Makka Attu pala padiyam is a traditional and ancient dish of Telangana, fresh maize kernels made into dosas or crepes. These crepes are typically served with delicious and creamy Pala padiyam/Palambaram made with rice flour, milk, water, and sugar. A quick, healthy, and delicious snack or meal to put together.
In Telangana, Maize plays has a major prominence in our daily traditional cuisine and it is second major cultivated crop in our state. From freshly harvested maize/corn to dried corn everything is widely used in our Regional cuisine.
What is Makka attu pala padiyam?
Attu is dosa or instant crepes made of any flour like rice flour, wheat flour, jowar flour, etc. Here we use fresh maize/corn kernels and grind to a fine paste with few cumin seeds, salt. Gradually add water in little quantities to adjust the batter to a spreadable consistency. Although the traditional recipe calls for only cumin seeds and salt, whereas few people prefer to add red chilies, garlic to the batter. And these makka attu/crepes tastes great with creamy Pala padiyam/Palambaram made of milk, rice flour, sugar and flavored with cardamom.
Makka attu is quite a traditional and ancient recipe that is almost forgotten and rarely made these days. Almost on the verge of becoming a lost recipe especially in urban areas due to urbanization. I never had this dish in my childhood until a few years earlier when my mom-in-law made these for me especially. I was quite fascinated by these crepes and how easy is it to put them together. When I asked my mom for the recipe she said that she used to have these in her earlier days after marriage and slowly she forgot about this recipe. I wish I could have tasted this earlier and so glad that at least I had the good fortune to taste this now.
Maize and Telangana
Maize is a second major cultivated crop in Telangana and especially in the Nizamabad area, and Ankapur is a small town that has a lot of charm known for its Maize and Ankapur chicken. We have a lot of wholesome and heritage recipes using Maize and every crumb of it.
Apart from the intoxicating Aroma or smell, that highlights every monsoon is fresh desi bhutta/maize roasting and sizzling on embers. Once the seasonal desi maize is ready for harvest, the freshest and milky ones are goes in Makka attu/Instant corn dosa. And few fresh yet matured ones goes in making Makka garelu(Indian style corn donuts) which are fried to perfection, the spice level is kept minimal and the sweetness of the desi corn is balanced with a hint of chilies.
Do we have an idea of the enormous amount of heirloom varieties have we lost in our race for urbanization and our greed for more and most foods to be enjoyed around the year. We never realize how we are losing the treasure of heritage and heirloom recipes and choose to eat not so seasonal foods!!
No traditional Maize/corn-based food preparation is the same without the traditional desi bhutta, that are so so hard to find these days. I hope we understand the dire need to preserve local varieties of produce, and let’s work towards embracing the gold we have in our hands and learn to respect the traditional wisdom and wait for the right season and consume seasonal produce.
What all ingredients we need to make MAKKA ATTU PALA PADIYAM?
Makka attu and pala padiyam is a classic combination that cannot be replaced easily with other accompaniments.
For making MAKKA ATTU we need fresh maize/corn kernels, salt, and cumin seeds. Blend these ingredients to a fine batter( similar to dosa batter), you can add water gradually to adjust the consistency.
PALA PADIYAM/Palambaram is a quick dessert kind of porridge which needs rice flour, milk, sugar, and cardamom.
Is this recipe completely vegan?
Although Makka attu is completely plant-based and vegan, but Pala padiyam is made with dairy based milk. So just replace/substitute the dairy milk with plant-based milk to make this dish completely vegan.
Any other names for this dish?
Maize is known by couple of names in Telugu speaking regions like Mokkajonna, Makka, or Makkena. Hence some call these crepes as mokkajonna attu, makka attu or makka dosa. And Pala padiyam is known by PALAMBARAM in regions close to Andhra.
Few tips to make perfect MAKKA ATTU
- I would recommend you to use fresh and tender maize/corn/desi bhutta for making this attu. As it has natural water levels and adds a mild sweetness to the dish.
- Also, remember that this batter doesn’t spread thin like regular dosa batter. Do not panic, just cover the pan for 2 minutes and let it cook. Now turn the crepe and cook uncovered for 1 more minute.
- If you don’t have Desi bhutta/desi corn available you can also substitute it with sweetcorn as I did. I made sure to pick matured corn here in the US, so that the kernels are easy to peel. And need no rice flour.
- If your batter turned quite loose, just add a few tbsps of rice flour to adjust the consistency.
- In case you have ample time to make this dish and using quite tender sweet corn, then soak some rice and grind it along with maize kernels. It helps in spreading the batter on the skillet/Tawa easily.
- I always use my cast iron pan for making Attu/dosa/crepes, and I grease the pan before making Makka attu. Always keep the heat on medium flame so that the batter doesn’t stick while spreading.
Checkout some fun, healthy and delicious snacks here. and
also Checkout more traditional and vegetarian Telangana recipes here.
Now let’s get into the recipe
MAKKA ATTU PALA PADIYAM
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
For Makka attu
- 2 cups Maize/corn kernels
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- Salt to taste
For Pala padiyam/ Palambaram
- 1 cup Whole milk / Full fat milk
- ⅓ cup Rice flour
- ⅓ cup Sugar
- 2 pods Cardamom
- ⅓ cup Water
Instructions
Making Pala padiyam / palambaram
- Heat a saucepan and add milk and let it come to a rolling boil.
- In a small bowl add rice flour, water and mix it properly and make sure there are no lumps.
- While the milk is boiling add the rice flour water mixture gradually with one hand and keep stirring with another.
- And keep stirring until it cooks and thickens completely.
- Add in sugar and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Serve warm Pala padiyam / palambaram with warm Makka attu or Makka garelu
Making Makka attu
- In a blender jar add peeled maize/corn kernels, salt, cumin seeds and blend to a smooth paste without adding any water.
- Take the batter into a mixing bowl and adjust the consistency by adding 2-3 tbsps of water gradually and make a batter similar to that of Dosa batter.
- Heat a Skillet and grease it with oil if you are using cast iron and wipe it with paper towel.
- Take a ladleful of batter and spread it on skillet and slowly keep spreading the batter in clockwise movement to make attu/dosa.
- Add couple tsps of oil on top, cover it with a lid and cook for 2 min on medium flame.
- When you spot the brown spots appearing flip the attu/dosa/crepe and cook for a minute on other side too.
- Serve warm makka attu with Pala padiyam / Palambaram.
Notes
- It is always preferred to use freshly harvested and tender maize/corn for making attu, as it has natural water levels and adds a mild sweetness to the dish.
- Also remember that this batter doesn't spread thin like regular dosa batter, so it's completely normal, just cover the pan for 2 minutes and let it cook, turn and cook uncovered for 1 more minute.
- If you don't have Desi bhutta/desi corn available you can also substitute it with sweetcorn like I did. I made sure to pick matured corn here in US so that they're easy to peel the kernels and also needs no rice flour.
- If your batter turned quite loose, you can add few tbsps of rice flour to adjust the consistency.
- In case you have ample time to make the dish and if you're using quite tender sweet corn you can also use soaked rice and grind it too while making the batter, it helps in spreading.
- I always use my cast iron pan for making Attu/dosa/crepes so oil the pan before spreading the batter and always keep the heat on medium flame so that the batter doesn't stick while spreading.
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