Appam

Coconut milk goes into the batter and it is cooked in a bowl-shaped pan, so it is thick in the middle and lacy at the rim.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 300 g raw rice
• 60 g grated coconut
• 3 tablespoons cooked rice
• 250 ml thick coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fast-action yeast, or 2 tablespoons toddy
• water, to grind

Method

1. COCONUT MILK GOES INTO THE BATTER AND IT IS COOKED IN A BOWL-SHAPED PAN, SO IT IS THICK IN THE MIDDLE AND LACY AT THE RIM. Its article gives both: made with fermented rice batter AND COCONUT MILK, cooked in an APPACHATTI, a deep pan similar in shape to a wok. The pan is not a convenience -- it is the shape of the dish. A ladle of thin batter swirled round a deep bowl runs down to pool in the base and leaves a film climbing the sides, so one pour gives a soft spongy middle and an almost transparent crisp edge. Poured on a flat griddle it is simply a thin pancake.
2. THE PAN IS SWIRLED IMMEDIATELY AND ONCE ONLY. Ladle into the centre, lift the pan by both handles and rotate it in one circular motion so the batter rides up the sides, then put it down. A second swirl tears the film.
3. THERE ARE TWO RAISING AGENTS AND BOTH ARE REAL. Toddy -- fermented palm sap -- is the older one and gives a particular sourness; yeast with a little sugar is what most kitchens use. Either way the batter ferments a few hours rather than overnight, because coconut milk sours fast.
4. GRATED COCONUT AND A LITTLE COOKED RICE ARE GROUND INTO THE BATTER. Both are usual and both do work: the coconut for flavour and fat, the cooked rice as a thickener that keeps the middle tender.
5. THE BATTER IS THIN -- POURABLE, LIKE SINGLE CREAM. Thicker than that and it will not climb the pan, and you lose the lace.
6. THE COCONUT MILK GOES IN AFTER THE FERMENT, NOT BEFORE. Thick milk stirred in at the end, which keeps it fresh and stops the fat slowing the rise.
7. IT IS COOKED COVERED AND IS NEVER TURNED. Lid on for two or three minutes over a medium heat. The steam sets the top; the base and rim colour. One side only.
8. IT IS EATEN WITH SOMETHING THIN ENOUGH TO POOL IN IT. Its article places it in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka. The bowl shape is made for a coconut stew or a thin curry sitting in the middle.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes