Vellayappam / Appam

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Vellayappam/Appam is a bowl-shaped thin pancake made from fermented rice batter. It has thin and crispy sides & soft and spongy center. Appams we usually get in restaurants have soft and thin sides and are often not crispy. These changes can be done easily and you can have different types of appams by varying the batter slightly.

The recipe which I mention below might require some more water, if you prefer to go with crispy one as shown below.

In Kerala, appam is made using toddy (taken from coconut tree) and not by using yeast. With yeast you get appam which would look similar, but it wont be perfect in taste.

Getting Toddy in a city isn’t really practical. So what could helpless people do to eat authentic appams? Hmm.. no other way.. go with yeast? If you can arrange for toddy once, make a batter and keep 2-3 ladles of batter for next use. This can continue for a long time before you notice the authentic taste waning 🙂

I do it till I get new toddy from Kerala and make fresh batter.

Ingredients:

• Raw Rice : 4 cups
• Boiled Rice: 2 cups
• Grated Coconut: 2 cups
• Water : 5 cups
• Coconut Water: 1 cup
• Yeast : 1 teaspoon (Can be replaced with 1 cup of toddy)
• Sugar : 3 teaspoon
• Salt : 2 teaspoons (to taste)

Preparation:
Step 1: Wash and soak rice in plenty of water for 3-4 hours.

Step 2: Take 1/2 cup of warm water and add yeast & 1 teaspoon of sugar and keep for 10 min. Skip this step if you are using toddy.

Step 3: Grind soaked rice along with cooked boiled rice, water, coconut, coconut water and yeast mixture (or toddy) from step 2. I use wet grinder to grind these. Keep the batter in a big bowl for 10-12 hours. Later add 2 teaspoons of sugar and salt in this and mix well.

Step 4: Keep appam mould on medium heat/flame and pour 1 ladle of batter in to it.

Swirl to reach the batter on sides of the mould as shown below.

If sides are not thin as shown in the picture, you may need to add some more water. Take a small portion of batter and add water and try out to get appam of your choice 😉

You may need to reduce the heat, if swirling is not working out.

Close the lid and allow it cook till the center is cooked and sides are crispy.

Take out from the mould and serve!!

Appam with vegetable stew is a perfect combination for a healthy & tasty breakfast.