Appam recipe / The gorgeous pancake of the south Indian state – ‘KERALA’

Here is the best, weather-proof Appam recipe :D… For a perfect appam, the simple tip lies within the BATTER !!  yes, the initial FERMENTATION of the batter without any extra agents like yeast or baking soda!. Hot humid weather helps the batter to ferment easily which in turn makes gorgeous appams..

Whereas it is a real struggle during cold/rainy/winter days to get the batter ferment naturally !!… hey, now worries… Just read the tips at the end for some quick fixes that can help you during cold days to make perfect appams ! :)..

( new to Appam?.. read this-> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appam )

 

If you like to buy the appam pan, I highly recommend below ‘ Futura non-stick appachatty’ as it comes with the ‘stay-cool wooden handles’ and has great reviews from the users..

 
This recipe is described in 2 parts:
Part 1 – Preparing Appam Batter
Part 2 – Making Appam

Part 1
Ingredients: (to prepare appam/pancake batter )

Raw rice – 4 Cups (or 1 kg) (soak overnight or 6 – 7 hours )
Any cooking rice – 3/4 cup (cook and add while grinding)
Fresh Coconut – 1/2 coconut or 2 cups (grated or blocks)

note: For raw rice, I used ‘ ponni raw rice’ for cooking rice, I used ‘parboiled ponni rice’ for coconut, I used half of fresh coconut (cut into blocks) –> (You can use any raw rice for this recipe)

Step 1) Wash and soak 4 cups of ‘raw rice’ overnight or 6 – 7 hours before grinding..

Step 2) Next morning or few hours before grinding, wash and cook 3/4 cup of cooking-rice and let it cool completely before grinding…

Step 3) You need half of whole coconut for this recipe or 2 cups of grated/pieces of coconut. (If you are using frozen coconut pieces/shreds, thaw them to room temperature before grinding)
note: Pour the soaked-rice-water into a bowl and use it for grinding (and add more water if required)

Step 4) For grinding, to the blender add 1 cup of soaked rice, some coconut and some cooked rice. Pulse 4 – 5 times, pour a cup of water and grind for a minute or until the mixture is fully ground to a smooth batter. Pour the ground batter into a large bowl…

Step 5)   Repeat step 4 with rest of the ingredients..
( note: I ground in 4 batches. you can grind according to your blender capacity..)

Step 6)  After grinding, mix the batter thoroughly for a minute…Cover and let it ferment overnight or for 8 – 9 hours until the batter has risen few inches from the initial-batter level..

Step 7)  After letting the batter to ferment, you can either prepare the appam/pancake or  refrigerate the batter and use when needed..

Part 2
Ingredients : (to make 10 -12 appam/pancake)

Yeast – 3/4 tsp   or    baking soda – 1/4 tsp
Appam batter – 4 Cups
salt  – 1/4 tsp

You also need an appam pan .. (If you don’t have one and still like to try, just make flat appam/pancakes on your regular pancake pan (or griddle/tawa :)..

Step 1)  Take 4 cups of batter into a BIG bowl..
(If the batter is cold, let it thaw to room temperature and then go ahead with step2 )

Step 2) Add 3/4 tsp of ‘Instant dry Yeast ‘  or 1/4 tsp baking soda into the batter bowl. Stir thoroughly, cover and let it ferment for an hour..
(note: to use active dried yeast, soak 3/4 tsp of yeast in 2 tbsp of lukewarm water for 5 minutes and add to the batter. Stir well and let it ferment for an hour)

Step 3)  Once the batter has doubled/risen, add 1/4 tsp of salt and stir well..

Step 4) Now get ready for the fun part ! Swirling Appams  :)..
Heat the appam pan on medium-high heat for 2 – 3 minutes. Spoon 1/3 cup of batter into the appam pan and swirl the pan anti-clockwise (to coat the batter across the pan and letting the remaining batter fall into the centre of the pan ). Put the lid on and cook for 20 –  25 seconds or until the centre is cooked.
(note: sometimes the edges will turn light golden if the batter is perfectly fermented :)..

Once the appam is cooked, take out from the pan and repeat making appams with rest of the batter…

That’s all…Enjoy swirling appam :)..

Tips :

-> You can refrigerate the batter for 5 – 6 days
-> Pour the batter into a LARGE bowl while fementing as the batter will double or sometimes even triple at this stage..(so, save your batter :)..
-> The appam pan should be hot enough but not too hot while swirling the appam. ( See the video for ‘how to know if the appam pan is hot enough’ at the tips section )
-> If the appam pan is too hot, the appam wouldn’t stick to the pan and would fall/roll away while swirling..(if this happens, keep the pan away from heat for a minute, return to medium-heat and start making appam..)
-> If the appam pan is less hot, you wouldn’t see holes while swirling the batter. To fix this, heat the pan on high for a minute and try again..
-> For coil, ceramic and solid plate cooktops, set the heat to medium-high. For gas cooktops, set the heat to medium.

Cold/rainy/winter days tips:

• Add 2 Tbsp of urad daal/maash daal while soaking the rice and soak them overnight and grind next morning..
• After grinding the batter, place them in warm oven. ( To do this, heat your oven for just 15sec on 200C and turn it off. Place the batter in with oven lights-ON for 9 – 10 hours or until the batter is fermented)…
• or place the ground batter near a hot stove for few hours and then place inside a closed cupboard for rest of the fermenting time..
• For refrigerated batter,  speed up the thawing process by placing the bowl in luke-warm water bath.. ( NO HOT WATER!! you will end up cooking the batter!)
• Place the yeast/baking soda dissolved batter inside a warm oven with lights-ON to speed-up the fermenting process..

Hope I have added enough tips and Wishing good luck with swirling appams :)..