Appam recipe/ Palappam recipe/ How to make kerala style appam?(with yeast)

When you hear the word “Appam” kerala cuisine is the first thing which strikes our mind 🙂  Appam or palappam are also knowns as Srilankan Hoppers is one of the favourite breakfast recipes in almost every household in Kerala. My friend here also said that they refer to this as lace appam mainly because of the crunchy outer part and soft and pure white inner part. This appam is usually paired with kadala curry or vegetable of meat stew. These are sinfully soft in texture and I bet you cannot stop eating one and will definitely help yourself with another two or three 🙂

Authentic recipe calls in for kallu/coconut toddy which acts as a fermenting agent. As I do not like to include Liquor in any of my recipe, I chose to replace it with yeast. I have used dry yeast which needs proofing first before introducing it into the batter.

Ingredients:

Measurements used – 1 cup=250ml

Idli rice/Raw rice – 2 cups

Thin poha – 1/8 cup

Cooked rice – 1/2 cup

Grated coconut – 1/4 cup

Coconut milk – 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Sugar – 2 tsp

Warm water – 1/4 cup

Active dry yeast – 1 tsp

Method:

     Part 1 : Soaking the Rice

     Part 2 : Grinding it along with cooked rice

     Part 3: Proofing yeast and fermentation

     Part 4 : Add coconut milk and roast the appam

Part 1 : Soaking Rice

1. Wash the Raw/Idli rice thoroughly twice with water
2. Soak it in water for minimun 4 hours

Part 2: Grinding along with cooked rice

1. Transfer the soaked rice discarding the water in a mixer grinder
2. Add thin poha/beaten rice , cooked rice and grated coconut
3. With little water grind this into a smooth and thick batter
4. The batter should be thick

Part 3: Proofing the yeast

1. In a bowl, take 2 tsp of sugar and add 1/8 cup warm water
2. Add 1 tsp of dry yeast and let it sit for 10-15 minutes
3. You can see froth and rise in the mixture
4. This means the yeast is ready and can be used
5. Now pour this mixture into the ground batter and mix thoroughly
6. Keep it aside for fermentation
7. Approximately for 4 to 6 hours depending on the climate where you stay

Part 4 : Adding coconut milk

• After fermentation, add salt to taste and coconut milk to the fermented batter and mix thoroughly
• The batter should be flowing consistency
• Set aside for ten minutes
• Heat appam pan on medium flame, Pour a ladle full of batter in the centre of the pan
• Use non-stick appam pan to avoid using oil as well as non stick pan helps in taking out the appam without any difficulty
• After pouring a ladle full of batter, lift the appam pan and rotate and spread the batter evenly covering the pan
• The centre of the pan will have the leftover batter which will later turn fluffy.
• Close the pan with a lid and let it cook for a minute or two on medium flame. The appam cooks super well in the presence of steam
• Uncover the pan and you will notice that the appam is cooked well
• Transfer the appam on a plate and serve with stew or any spice gravy of your choice

Tips:

• Make sure you all batter only when the pan is medium hot.
• The consistency should be just right or else you will not be able to spread the batter
• Adding coconut milk just before making the appam eliminates the pungent smell which we usually get because of yeast in appam
• Salt has to be added to the batter few minutes before you make appams. If you add it when you add yeast, it slows the fermentation process