08 April 2011

Easy Kalathappam in a Pressure Cooker


I have always been a great fan of this rice cake called Kalathappam. It’s only after I got married that I tried my hand at making this. I have always wondered and admired the way Kalathappam looks when you cut it. Lovely!!





So here is the recipe. I have seen many tedious never ending recipes for Kalathappam. This ones easy!!
This again is a North Malabar speciality. Very famous in Kannur and Thalassery. :)
Kalathappam is a rice cake which can be made in a traditional oven/ Pressure cooker/Oven.
It is made of rice flour, jaggery, fried shallots, cardamom and coconut flakes.




INGREDIENTS
Jeerakashala Rice /Short grain rice               1 cup
Cooked boiled Rice                                     ¼ cup     
Water                                                          1 cup + ½ cup
Cardamom                                                   2
Salt                                                              As required
Jaggery(Light brown)                                   200 gm (300g if you like it sweet)
Coconut Oil                                                3 tbsp
Coconut Flakes                                          2 tbsp
Shallots (Cheria Ulli)                                   2 tbsp     
Baking Soda                                              A pinch
SmallJeera                                                 A pinch




METHOD

Soak rice for 1/2 hour to 1 hour and keep to drain.  
Grind rice fine with 1 cup water, boiled rice, a pinch of salt, cardamom(remove skin) and jeera.
Transfer to a bowl/ vessel.
Add baking soda to the rice mixture and stir well.
In a vessel add jaggery with half cup water and let it melt on slow fire. Stir in between.
Pass the melted jaggery through a sieve into the rice mixture.
Add salt if required.
Heat the pressure cooker.
Add oil and sauté coconut flakes first and then add the finely chopped shallots.
Stir till its light brown and pour the rice jaggery mixture. Do not stir.
Close the cooker. Do not place the weight.
Cook on high flame for 1 ½ minutes and in low flame for 15 minutes.
Check if the Kalathappam is cooked by inserting a toothpick. It should come out clean. Else cook for another 5 minutes only.
Remove cooker from cook top and let cool.
When cool invert and serve.. 
  




Tips:
Use a small pressure cooker.
You can use good quality raw rice or basmati rice. (My readers tried it and it was successful)
I grind it in a mixer. It's easy.
Increase the jaggery if you like it sweet. 300 g would be sweet enough.
Stick to the time instructions for success. Make sure the flame is very low after 1 1/2 minutes of high flame else it will get burnt.
As the flame size may differ make sure you insert a toothpick in the center to see it its cooked. If it's not then cook for another 2 - 5 minutes and check.
Use good quality rice else it may become sticky.
Use fresh stock of baking soda.        
Adjust salt as required. It helps to bring out the flavours. 
Do not reduce the quantity of oil used else it may stick to the bottom of the cooker.                      


Have you prepared any recipes from the blog? If you feel like sharing your experiences and thoughts with me and the readers of my blog, you can send me a photo and your comments about the recipe (anything you changed / improved). I would be delighted to hear from you. Mail me to rinkuskitchentreats@gmail.com. Thank you!

50 comments:

  1. hi rinku i will surely try thr kalthappam
    regards
    jithi

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  2. Thanks Jithi..Yeah do try it and let me know.
    Regds

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  3. once again, rinku, a post that brings a smile to my face...beautiful pics, really lovely...and this recipe my mom used to make for us as kids after she read it in Vanitha, I think, but then she lost it and we couldnt find it again...she will be so thrilled when I show her this...thank you!once again, rinku, a post that brings a smile to my face...beautiful pics, really lovely...and this recipe my mom used to make for us as kids after she read it in Vanitha, I think, but then she lost it and we couldnt find it again...she will be so thrilled when I show her this...thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Karishma. It feels so nice to get such lovely feedback.

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  4. I had been looking for such a post...Thanks a ton Rinku

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  5. hi rinkuu.this is one my fav dish and i tried it today.it was yummmmm.but mine dint have pores like yours.where did i go wrong.pls help.thank uu

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Thanks for trying. Glad you liked it. Do use fresh stock of baking soda.

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  6. hey rinku!
    i just tried kalathappam,one of my favrts and it turned out great,thx for the recipe!

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  7. Hello reader (Anonymous)
    Thanks for writing in. Please do check the expiry date on the baking soda box. It is better to use a new one to be successful in baking. Hope this helps.

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  8. Thanks Vandanachi for trying this. Glad you liked it.

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  9. Hi! Rinku,

    I am going to try this one. But a small doubt. Is it baking powder used for cakes or is it soda bicarb? Please help.

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  10. Hi Anonymous
    Thanks for writing in. I have used Soda Bicarb for this recipe. Do try and let me know.

