Appams

The weekend  has been a right old mixed bag. It started silently and lazily with the whole house demanding for urgent housekeeping and tons of work waiting in the kitchen but has ended in the most lovely weekend so I can't really complain about all the shit that's come in the middle. Life's just like that sometimes. Even the weather eased in the last two days and now you can at least breathe normal air instead of the hot air that had engulfed us.

I'm really looking forward to our holy month of Ramadan now, it's sure to kick off in a spectacular fashion with great food and family suppers. Other than that blogging is something that I really look forward to at the start of my everyday. I've got a lot on my plate at the moment, but hopefully a lot of it is about to come good, fingers crossed.

 

Last week I tried out the long awaited Appams ( Rice Pancakes fermented with yeast). They are a Kerala specialty and you will find them in every Keralite's home regularly. They are a great accompaniment with veg or non-veg stews. Once you grind the batter, the fermentation takes place in 6-8 hours and the pancake making process is mighty simple.

 

You must check this recipe out to believe it.

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

 2 cups regular rice

1 cup parboiled rice or boiled rice or idli rice

A fistful of poha (rice flakes) or cooked rice

1 or 1.5 cups grated coconut or 1 cup thick coconut milk

½ tsp dry active yeast

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Oil for the pancakes

 

 

 

HOW TO MAKE:

 

1)  Soak both the regular rice, parboiled rice in water for 4 to 5 hours.  Drain out the water and then grind them along with grated coconut, cooked rice or poha/aval, dry active yeast, salt and sugar.

 

2) You can also add the yeast after the grinding process is done. The batter should be smooth flowing, but not watery.

 

3) Pour the batter in a large bowl or pan ,cover and keep aside for fermenting for 8 to 12 hours, depending on the temperature conditions.

 

4) The batter will rise and increase in volume the next day.

 

5) Heat a kadai/wok or an appam pan with handles. Smear some oil on the kadai.

 

6) Spread a ladle full of the batter. Turn and tilt the pan so as to spread the batter.

 

7) Cover the pan and let the appam cook until the base would become nicely light golden.

 

8) Make all appams this way. Serve them hot with a thick veg or non-veg stew of your choice.