Thursday, September 9, 2010

Appam - a Kerala special


Presenting the "Appam" - a pancake from the State of Kerala that is a breakfast delicacy. The Appam was initially a dish associated with Christian homes, however, with time, it has come to be an integral part of the Kerala cuisine as a whole. The Appam or Palappam is also a speciality in Sri Lanka where it is known as the Appa. It can be served with the potato/chicken stew, kadala curry or egg curry(Kerala style egg curry with coconut milk).

When you are away from home what comes to your mind most are your people and yes, the food. Have been making the appam for several years now. The appam and the chicken stew is a favorite dinner menu at my place as this is one meal where all of us have enough time and enjoy the most. Stew for hubby and daughter means only chicken:).

The appam batter is easy to make at home and done quickly. There were however two issues that I was worried about:
1-With the temperature around 10 degrees was a little anxious if the batter would ferment and rise well. Found a way out for that too. I kept it on the unused hot plate while cooking, all the heat from the cooking did do the trick and we had delicious soft and crispy appams with chicken stew for dinner:).
2- I generally grind half a coconut(grated) alongwith rice for the batter. With coconut not available here I had to find a good alternative. The Maggi coconut milk powder did come to my rescue:)

Here is the Appam recipe:
Ingredients:
Raw rice - 2 cups
Cooked rice - 3/4 to 1 cup
Coconut - 1/2(grated)(*can use a 25gm packet of Maggi coconut milk powder instead)
Yeast - 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 3-4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
1- Soak the raw rice for 6-8 hours. Wash and drain.
2- Take 1/2 cup warm water and add the yeast alongwith 1 tsp of sugar and keep aside for 10 minutes.
2- Grind raw rice, cooked rice and grated coconut into a smooth batter with enough water (it is important to take into consideration the water in the yeast that would be added later to the batter).
4- Add the yeast solution, salt and the remaining sugar to the batter. Mix well. The batter must be of pouring consistency. Keep aside in a warm place for 5-6 hours(you would see that the batter is well-fermented, light and has also risen well).
5- Place the appam chatty on fire. When hot, pour a ladle of batter into it and spread the batter evenly all over( do so by circling the appam chatty, do not use a ladle).
6- Cover with a lid and let cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Your appam is ready (soft at the centre, crispy and golden on the sides)
Serve with potato or chicken stew.

9 comments:

Hayley said...

Hi Vandana
Appam looks really tasty ...nice clicks! BTW first time here, following you..fell free to visit me

Cheers!

Unknown said...

Hi Vandhana,

Thanx for visiting my blog...you have a nice space here...

Keep visiting me!!take care..

i love aapam!!By the way how do you manage so many blogs???!!

Sameena@

www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

www.lovelypriyanka.blogspot.com

Nikki said...

wow,,I had apppam at a frnds place long time back and have been thinking of making them,ur recipe looks great,i have 1 doubt,,when you said cooked rice,is it boiled rice.(I'm asking coz sometimes they refer to parboiled rice for cooked rice.i use only basmati,,so will that be apt for making appams?).lastly thanks for the lovely comment on my blog,It is heart warming.
Nikki
http://titilating-tastebuds.blogspot.com/

vandana rajesh said...

Thks for visiting Jagruti

@Dr.Pratap...thks for dropping by...love blogging although have been busy for sometime with work and home and haven't been able to dedicate enough time to my blogs...getting back to it ...finally:)

@Nikki... do let me know how it turned out for you. I don't use boiled rice(meaning the red colored rice), I use white rice....feel normal rice would be better than basmati. By cooked rice I mean cook one cup rice(just right to eat) and then add it to the rawor uncooked rice and coconut to make a smooth batter.

Satya said...

appam looks yummy...must try it soon as it is my hubby favorite too : )


Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

Satya said...

btw i forgot to mention love this cooked rice version n need to buy boiled rice n soaking for long n all ...thanks for sharing dear

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

vandana rajesh said...

Thks Satya...glad you liked the recipe..this is a quick and easy recipe to delicious appams. Do let me know how it turned out for you.

Sarah Naveen said...

My My fav!!!! looks so perfect and yummy dear...

Recipeswap said...

I was looking for a appam recipe,thanks for sharing.looks wonderful