Tender Coconut Appam | Palappam

Ingredients

• 1 Cup rice (preferably idli or dosa rice)
• 1 Cup tender coconut water (see note 2)
• 1/2 Cup fresh or frozen grated coconut
• 1/2 Cup cooked rice
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 Cup water

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Soaking Rice ---

2. 2

   Soaking Rice: Wash the rice 2-3 times till the water runs clean and soak it in tender coconut water for 8-10 hours or overnight.

3. 3

   --- Grinding Appam Batter ---

4. 4

   Grinding Appam Batter: To your blender add grated coconut, cooked rice, yeast and soaked rice (along with the coconut water it was soaked in). Grind the mixture to a smooth paste.

5. 5

   Add sugar, mix and keep it covered in a warm place for at least 2 hours or until fermented. If the place where you live is cold, you can ferment the batter inside the oven with the pilot light turned on. (see note 4)

6. 6

   Once the batter is fermented, it’ll rise, you’ll see bubbles in the batter and it’ll look foamy. It’ll also feel very light, airy and bubbly when you mix it with a ladle. That’s when you know it's ready.

7. 7

   The consistency of the appam batter should be slightly thinner than dosa batter - more like lassi. Add water a few tablespoons at a time if necessary to adjust the consistency of appam batter.

8. 8

   Add salt and mix well. The batter is now ready to use.

9. 9

   --- Making Appams ---

10. 10

    Making Appams: Heat an appam kadai until medium hot (see note 5).

11. 11

    Pour a ladleful of batter into the middle of the kadhai. Slowly rotate the pan in a circular motion to spread the batter around the kadhai. The batter will stick to the kadhai as you rotate and any excess batter will dribble back down into the middle. That's okay because we want a little excess batter in the middle and thin, lacy edges all around.

12. 12

    Cover with a lid and let it cook for a minute on medium flame. After a minute, remove the lid and cook for another 15-30 seconds on the flame. The appam is ready when the sides are set and the middle is cooked. Remove the appam on a porous plate to let it cool before serving.

13. 13

    Serve appams with kerala vegetable stew for breakfast or dinner.