Appam with Ground Rice (Traditional Method)

These fermented rice pancakes made in special appachattys, are a beloved staple from Kerala. Appam with beef curry, Appam with stew, Appam with Kadala curry, Appam with Mutta Roast are combinations that many hold close to their hearts. Learn how to make traditional Appams with ground rice here.

Total time includes Fermentation time.  (8 hours / Overnight)/

Appam with Ground Rice (Traditional Method)

I recommend soaking the rice by 3 pm, so that you can grind to a batter at night, to prepare Appams the next day. Remember if you leave the batter outside (in a warm atmosphere) for too long, the batter will turn too sour.

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The Recipe Intro includes links on how to make Appam by other methods as well Videos on How to swirl the Appam and How to make Flower Appam. It also contains links to curries you might like to go with your appams, and Malayalam video links. Check it out.
Check the Intro page ⇓.

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1. Rinse the rice thoroughly. Soak the rice in plenty of cold water for 4 or more hours.

   

2. Drain and reserve the soaking water.
3. Place the yeast, sugar and warm water in a cup for 10 – 20 minutes till it has risen and is very frothy.

   

   

4. Grind together the soaked and drained rice, the coconut, sugar, salt, yeast solution in as little water as possible – just enough to grind to a batter without too much friction- apply the following steps.
5. To a heavy-duty mixer/blender add and grind the raw rice first with 1 ½ cups of the ‘soaking’ water.

6. 

7.  
8. When somewhat blended, add the coconut and ½ cup more of the water, till blended. Then add the cooked rice and ¼ cup more of water. Grind till somewhat smooth and then add to a large container. Stir in the yeast mixture, salt and sugar and mix to incorporate well with a spatula.
   

   

   

9. 

   You should get a somewhat smooth batter although a fine grainy texture is fine for appam.

   

10. At this stage, the batter needs to be like idli batter consistency or thick pancake batter consistency.
11. LEAVE TO RISE:  around 8 hours  OR overnight, in a warm place till doubled in volume. (Remember to keep the batter in a large enough container to rise)

    

1. When ready to prepare,  add a little water (only if too thick), to make a loose pancake batter OR a ‘Dosa Batter’ Consistency. Taste and add salt or sugar if needed. Stir well from the bottom of the container.
2. Use an ‘Apa Chatti’ OR Rounded non-stick pan/ ‘kadai’ with a lid.
3. Pour a ladleful of batter, to the heated pan. Wait for 5 seconds.

   

4. Hold both handles and rotate the pan till the batter spreads over the pan evenly. Swirling two times should be enough. Swirl in one direction only.

   

5. Cover the pan, turn down the heat and cook for about one minute.

   

6. Remove the lid and turn up the heat, if you want a crisped edge.
7. (Some like, a very white and soft Appam, some prefer slightly crisped around the edges).
8. The center should be a little ‘puffed’ up and soft.

   

9. With a flat spatula, slide off the appam. ( do not flip the appam over- it requires cooking only on one side)
10. Place on Kitchen Parchment Paper as you prepare the next one.
11. Once you have made the fourth one, the very first one should be cool enough to place inside your Casserole dish. Place the appams into the casserole in this manner(after cooling off on paper)  so that they do not stick to each other.

Appam with Ground Rice (Traditional Method)

Author: Shana Shameer

Difficulty: Intermediate Prep Time 20 mins Cook Time 25 mins Total Time 8 hrs 45 mins

Servings: 19

Description

Appam is a type of fermented pancake originating from Kerala, South India, made with fermented rice batter and coconut. It is a popular breakfast or dinner food in Kerala, typically served with a wide variety of veg or non-veg curries, stews, or simply coconut milk.

Ingredients:

Servings

• 3 cups Raw rice/ Broken rice (Pachari/ Pacharisi/ Kacha chawal)

• ½ tsp Yeast (to be mixed with 1 tsp sugar + ¾ cup warm water)

• 2-3 Tbsp Sugar (to taste)

• 1 tsp Salt (to taste)

• 1½ cups Grated coconut

• 1½ cups 'Cooked' rice (white or kerala 'matta' rice -I used kerala rice here)

• 2½ cups Water (APPROXIMATE measure - enough to get the batter consistency right)

Instructions:

Video ON

1. Rinse the rice thoroughly. Soak the rice in plenty of cold water for 4 or more hours.
   I recommend soaking the rice by 3 pm, so that you can grind to a batter at night, to prepare Appams the next day. Remember if you leave the batter outside (in a warm atmosphere) for too long, the batter will turn too sour.
2. Drain and reserve the soaking water.
3. Place the yeast, sugar and warm water in a cup for 10 - 20 minutes till it has risen and is very frothy.
4. Grind together the soaked and drained rice, the coconut, sugar, salt, yeast solution in as little water(soaking water) as possible - just enough to grind to a batter without too much friction - apply the following steps.
5. To a heavy-duty mixer/blender add and grind the raw rice first with 1 ½ cups of the 'soaking' water.
6. When somewhat blended, add the coconut and ½ cup more of the water, till blended.
7. Then add the cooked rice and ¼ cup more of water. Grind till somewhat smooth and then add to a large container.
8. Stir in the yeast mixture, salt and sugar and mix to incorporate well with a spatula.
9. You should get a somewhat smooth batter although a fine grainy texture is fine for appam.
10. At this stage, the batter needs to be like idli batter consistency or thick pancake batter consistency.
11. LEAVE TO RISE:  around 8 hours  OR overnight, in a warm place till doubled in volume. (Remember to keep the batter in a large enough container to rise)
12. When ready to prepare,  add a little water (only if too thick), to make a loose pancake batter OR a 'Dosa Batter' Consistency. Taste and add salt or sugar if needed. Stir well from the bottom of the container.
13. Use an 'Apa Chatti' OR Rounded non-stick pan/ 'kadai' with a lid.
14. Pour a ladleful of batter, to the heated pan. Wait for 5 seconds.
15. Hold both handles and rotate the pan till the batter spreads over the pan evenly. Swirling two times should be enough. Swirl in one direction only.
16. Cover the pan, turn down the heat and cook for about one minute.
17. Remove the lid and turn up the heat, if you want a crisped edge.
18. (Some like, a very white and soft Appam, some prefer slightly crisped around the edges).
19. The center should be a little 'puffed' up and soft.
20. With a flat spatula, slide off the appam. ( do not flip the appam over- it requires cooking only on one side)
21. Place on Kitchen Parchment Paper as you prepare the next one.
22. Once you have made the fourth one, the very first one should be cool enough to place inside your Casserole dish. Place the appams into the casserole in this manner(after cooling off on paper)  so that they do not stick to each other.

Note

General tips on Appam making:

• If initially, your Appam does not come off the pan easily, you can try frying one egg 'Sunny Side Up' in the pan before starting with the appams. This tends to solve this problem.
• Do not Oil or grease the pan heavily. This will usually cause the batter to run all over the pan when swirled instead of attaching to the pan. This will also happen if the pan is not hot enough.
• If your non-stick is worn down, you can LIGHTLY wipe a bit of oil over the surface of the pan before starting but not in between each appam.
• For Crisper Appams around the edges, try adding 1 tsp baking soda to the batter (only at the time of making- do not add to the batter that is to be stored in the fridge)
• Remember the center of the appam is meant to be soft, not crisp!
• The Appam can be made as golden around the sides as you like, just be patient and cook it longer. Some prefer a very white Appam - all down to personal preference.
• Adding a little more sugar will help to get golden laced appams too. But not everyone likes it too sweet.
• If making using store-bought Appam Flour - be careful when adding salt, it may already be included.
• Use New Yeast(if using): using old yeast often, we find that the yeast solution will not rise properly. Remember the water should be quite warm but not so hot that you can not insert your finger comfortably in the water and keep it there. (Or it will kill the yeast) the ideal temperature is 100 - 110ºC
• If you live in a cooler climate, place the batter in a moderately preheated oven for five minutes and then turn the power off- leave the batter to work its magic in there with the door closed: Don't forget to place a tray under the large container to prevent  the possibility of over-risen batter, spilling  into your oven.
• If you have leftover batter you can store them in the fridge. Left Over Batter can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 days. Bring down to room temperature before making for better results. (Although I have made them  without waiting with good results) I like to keep the batter in spaghetti containers, they store easily in my fridge door.

I do not recommend allowing the batter to ferment in the day time and storing the entire amount in the fridge for the next day, you can wake up to a terrible mess in the fridge from spilled batter ( because rising may continue) I only store the leftover batter for this reason.

Key Ingredients: Rice, Coconut, Salt, Sugar, Yeast/ Coconut Water.

Keywords: appam, vellapayam, pal appam