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  11. i made this but the centre of my kalthappam was still watery but otherwise came out well and tasty. Y did that happen

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for writing in. The flame size may differ. As mentioned in my post make sure it is cooked by inserting a toothpick in the center.

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  12. should jaggery b heated to melt or jst leave it to melt

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  13. Hi..Its my favorite ....will try ...soon....thx..

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  14. Hi Rinku, how are you? One of my friends made this and gave to me, it was really nice :)

    Cheers
    Maria

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  15. simple and tasty recipe...thanakz rinku..

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  16. hi i jzt tried your recipe
    u said for 1 cup of rice 2 grind add 1 cup of water
    i did all what u say bt my rice is not a fine paste it is like water dnt like your recipe
    make correction as water as required
    nvr try your recipies ny more

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for trying my recipe. Really sorry to hear that the kalathappam did not turn out fine. The quantity of water given is correct. It will be watery.I have made it many times myself and I have received many reviews from many who tried it. The final outcome depends on the quality of rice used.
      Thanks once again

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    2. When I saw the watery batter, I was confused too....but its just the right consistency....Plz try it again....

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    3. Thanks Ann.. It feels great to know my recipes turned out well. Thanks for taking the time to write this feedback :)

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    4. can i use sona masoori rice for this...or should i use basmati rice

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    5. I have never tried using sona masoori rice. You can make it using any short grain rice (Jeerakashala rice).

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  17. This must be one WONDERFUL recipe! I have tasted kalathappam only once in my whole life (though the taste still lingers in my mouth) and this is the first time ever I tried making it and it came out very well (except that I put it on high for a longer time and burnt the bottom a li'l). I have heard many people complaining about not being able to get the texture, but when I made it the texture came out beautifully! Kudos to your very simple recipe. I get tired just reading some other recipes for Kalathappam, let alone trying it!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks once again Ann! Yes I too have seen tedious recipes for Kalathappam.

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  18. Awesome pics and awesome recipe, please tell me if the Ghee rice mentioned is cooked neychor ?

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    Replies
    1. Rajula, its the rice (Jeerakashala rice) that has to be used. Not cooked rice.

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  19. Will try it. I tried once once we visit calicut. :) Thanks for the recipie

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  20. I tasted it once & liked it soo much. Will try this for sure. Thanks for the recipie.

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  21. awesome :) I tried it and it turned out just perfect.Thought of letting you know.Thanks a lot :).I tried with another tedious recipe which turned out to be an utter flop.This was my last try and thanks to you it was a great experience.

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  22. Awesome :) It tried this and it just turned perfect.I tried another tedious recipe for kalathappam and it turned out to be an utter flop.This was my last try and thanks to you,I discovered that the perfect Kalathappam can be made at home so easily. Thanks a lot.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Nemo for trying this recipe and glad to hear it turned out perfect. Thanks for taking time to reply :)

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  23. Hi Rinku,
    I tried your Kalathappam recipe today for my kids and it s turned out "PERFECT". What about adding some grated coconut to the mixture while grinding.

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  24. should jaggery be cooled before adding to the ground rice or should it be added hot

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the query Nandini. Jaggery can be added right away. Need not be cooled. Pass it through a sieve to remove impurities if any.

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  25. Hi Rinku never got kalathappam this right. Thank you very much. Sharing the recipe with everyone

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  26. Hi, thanks for the recipe. I want to try it. But how much time we can keep it in room temperature 1 day

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  27. This is one of the best recipe in internet for kalathappam. I foud this while I was researching for a good recipe for making Kalathappam for my recipe blog. keep it
    Regards
    Sajith

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  28. Hi Rinku,
    The recipe worked out well. I got a perfect one. I did it with slight modification. Ground coconut also along with the batter. the batter was prepared in jaggery syrup itself.the use of water was less. then mixes half of the ghee fried copra and shallots in the batter. Thanks a lot.would love to prepare this often.

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  29. Hi,I tried out your recipe. It turned out to be perfect. Just like Store bought.Thank you so much for the recipe. It just took longer than 25 mins in low flame. But that's fine.

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  30. Hi,I tried out your recipe. It turned out to be perfect. Just like Store bought.Thank you so much for the recipe. It just took longer than 25 mins in low flame. But that's fine.

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  31. Thank you for your simple and straight forward recipe. I was able to prepare Kalthappam with average number of those tiny holes.(The numerous pores you see in the cross-section while cutting Kalthappam). But the difficult part is i am not able to separate it from cooker. I waited for one and a half hours to cool thoroughly then by running a knife through the edges i tried to release it from cooker but in vain. So my kalthappam comes in shattered pieces.

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  32. Can u please let me know which size pressure cooker can be used?

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