
• Palaruvi Waterfall:
• Achankovil Lord Ayyappa Temple:
• Ochira Lord Shiva Temple: