122) PATHAL

PATHAL

KERALA’S FRIED RICE BREAD

Pathals with boiled egg curry

Ingredients:

1)    Roasted rice powder – 250 gm. (to make your own special roasted rice powder or putte podi, see my putte recipe)

2)    Par-boiled rice (matta rice) 500 gm.

3)    Coconut – ½

4)    Shallots – 50 gm.

5)    Cloves – 5 Nos.

6)    Cinnamon stick – 1 inch piece

7)    Cardamom – 1 pod

8)    Fennel – ½ teaspoon

9)    Salt – 1 teaspoon

10)                      Coconut oil or other cooking oil – to deep fry

To Make:

Soak the par-boiled rice in 3 litres of boiling water, keeping the lid closed for 1 hour. Grate the coconut. Peel the shallot. Shell the cardamom seeds. Drain the par boiled rice. Wash and drain once more. In a food processor, put in the cloves, the cardamom seeds, the fennel and the cinnamon stick. Grind to powder. Tip in the shallots, the grated coconut and the par boiled rice. Add a few drops of water grind to thick paste.

Transfer to a large basin or bowl and mix in the roasted rice powder together with the salt. Taste and add more salt to suit your palate if necessary. If you are serving pathal with egg curry, there is no need for more salt. If you are eating it just by itself, it is better to season it well.

Set a wok on the stove. Pour in the coconut oil or other cooking oil. As soon as the oil is hot (just before it smokes), scoop up some of the mixture in your hand and make a ball. Flatten the balls between your palms to make thin patties. Deep fry till creamy brown.

Serve hot with poached egg masala curry (see my recipe) or with boiled egg curry (see my recipe) for breakfast or serve just by itself at teatimes.

Enjoy!!!

Note:

Once you get experienced at making smaller pathals, you can try making them bigger by pressing larger balls between 2 greased polypropylene sheets and releasing them into the hot oil without breaking them after gently removing the sheets. If you like, you can also use pastry cutters or molds to shape the pathals.