Do you have a favorite tea time snack… or should I ask… did you have a favorite tea time snack (nalumani palaharam in Malayalam) when you were a kid?? Well, my answer is… YES! I have and I will… and that's one-and-only “ethakka varattiyathu” (banana roasted in ghee and sprinkled with sugar). Actually there's a tight competition between ethakka varattiyathu & ethakkappam (banana fritters) for the top slot in my fav list :)
Before the bakery palaharam (bakery items) started reigning the tea time snacks, we used to have different varieties of home made snacks in the evening. Apart from the two snacks mentioned above there's sukhiyan, vatteyappam, kozhukkata, unnakkai, pancake or mutta kuzhalappam, unda payasam (rice dumplings cooked in sweet coconut milk along with steamed banana), munthirikothu (something similar to sukhiyan), diamond cuts, unniyappam and lastly avolse unda & avalose podi. There are more snacks, I've just mentioned a few!
If you noticed I've mentioned avalose podi towards the end and the reason is I never fancied avalose podi or avlose unda when I was a kid. I used to have it when I didn't have any other choice. Now you might be thinking, then why am I posting the recipe of something which I don't like much… well, this recipe is different from the traditional avalose podi. As far as my understanding goes, traditional avalose podi is made with rice flour, coconut, sugar etc; This recipe uses rawa (semolina) instead of rice powder. I was surprised and at the same time very much impressed by this. Hence you see the recipe here.
Avalose podi also belongs to the category of “erippu palaharam” (snacks which can be made in advance & can be stored for a long period). I still remember my maternal grandma sitting in the kitchen and giving direction to the maids to make palaharams (snacks) such as avolse podi, avalose unda, diamond cuts, chakka varuthathu (jackfruit chips), panchasara varattiyathu (raw plantains fried in oil and dipped in sugar syrup), munthirikothu etc;
Usually all these preparations are done at the time of Xmas & Easter when there's family get together. My amma has 8 siblings, including herself, so there'll be around 30-40 people at the “tharavadu” (ancestral home) at this time. That's also the time when the first and the fourth generation of the family comes together and everybody will be staying in one place for 3-4 days. You can imagine how feeding all these people is a major task in itself. That's when the “erippu palaharam” plays an important role. It comes in very handy, especially, to feed the snack obsessed kids like us :) Those were the days…
Ok enough of past memories… even otherwise Jose complains that I live in the past… so lets do one thing, fast forward and here we are with the new version of avalose podi!
If you don't like the usual avalose podi, please try it and see, am almost sure you'll get hooked on to this new version. If you belong to the category of liking usual avalose podi, just try this for a change and if you belong to the third category of not having any clue at all about what this dish is, try it and see for yourself. Anyways there is no harm in trying, right ;)?
One last thing before going to the recipe – it's a breeze to make this recipe! It wont take more than 10-15 mins of your time and the best part is you can store it for a long period, now that sounds nice :) Also you can have this as breakfast or a snack.
hi…. its really rude to project a much loved & true savior snack of thosands of hostel dwellers( in case of me 10 yrs) in such a glorified way….if u dont like it better not to mention it in your blog…-. and your alternate recipie is also too weird….
Hi Dear,
Do you have the recipe for “andiputtu”.. its something like avaloose unda.. but made with cashews, peanuts and crispy rice. I dont know the procedure. My hubby is from Thrissur and I am from the south.. I have never even heard of such a dish.. Please help me with this dish if u have any idea abt it..
With love
God Bless
AmmuzÂ
Hi Ammuz,
Even I’m hearing it for the first time, dear, but I should say it sounds yum!
Hope you could get a recipe soon, all the best!
Cheers
Maria
Hi, first time here! very interesting snack – nice to come across entirely new recipes — will be checking back in – Do also visit my blog http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/ and check out some my healthy, quick and low caloric recipes :))
:) Ithinte intro vayichappo thanne vaayinnu vellam thazhe poyathu njan thnne arinjilla :-D .. This itself makes my mouth watery.. Missing all these palaharams now.. and U r doing a good job here.. keep going.. :)
Cheers,
Sminu
Hi Sminu,
:), thanks for visiting and let us know that you like this space.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
I tried this out during ramadan..lesser working hours so made the most of it.. its very easy to prepare n very tasty too.. I loved it !!!
btw thanks for the suggestions on veg dishes for chappathi..Sorry if im bothering you.. do you have the recipe for fish curry with green mango??
Thanks
C
Hi C,
Hope you had a wonderful time during Eid holidays.
Thanks dear for trying the recipe.
I’ve a prawns recipe with green mango, you can use the same recipe for fish too.
Here it is: https://mariasmenu.com/fish/chemmeen-manga-curry
Hope you’ll like it.
Cheers
Maria
reply taru wegam…
Hi Sumana,
Sorry to disappoint you, I dont have the recipe you looking for.
Hope you find it soon…
Cheers
Maria
@Maria,
thanks for prompt response…
anyways i tried making it by roasting boiled rice and coconut..and then powered the same but it turned out some thing similar to ari unnda podi…i just need to add some jaggery to make it proper unnda i guess..
Sumana.
hi….
this recipe sounds good.. but i am looking for proper avlos podi..with black sesam,cumin seeds and all
never ever call it avalosepodi…..this is not keralites avalse podi….if you want call it something else…
hi maria,i tried rava avalospodi it ws tatsy but ididn,t get the crispyness.probably instead of frying rava 1st i put it all togather.is that the reason?i make it in a different way with riceflour,
shollots, casheww and ghee.no coconut.it is an srilanka receipe and very tasty.the think is it take time toget roasted.were as rava is quickly done..next i am going to try chikenstew
Tina – yes dear, normally we use rice flour, its a new type :)
Divs – I miss all those homemade snacks :(. Please try this avalose podi, hope you’ll like it.
Priya – am hearing about the Karanji’s for the first time. I assume its a snack. I dont have the recipe for avalose podi with me :( let me see if I can get it somehow…
Shabs – thanks dear :) btw, I’ve heard abt the snack manda, it sounds very appetizing. Also hope you’ll like the prawns achar. waiting to hear from you.
Rashmi – you’re welcome dear :) please do try it, its a tasty snack.
Thanks for sharing Maria.. never tried making this one, will try now :)
wooowww…..Loved the writing….so elegant and simple….Enthu maathram palaharangalude peru…..I remmeber seing the name munthirikothu in onr of the few recipe books that i have…..I wish if some one cud make them all for me….Will try this out fo sure….i love anything with semolina…..And oh, i just love avalosu podi….We have one malabar snack called ‘Manda’ (Funny name right, i know…lols..)….Thats a huge samosa with avalose podi filling….:)….Oh what a lovely treat that wud be….
Ur chemmeen achaar has been dancing in my mind for many days now….I shud say, ever since i saw it?…..would be making it in the coming few days….Sinc eim making it for first time, i think i should seek my moms expert advice too…….will let u knw once i make them ok……
we make to same filling for karanjis during divali time….only difference being that we do not grind the semolina…will it be possible to have the original recipe for avlose podi and unda as my hubby loves it
Mariaaaaaa…did you have to mention all those snacks..with explanations???My stomach is grumbling and I am drooling oh no!!!!!
Love ethakka varattiyathu,pazham pori and unnakka the most.
Have heard so much about avalose podi,but never ever tried it.Looks good.
Avalose with rava its new to meeee……eda sadarana ari vechalle undakaru….