Kerala appam recipe with rice flour
This is an easy Kerala appam recipe with rice flour. I make this appam without soaking rice or grinding it.
Here is a popular YouTube video to show how it is made :
Kerala appam recipe with rice flour
Appam is one of the most delicious and famous Kerala breakfasts. Kerala appam is a specialty dish on special festivals like Easter and Christmas also. It is also called rice hoppers. I make this appam without soaking rice on many days.
Kerala appam pairs well with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian stews, like vegetables stew, chicken or mutton stew. It goes well with egg stew and kadala (chickpea) curry. It is delicious and easy to make.
This Egg curry pairs very well with appams.
http://curryside.com/recipes/easy-egg-curry-egg-masala-naadan-mutta-curry/
I have given recipes for more curries and stews that pair really well with appams. Please find them below this article and try them out!
Traditional way to make appam:
Kerala appam is traditionally made with ground and fermented rice and coconut batter.
Soak the rice for about 5 to 6 hours. Then drain the water and grind it in a mixer along with freshly grated or fresh frozen coconut and fresh toddy or yeast, till it is somewhat smooth. Toddy is an alcoholic drink that is made from the sap of certain types of palm trees.
Then leave it to ferment for about 5 to 10 hours. Once fermented, just salt the batter according to your preference and make appams. Add some sugar to the batter if you like sweeter appams. These are super delicious and it is finished in no time!
But for those who are too busy and have no time to soak or grind rice, here is the ‘Kerala appam recipe with rice flour’
You will get the same results without soaking rice ! Just use rice flour instead and save time.
How to make easy appam without soaking rice.
Instead, of soaking rice, use rice flour to make the batter. The process is almost the same as above, except you substitute rice with rice flour. I will give you step-by-step instructions below on the process.
Alternatives to toddy:
I mostly use yeast with a little cooked rice instead of toddy. Toddy is not readily available here where I live.
Both instant yeast and dry active yeast is also good for fermentation.
Instant yeast will ferment the batter faster than the dry active yeast.
If you use dry active yeast, first dilute it in some warm water. Add in a little sugar to speed up the fermentation process. It will show a few air bubbles in about 3 to 4 minutes. Grind this along with the batter.
But, always remember to use fresh yeast !
Fermentation process:
I place the appam batter in a warm spot for about 8 to 12 hours. If the weather is cold, it may take longer to ferment. In that case, place it in an oven with just the light bulb on. The warmth of the bulb will aid the batter in fermenting.
You can also place it in a closed cupboard or cover the container containing the batter with a blanket. The warmth needed to ferment the appam batter is maintained in this way,
How to make :
You can see the appam batter is fermented when it has almost doubled in quantity. There will be small bubbles in the batter, if it is fermented well. If not, leave it for some more time, till you see the bubbles in the appam batter.
The small bubbles in the batter ensure that the appam will be soft when it is cooked.
Kerala appam is usually made in an Appam Chatti (specially used to make appams with a lacy border and a soft center). But since I use an electric range with a flat base, I could not use my round base appam chatti.
No problem though! Just like me, you can use a normal dosa pan to make these soft appams.
Salt the batter to your liking. Then, heat the pan on medium. pour the batter in the centre. Leave it a little thick. No need to spread it like a dosa batter in circles. This type of appam is called Vellappam
Cover with a lid and allow to cook till you see small holes developing over the batter.
No need to flip the appam. Once cooked, in about 2 minutes, serve it with a curry or stew of your choice and enjoy !
More Tips are given below to make soft Kerala appams!
Also try our other Kerala style dishes and let me know your feedback in the comments section below.
Also follow me on my YouTube channel Curryside, where I share other Indian recipes that are household staples. I have shared the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6rCjv3AVIj7sNK3r7NpG_g
Please check these special Kerala recipes in this site and my YouTube channel:
Easy Chicken Curry (again perfect with appam)
Raw Mango Curry (tangy and delicious for a weekday meal)
Cabbage Stir-fry (easy on-the-go veggie fry)
Try it out and let me know !
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a Mixer grinder, grind together rice flour, coconut, yeast, sugar, and cooked rice using a little water at at time. You can grind it in small batches.. The batter should be creamy in consistency. Not too thick or too runny.
- Keep aside the batter for 8 to 12 hours or at least till it is fermented and you see tiny bubbles in the batter. It should also have increased in size.
- Once fermented, add some salt to your liking in the batter. Add in a little water to loosen the consistency. Add more sugar if needed.
- On a medium to low heat, place a well greased frying pan or tava. Pour a ladle full of batter on the pan and cover it with a lid.
- After a couple of minutes, check to see if the batter have changed color from pure white to an off-white color. Also, you may be able to see small holes formed over the appam or rice hopper. This shows that it is cooked well. So, there is no need to flip it.
- Gently remove from pan and serve hot with a stew or curry of your choice.
Notes
In winter months or colder places, ferment the batter by placing it in a closed oven with the bulb turned on. The warmth of the bulb put on will enhance faster fermentation. If you do not have instant yeast, first mix the dry active yeast in 2 to 3 tablespoons of warm water with a teaspoon of sugar. Leave it for about 10 minutes till it froths. Then add it to the batter and grind. Use fresh yeast for better and faster fermentation. Use a little lukewarm water for grinding. It will make the fermentation quicker. You may skip coconut in this recipe if you do not have it, but it tastes better with fresh or frozen coconut. You can use fresh coconut milk or even coconut milk made with coconut milk powder and add to this recipe. But accordingly reduce the water added to the batter while grinding If you prefer the traditional method of preparing batter, you can first soak rice (any short grained rice/ idli rice/ basmati rice) in water for about 6 to 7 hours and then grind with the same ingredients in this recipe leaving out the rice powder. You will get soft appams.