Egg Hoppers | Mutta Velleppam

Egg hoppers are more identified with Srilanka than Kerala, I think. Even in Kochi, it is not common in a restaurant menu that reads out a mutta velleppam / appam. Recently, i saw the TV series - My Srilanka with Peter Kuruvita. The batter prepared for appam is slightly different from mine. In the TV series bread is used instead of yeast. Mine has even more difference. I don't use the coconut milk version. I follow the recipe where coconut is ground along with rice. This is much easier because there is no task of extracting the coconut milk and then cleaning up many vessels. The secret of my recipe is the addition of coconut water. Egg hoppers have crispier edges than usual hoppers because the egg is poured into the cooked palappam otherwise the middle of the appam will remain undercooked or even uncooked and messy. 

The rule of thumb therefore is to break the eggs in when the appam is almost cooked. Sprinkling salt and pepper is optional, but i prefer it, as it gives more taste.

recipe for egg hoppers or mutta appam

appam batter (click here for recipe) - as much as you need

eggs - 1 per appam  / hopper

Heat a deep pan, as seen in the first picture. Grease it with oil cloth or just use back of a spoon to spread 1 or 2 drops of oil. Pour a ladleful of appam batter. Swirl the pan to let the batter coat the pan. For egg hoppers make sure there is not much batter to collect in the middle. Put the lid on and cook in medium heat. This ensures that the sides are still soft. Once the middle the appam has lost its whitish colour or has turned pale, break an egg in. Sprinkle some salt and pepper ( i rubbed together a tiny pinch of salt and a tiny pinch of pepper in advance, so that it is evenly spread on the egg). Cover and let the egg cook in low heat. Low heat is required to cook this step, so that the sides do not turn dark brown. Remove the egg hoppers from the pan when the eggwhite is completely cooked and the egg yolk is slightly gooey. It will cook itself by the time it is served. Serve with a bean curry, like garbanzo bean curry / kadala curry (masala curry) or green peas green kurma or  a vegetable kurma.

Baby Okra & Egg Stew

I don't know whether baby okra is a brand name as such. But I know that these tender ones taste really good. Okra or ladies finger tastes good in a garam masala base and I wanted to try it with eggs. This dish tastes good with bread or chapathi. A spicy version* with the addition of coriander powder can be had with rice also. If you dont find tiny baby okra, tender okra may be used. I like to cut the egg into two in curries because the slightly melted yolk gives a nice taste to the gravy.

the recipe

Baby Okra - 15-20 nos

Eggs, boiled - 4-6

Oil - 2 tbsp

Onion - 1

Ginger juliennes - 1 tbsp

Garlic, chopped - 1 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Milk - 3/4 cup

Salt to taste

the method

Wash the okra and slit it on one side so that the veg remains as whole.  Prepare some salt solution and rub it inside the okra.

Heat oil in a pan and place the onion. When translucent add the ginger, garlic and okra. Stir it in low flame till the okra has become almost soft. Add the turmeric, chilly, pepper and garam masala. Stir for a minute and add the lemon juice. Add salt. Turn to low flame and place the eggs and add milk.Stir well. Adjust salt and pepper. When the milk boils turn off heat. Serve with bread or chapathi.

* for a spicy taste add 1/2  tsp coriander powder

Kedgeree

When it comes to savoury rice it was just the pulao and biryani that I used to prepare. Kedgeree comes as a big difference because it is prepared with eggs and fish and it also gives the option to add whatever you want, like potatoes, raisins and the like.

Kedgeree is eaten as a breakfast in the UK. I would call this an Indo – British dish because it is inspired by the Indian Khitchdi. The protein rich lentil in Khitchdi is replaced by the protein rich fish and egg in Kedgeree.

Though this is officially a breakfast, I prepare this as a quick fix for dinner. As regards seasoning, I have replaced the parsley in the actual recipe with mint leaves and the curry powder with garam masala. 

A vegetarian alternative is of course the khitchdi although the non-veg ingredients can be replaced with paneer or soya chunks (both packed with protein).

More information about the recipe is found here

rice  - 1/2 cup  (i have used short grained basmati jeera rice)
water - 1 cup

oil - 2 tbsp
onion - 1
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
chilly powder - 3/4 tsp (adjust according to taste)
garam masala - 1/2 tsp
salt - to taste
tomato, chopped - 2
potato, cubed - 1
raisins - 2 - 3 tbsp
Mint leaves, chopped - 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1 pinch

Fish - 4 fillets
Egg - 2-3

the method

Marinate the fish fillets with salt and pepper powder. Fry it and flake it. The eggs can be either boiled and chopped or scrambled. I scrambled the egg to save time. 

Heat a pressure cooker and add oil. Stir in the chopped onion and sauté till light brown. Add the turmeric, chilly and garam masala powder and stir for few seconds. Add the tomatoes, salt and sauté for few seconds. Add the mint leaves, potato, fennel, rice, raisins and mix well. Pour the water and close it with the lid. Switch off heat when the first whistle blows. If using a pan, cook till the rice is done.

Add the fish flakes and scrambled egg to the rice mixture and mix well. Serve hot.

Cauliflower & Egg Scramble

Cauliflower is a nutritious vegetable with lots of disease preventing components like antioxidants  and VitaminC. (More details about the healthy benefits of cauliflower)

Cauliflower is good for a stand alone recipe or as an additive in soups, rice, curries or fries. Cauliflower and egg scramble can be served with toast, rice or tomato rice.

Egg & Potato

the recipe

Egg – 4
Potato – 2
Onion – 1 big or 2 medium
Garlic – 12 cloves
Ginger – 3 cm piece
Green chilly – 1
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Tomato - 2
Coconut, grated – ½ cup (grind it to a smooth paste)
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 tbsp

spice powders

Turmeric – ½ tsp
Chilly – ¾ tsp
Coriander – ¾ tsp – 1 tsp
Pepper – ½ tsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp



the method

Boil the egg and potato. Heat oil in a pan and add the sliced onions. When it starts to brown add finely chopped garlic, green chilly and ginger. Add curry leaves. Stir for a minute and add the spice powders. Stir till the powders are roasted (add ¼ cup water if it starts to burn). Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and stir till it turns soft. Add the coconut paste and boil it. More water may be added if the gravy is too thick. Add the peeled and cut potatoes and eggs. Boil it for two - three minutes. Done.