Chunnampakki

Chunnampakki is one of my favourite things to eat when I visit my ancestral village in Tirunelveli, South India. It looks like kesari (sooji halwa) but it is NOT. I have tried googling it several times but have never been able to find the recipe. Last year when I was visiting, one of my aunts made it and I immediately made it a point to get the recipe from her. She doesn’t really measure things when she cooks, so I needed more than a few tweaks to get measurements. But it was worth it, after a bit of trying and tweaking, I am super excited to share with the internet world the chunnampakki recipe with measurements!! :D

Oh before we proceed I have to tell you about the story behind the name. I was telling my mum how it was so interesting how nothing with this name exists anywhere on the internet and she immediately laughed and said that’s because it is a distortion of another name of a dish from Burma. As it turns out when a few of my ancestors went to Burma for work they brought back this recipe with them. The original name is .. wait for it… SANWEI MAKI!! The original recipe along with the name has changed over time but the essence of it all “coconut milk” remains the same :). (read more about the fascinating history of Sanwei Maki here). After knowing the story I love this even more. It is wonderful when people can merge cultures and work together, because great things and great FOOD come out of the collaboration. So invite a few friends, make this dessert and collaborate on finishing it together :D. Happy Eating!

Ingredients: (Yields 8-10 servings)

1 cup semolina 2 cups coconut milk ½ cup coarsely broken cashew  1 cup sugar* 3 elaichi 5 curry leaves** 1/3 cup coconut oil 1/3 cup ghee ½ tsp turmeric pinch of salt  desiccated or grated coconut for garnish

In a pan over medium heat add semolina and toast

Once it is lightly browned, remove from heat and leave aside

In the pan over medium heat add coconut oil, ghee, elaichi, curry leaves and cashews 

Cook till cashews are browned

In a bowl mix coconut milk, turmeric and pinch of salt

Once the cashews are browned add the coconut milk mixture and mix well

When the mixture is just about to boil, reduce heat, add semolina and stir vigorously 

When the water seems to have evaporated, add sugar and stir vigorously

Place a lid on it and let the mixture cook for 3 to 5 minutes in low heat

Pour into plate and flatten it out

Sprinkle coconut on top and let it rest for about 20 minutes

Cut out pieces and serve :D.

* You can add more or less sugar based on your preference, I prefer desserts mildly sweetened.

**I love the flavour curry leaves bring to this, but feel free to leave it out if you can’t find them.

Check out the

Jewelled Popcorn

Persian Jewelled Rice is something I love! Cranberries, apricots, nuts... mmmm. As I was thinking of these flavours a couple weeks ago, a coworker brought in some salted caramel popcorn and I thought to myself hey why not Jewelled popcorn!!. And that is how the recipe was born. Don't let the simplicity of the conception of this recipe fool you. I must say this is honestly one of the best caramel popcorn variations I have ever had! You don't have to take my word for it, try it, ASAP!

Ingredients: (Yields 9-12 servings)

1 cup corn kernels 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp oil  3/4 tbsp Pink Himalayan Salt 1 cup Dried Cranberries 1 cup chopped Dried apricots, cut into small pieces 3/4 cup White Chocolate, coarsely chopped 3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted Pistachio 3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted Almonds 

Saffron Caramel 1 1/4  cup sugar 1/2 cup water few strands saffron 1/4 cup butter

Soak the saffron in the 1/2 cup of water

In a deep pot over medium high heat warm the butter and oil until its quite warm. 

Add the corn kernels and mix till its coated and cover with a lid.

The popcorn will continue to pop. Make sure to shake the pot periodically to prevent burning.

Once most of the kernels are popped (you will hear the popping sound slowing down) 

Turn off the heat and shake it a bit more for any last unpopped kernel to pop

Place the popcorn in a large bowl and mix in the cranberries, apricots, white chocolate, pistachio and almond

In a small pot over medium heat add in the sugar and saffron water mixture.

