لقيمات/ Luqaimat

These traditional Emirati crunchy dumplings is one dish that every Arab will have on their table spread for Iftar. Luqaimat is deep fried, yeast based dumpling that is usually drizzled with date syrup/ honey or even sugar syrup. Luqaimat literally means “little bites” and these are indeed little bites that you can’t get enough of!

They are crunchy on the outside and mostly hollow on the insides, making it a really delicious “little bite” along with the drizzle of date syrup and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. These are very easy to prepare, you just to prepare the batter an hour in advance.

If your proportions of the yeast batter goes wrong, chances are that the dumplings can get oily, soggy or even flat. So you need to get your batter right.. for that, follow the instructions below:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Lukewarm Water
1 tbsp instant Yeast
1 tbsp Sugar
2 cups All purpose Flour
2 tbsp Corn Flour
2 tbsp Milk powder (optional)
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Oil
Water
Vegetable oil, for frying
Sesame seeds for garnishing

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar.
To this, add in all the ingredients except for oil and mix and combine well using a whisk.
Now add in the oil and mix. Now, cover and set aside for an hour allow to rise.
After one hour, wet your fingers with water and take a tiny bit of the batter with all your fingers and drop into hot oil. (The water helps the batter to slide off your fingers easily)
Fry the dumplings until golden brown.
Top off with date syrup, honey or date syrup and garnish with sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Ps: Make sure the oil is super hot before dropping the dumplings to the oil, or else chances are the dumplings can get oily.

You may also use a piping bag and scissors to drop the batter into the oil.

Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡

Malabar Kaayi Curry

What is Eid without the nostalgic Kaayi Curry that we, Malabaris have prepare with lots of love, on the eve of Eid. My husband loves his Grandmom's food and the best of hers being her Kayi porichat (banana fritters), pulivaral (a fried banana dough snack) and our renowned Kayi curry. And for him, whenever I make the pazham pori, it's doesn't come upto her mark, but this one I always nail it, it seems! :D Alhamdulilah! It isn't easy to get his approval.

For me it’s nostalgic as this is what my ummama always offers me whenever we visit her for Perunal (Eid), though I used to dislike kayi curry as a child, I am so fond of it now, as it is a pure labor of love ❤️

The name curry, can give a misconception that the recipe has spicy tones to the dish. Well, it's more like a payasam/kheer. Spilt Chana dal is soaked and boiled and kept aside. Ari pidi/ thin rice dumplings are rolled using fingers, steamed and set aside. Then plantains are cooked in the thin coconut milk/ second coconut milk and boiled until cooked well, to which soaked white rice is ground and made to a paste, the paste is added as a thickening agent and to which the first milk or the thick coconut milk is added. I like this curry/ payasam, as it is free of any fatty elements like ghee, cashews etc. (yeah but of course, we have the irreplaceable sugar in it :/)

Kaayi Curry is not only fun to prepare, yet it's easy and delicious. It's something fun to do with your family, the pidi making session is always a family bonding time with giggles and jokes :D

Kaayi curry has a lot of different names, some call it pidi curry, ari pidi Kayi Curry etc. We make this for all occasions too. Let's make some delicious Kaayi curry and surprise your folks at home! :D

Ingredients :

1 cup Ari/ pathiri podi * (rice powder)
Salt, as required
Water, as required
1/4 Cup Split Chana dal (soaked at least for 4-5 hours)
2 medium plantains/ Kerala banana, slit and chopped
1 cup White granulated Sugar
Salt,a pinch
1 box Shredded coconut
1+ 1 1/2 cups warm Water
3 Cardamom pods
3 tbsp Pachari/ white rice (soaked in water at least for 1/2 hr)

Instructions :

In a bowl, add the ari podi/ rice flour and add in the salt, add enough water and make into a dough (not too loose not too tight)
In a clean banana leaf/ aluminum foil, make thin dumplings by applying oil over your hands, and taking a small ball of the dough on one palm and rolling with the help of the other hand's index finger, into a small and thin cylinder shape. Heap them all together and steam the ari pidi/ rice dumplings for 20- 25 minurtes.
Meanwhile, in a small pot, cook the soaked split Chana dal in water with little salt and cook until soft and not mushy.
Once the ari pidi has steamed, sprinkle water over the steamed dumplings, this step helps the pidi from not sticking to each other.
Extract the thick milk from the shredded coconut , by adding the shredded coconut to a mixer grinder, add in the warm water, and cardamom pods. Sieve, squeeze and extract the thick milk and set aside.
To the same ground and squeezed coconut add it into the mixer, and pour the 1 1/2 cups warm water and repeat the process of extracting again, this is the thin coconut milk/ second

coconut milk.
In a large pot, add in your slit and chopped plantains, sugar and the extracted thin coconut milk and a pinch of salt, allow to cook until the plantains are tender.
Meanwhile, make a paste by grinding teh soaked white rice with very little water.
Into the pot, add the steamed and cooled ari pidi, cooked Chana dal and bring it to a boil. Check if sugar or salt is required.
Next add the ground pachari paste and mix simultaneously and allow to thicken.
Finally add in the thick coconut milk and increase flame, one bubbles starts to form at the edges, switch off the flame. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!