Appam/अप्पम (Egg less Pan Cakes Made Of Rice Flour)

Appam

Appam with Fish Moli

Appam is a type of pan cake made from fermented rice flour batter. If made on non-stick wok / Appachatti then not a drop of oil is required, thus absolutely oil / fat free Appam can be made. It is a specialty of Kerela, India. Some times in 2008 we visited Kerela and my friend suggested I should eat Appam with fish there, I never regretted following her advice. One of the tastiest dishes of Kerela are Appam. I wanted to learn how to make Appam but somehow or other could not do so for last 5 years. One day in Ethiopia my young friend Sheeba called us for her children birthday and there again I got to eat those white, fluffy, soft Appam. This time I did not miss the chance and requested her to teach me how to make Appam. I share the recipe with all due thankfulness to Sheeba.

Preparation Time: 10-11 hrs. (Soaking and fermenting time included)

Cooking Time: 2-3 min. / Appam

Servings: 12 Medium size Appam

Ingredients required for making Appam:

• 250 Gm. Rice

• 50gm. Coconut powder/ 150 ml. Thick Coconut milk

Dry Coconut Powder

• 1 ½  Tea spoon Dry Yeast

Dry Yeast

• 1 Tea spoon Sugar

• Salt to taste

• Water

Directions For making Appam:

• Wash rice and soak it excess water for minimum 3-4 hours.

Soaked Rice

• Drain the water and grind the soaked rice to thick fine paste.

Unfermented Rice batter of soaked rice

• Take 2 teaspoon of thick rice paste and add one cup (150ml.) water.

Rice batter to be cooked with water to make Pav

• Cook the water and rice paste mixture on high flame with continuous and vigorous stirring for 2-3 minutes. The mixture will become thick and transparent.

Pav (Cooked batter if rice)

• This is called pav in Kerela. Remove from heat, cover and allow it to cool.

• In a cup / bowl take yeast and 20 ml. Luke warm water and dissolve the yeast in water.

• Make thick paste of the dry coconut powder if you are using the coconut powder.

• To the paste of soaked rice add

• Coconut paste/Thick coconut milk

• Dissolved yeast

• Sugar

• Salt

• Pav

• Mix nicely and cover.

Yeast, Coconut paste,salt,Sugar added to Rice batter for making Appam Batter

• Keep for 6-hrs. Time required for fermentation is 3-4 hours if the temperature is 40-45^o C.

• Stir the fermented batter nicely. The consistency of the batter should be like batter for pancake/ Pakodas.

Appam Batter ready after 6 hours of fermentation

• Heat a small Non-stick shallow wok / Appachatti on oh high flame.

Appachatti being heated on high flame

• When the wok is smoking hot pour one ladle full of batter (100-120 ml.)

Batter in the hot wok 

• Rotate the wok with batter in swirling motion once, so that the batter gets coated on the sides.

Sheeba rotating the Appachatti with Appam batter

• Let some batter fall to the center of the wok. Appam are supposed to be thick at the center.

• Cover and cook on high flame for 2 minutes. Check the Appam it should leave the edges of wok.

Appam being cooked for 2 min.

Appam leaving the edges of Appachatti

• Pick the Appam from the edges and it will easily get peeled from the wok.

Sheeba taking out Appam from the Appachatti by picking with the edges

My friend Sheeba with Soft, White, Yummy Appam

• Repeat the same with rest of the batter for the number of Appam you want to make.

• Rest of the batter can be kept in fridge for 24 hours.

• Appam can be easily stored for 24 hours at room temperature in a covered container.

• Enjoy soft, luscious, tasty Yummy Appam with Vegetarian/ non-vegetarian Indian savory.

• Appam and fish (Fish Moli made in Kerela) is an absolute winner for me.

Appam with Fish Moli

• Vegetarians can enjoy Appam with Sambhar or chole with mixed vegetable / potato vegetable as side dish.

Tips:

• The batter of Appam should not be too thick or thin its consistency is very important to be maintained for the Appam to be soft and tasty.

• Do always add Pav (Cooked paste of rice) else the Appam will come out hard and chewy.

• The cooking is always done on high flame.

• Appam are supposed to be white so please do not wait till they become golden brown like dosa.

• The paste of soaked rice should be absolutely fine and thick not watery.

• While grinding the soaked rice add water in little portions as and when required too much of water will cause the grinding of rice difficult.

• The fermented batter can be kept in a container for months together as yeast culture and used by adding luke warm water and keeping at room temperature for 1-11/2 hours instead of fresh yeast. 4-5 teaspoons of this yeast culture is enough for fermenting batter of 250 gm. rice.

Suggested variations:

• Fresh half coconut can be ground to thick paste. Then this thick paste can be squeezed to take out one cup thick milk. Water in little amount can be used. This thick fresh coconut milk can be used instead of coconut powder or canned coconut milk.

• Toddy (Sap of the trunk of coconut tree) can be used instead of coconut paste/milk.

• If you do not have Appachatti/ Non-stick wok then 1/2 teaspoon oil will have to be used per Appam before putting batter in the wok/Appachatti.