Once the sugar begins a medium amber colour quickly whisk in the butter.

Pour the caramel over the popcorn and mix well

Spread it on a lined baking tray 

Sprinkle the salt on top and set aside for at least 30 minutes till the popcorn is cooled.

Break it apart in to chunks and serve :)

Happy Eating!

Note: Feel free to use more nuts if you want a more nutty flavour

Check out the

Spicy Caramel Orange Chicken

Consistency in blogging is something I have been having issues with for a while. I have peaks and dips. So I plan to fix that this year. When I was thinking of a way to motivate myself to remain consistent I came across a group of food bloggers who do a thing called a blogging marathon. Essentially you commit to blogging a certain number of days a month on a common theme. You can read more about it here: BM#73. 

The theme I have for the next three days is Caramel. Strangely the first thing that came to mind when I thought Caramel was Duck a l'orange. I made it a few weeks ago and I can’t stop thinking about how the sauce is essentially a savoury caramel. I have been itching to use caramel in savoury things and this is an outcome of that. Who says caramel is only for dessert, give this a try and get rethinking on the potential of caramel. Happy Eating! 

Ingredients: (Yields 4 servings)

3 boneless chicken thighs ½ cup all purpose flour 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp baking powder 4 tbsp sesame oil ¼ cup sugar 1/8 cup rice vinegar ¼ cup white vinegar 3 tbsp soy sauce 1 ¼ cup orange juice ½ cup chicken stock** 8 dried red chillies* 3 tbsp crushed garlic 1 tbsp crushed ginger 1 green pepper zest of two oranges 1 tsp cornstarch ¼ cup water 1 spring onion, sliced 1 tsp toasted sesame salt, as needed 

Chicken:

Cut the chicken in to small pieces and marinate it with salt, 1 tbsp soy sauce, ½ cup orange juice and 1 tbsp crushed garlic for 30 mins to an hour. (Feel free to read below and start the sauce while the chicken is resting) 

In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, pepper and salt 

Drain the chicken from the marinade and leave it for 10 minutes to dry a little

Toss it in the flour mixture

Remove the chicken and arrange it on a wire rack with a baking tray under to catch any drippings. Make sure to not crowd the rack.

(if you don’t have a wire rack, you can use greased baking tray or one lined with a silicon mat)

Leave the chicken to dry for about 30 mins 

Preheat the oven to 425 F

Spray 3 tbsp of sesame oil on the chicken. (if you do not have a spray bottle toss the chicken with some oil in a bowl)

Bake for 10 minutes

Drain any drippings and flip the pieces and back for another 5 to 10 minutes at 450F

Sauce:

Soak the dried red chillies in ¼ cup water for 30 mins

Grind the red chillies along with the water and keep aside

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and vinegars together and let it boil until it becomes a nice amber coloured caramel (you want it to be browned so it is not too sweet but be careful not to burn in)

Slowly whisk in the remaining orange juice, 2 tbsp soy sauce and chicken stock

Add the ground chilli paste, 1 tablespoon garlic and ½ tablespoon ginger and salt as needed

Mix well and let it simmer on low heat for 20 minutes

Putting it all together:

In a large wok or skillet on medium high heat, add 1 tbsp of sesame oil

Add the remaining tablespoon of crushed garlic and crushed ginger and cook for about 30 seconds

Add the green peppers and sauté for about 30 seconds

Add in the chicken along with any drippings that you collected and the sauce and mix well

Add in the orange zest and mix

Mix 1 tsp of cornstarch in ¼ cup of water and add it in

Bring to a boil and turn off

Top with the spring onion, orange segments and toasted sesame and the chicken is good to go :)

*You can adjust the chillies according to desired spice level. I find 8 to be mild to medium for myself but then I have a pretty high spice tolerance. Remember the spiciness balances the sweetness of the caramel, so don’t make it too mild.

**you can also use vegetable stock or water if you do not have chicken stock on hand.

Check out the