Inri appam

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INRI APPAM Saint Thomas Christians from Kerala State in India used to celebrate "Passover" (Pesaha)and make "Passover Bread" (INRI Appam).As the tradition goes, the head of the family cuts the INRI appam and gives it to other members, oldest to youngest respectively, after dipping in paalukurukku. This is done in great reverence and in a pious atmosphere. The way to make this holy bread holy milk as follows:-

Ingredients

Rice powder (not roasted) -1 cup or White Rice (Pachari)-1 cup (to grind) urad dal (uzhunnu)-25 gm 1/2 coconut ground (medium) pinch of cumin Red small Onion White Onion salt

Directions

Soak the uzhunnu (urad dal) for a few hours. Grind well. Then Grind well the coconut + a pinch of jeera (cumin) + Red Onion + White Onion. Grind White Rice or Use Rice Powder. Add everything together with Rice powder (Arippodi) or Ground Rice (Ari mavu) and make a dough of idli maavu consistency. "Keep only for 1/2 hour to ferment." (To remind of Pesaha) Grease preferably steel plates of medium round shape. Pour batter in one, and make a cross of palm leaf obtained on palm Sunday on it. Steam till well done.

Make all other appams same way but with no cross.

Then make "Paal" to soak the Inri Appam.

Paalukurukku (Paal)

Ingredients

roasted rice powder-1 cup sarkkara (molasses)-1 cup cardamom powder coconut-1

Directions

Please use freshly ground coconut for making this, otherwise the taste won't be good. Take the juice of coconut. You can put the ground coconut in blender and add some hot water to grind for 30 seconds. Now the juice comes out easily.1st milk should be kept separately. Take 2nd and third milk also. These two should equal 1 liter of milk. Take molasses and put the in a saucepan. Add some water and heat well. While boiling, a lather forms. This should be cleaned away. Add cumin and chukku (dried ginger). Now sieve this through a strainer and you can see lot of stones and dirt in it. This liquid form of molasses should be used in your recipes. I have seen lots of people use molasses directly in recipes, without first melting them. Remember, all these dirt and stones are dangerous, especially for kids. But be sure to melt it first. The consistency can be achieved by adjusting the amount of water added to it. Take the 2nd and third milk, molasses syrup and roasted rice powder, bring to a boil. Stir continuously, otherwise lumps will form. Mix cardamom powder with 1st milk and add it last. Also add a piece of palm leaf. Before it boils, take off the stove.

The making of Inri Appam and Paalukurukku is a traditional thing for St. Thomas Christians of Kerala. This is not a common recipe for cooking- this is a part of a great tradition.