Indri [INRI] or Pesaha (Passover)Appam
& Paal
This is usually made on Maundy Thursday to commemorate the Last Supper of Jesus .It is a reminder of how God spared his people from death in Egypt.To rescue his people from slavery,God took the lives of all firstborn Egyptian males but passed over the Israelites homes that had the blood of a sacrificed lamb on their door frames.
The making of Pesaha /Indri Appam ( unleavened bread) is a special ceremony & is prepared with much respect & care.
We usually place the palm leave(which we get from the church on Palm Sunday) in the form of a cross and make the Appam & Paal(jaggery milk) in which its dipped & eaten.The Paal is made in new earthern pots.For this my mom used to buy a new one every year.
The entire family will come together for the appam murikkal .The eldest member/ head of the family will recite some prayers & bible readings connected with Passover from both the Old & New Testaments.He then cuts the appam & distributes to all members of the family.
Usually it's cut before midnight since the death of Jesus Christ took place during the daylight hours that followed the Passover evening and the New Testament makes clear that Christ is the true Passover lamb.
The leftover will be the breakfast on Good Friday mornings for kids.Since we r obliged to fast on Good Friday that will be the only solid food available till the evening so the demand for Appam & Paal is more on Good Friday .
The pictures are from the Internet as I have not taken pictures of it before .Now the recipie follows.
Indri Appam this name comes from INRI written on the cross.
Indri Appam
1.Rice powder-1 cup
Salt a pinch
Mix & Soak this in coconut water.(water if it's not available )
2.urad dal-1/4 cup
Soak this for 2 hrs.
3.coconut scraped-1 1/2 cups
Jeera-1/2 tsp
Garlic-2 big
Shallots-2-3
Grind together the above ingredients with dal & add the rice powder & make a batter similar to that of idli batter.this batter should not be allowed to rest as it might ferment.
So once the batter is ready,pour it into a greased steel plate.Place the cross in middle(Palm leaf).Steam it in an appachembu for 10-15 minutes.(check with a skewer inserted in the middle .it should come out clean).this yields one appam.
Paal
1.par boiled raw rice-1/4 cup
Wash & drain the rice.in an ottuchatti or cheenachatti dry roast this till brown.Once lightly cooled,powder this in mixie .u can do this ahead & store in jars.from this u might need only 2tbsp for the Paal .
2.coconut milk-3 cups(1 cup first milk & 2 cups second milk of 1 coconut)
2.jaggery-250 gm
Water-1/4 cup
Boil together till dissolved & strain .
3.Banana Ethan-2(ripen)
Cut the banana into small chunks .In an ottukalam or steel vessel,place the bananas,cross made of Palm leaf & 2 cups of second milk of coconut & cook till the bananas r cooked.add the strained jaggery & cook till it reduces a bit.
4.jeera-1/4 tsp
Chukku-1/4 tsp(dry ginger)
2 tbsp roasted & ground rice powder which we made first.
Soak in 1 cup of first coconut milk all the above powders for 1/2 an hour.
Add to the banana- jaggery mixture.once it boils,check the sweetness.this Paal will thicken after sometime.so should be little loose consistency when u off the stove.
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