Appam in Kerala can trace it's origin to the Syrian Christians. It may have been brought over by the Jews and the original appam may have changed over the years.
There are two kinds of Appam, depending on the amount of coconut and the way it is cooked. Palappam and Vellayappam. The Palappam requires less coconut and has the lacy outer appearance. It uses coconut milk and is also called kallappam if Toddy is used. Since unadulterated toddy is hard to get in Kerala these days and not at all here in Gulf :), one always substitute yeast for toddy.
The Vellayappam requires more coconut and is made thicker. It is made with coconut ground coarsely. The more coconut you use the more tastier. While I scrimp on coconut, my MIL is lavish with it since she needs only to use the coconut in her backyard! Palappam needs more time if you have only one "Chatti" while if you have a big non stick pan you can make more than one Vellayappam. If you have holes popping up when you pour the mix then you can be sure that the fermentation is right and your appam is going to behave well :)
The batter when it has almost doubled:
Both the appams can be eaten with curries like chicken/mutton/vegetable stew or the kadala curry. No Easter or Christmas morning is complete without the appam and this tradition is still carried out in most households.
The Vellayappam requires more coconut and is made thicker. It is made with coconut ground coarsely. The more coconut you use the more tastier. While I scrimp on coconut, my MIL is lavish with it since she needs only to use the coconut in her backyard! Palappam needs more time if you have only one "Chatti" while if you have a big non stick pan you can make more than one Vellayappam. If you have holes popping up when you pour the mix then you can be sure that the fermentation is right and your appam is going to behave well :)
The batter when it has almost doubled:
Both the appams can be eaten with curries like chicken/mutton/vegetable stew or the kadala curry. No Easter or Christmas morning is complete without the appam and this tradition is still carried out in most households.
These days it is possible to buy the instant appam mixes and some of them are good.
The traditional Appam Chatti is made of iron. If the vessel is good, it behaves just like your non stick pan and needs no oil. But in case your appam sticks, you can rub a cut onion or potato or fry an egg :)
The traditional Appam Chatti is made of iron. If the vessel is good, it behaves just like your non stick pan and needs no oil. But in case your appam sticks, you can rub a cut onion or potato or fry an egg :)
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| The traditional appam chatti made of iron |
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| Palappam |
Now for the recipes:
(Palappam) Appam made with rice
Ingredients:
1. Raw rice / Pachari– 3 cup (you can also use basmati rice of any variety)
2. Coconut - 1 1/2 cup or Coconut Milk 1 1/2 cups
3. Boiled Rice - 1 1/2 cup
4. Salt to taste
5. Sugar-3 tblspn
6. Yeast -1/2 to 1 tsp
7. Water as needed
Method
Wash the rice well and soak it for around 3 hours. Grind this along with coconut and boiled rice. Meanwhile let the yeast rise in warm water mixed with sugar. Alternatively you can skip this step and grind the yeast along with the rice. Leave the mixture covered overnight for fermentation. Make sure you select a vessel that can hold the mix when it may double up.
Instead of grinding boiled rice you can also take a cup of water and add 2 or 3 spoons of rice powder to it and boil it until it becomes thick. This can be added to the ground rice. One can also use Kallu or Toddy instead of yeast.
Before the entry of non stick pans, appam was made in iron tava with a dip in the centre. If you are using the iron tava, make sure to rub the tava with a little vegetable oil before making each appam. A non stick tava do not need any oil.
For making appam, a ladle of mix is poured and the tava is slowly turned around to make the lacy outer. This is left for slow cooking while covered. Excess mix will settle in the center to provide the puffy look.
For making appam, a ladle of mix is poured and the tava is slowly turned around to make the lacy outer. This is left for slow cooking while covered. Excess mix will settle in the center to provide the puffy look.
One can also make the appam with rice powder and coconut milk. The rest of the ingredients will remain the same. For 3 cups of rice powder you may add 1 and 1/2 cup of coconut milk. If you are using the instant powder: 2 Tbspn powder mixed with 1 cup of warm water equals one cup of coconut milk.
Now for the Appam with Wheat
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| Appam made with wheat powder |
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| Just trying a different shape! |
1. Wheat powder - 2 cup
2. Milk - 2 Tbspn
3. Yeast - 1/2 tspn
4. Sugar - 3 Tbspn
5. Coconut milk - 1/4 cup or more (coconut increases the softness and taste)
6. Salt as required
Mix the above and leave it for fermentation overnight. Make appam as earlier mentioned.
Vellayappam
Ingredients:
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Only recently I discovered that one can entirely skip the boiled rice or boiled rice powder. Earlier when rice was pounded at home, the sieving of the powdered flour always left some residue (തരി). The homemakers may have incorporated this into the mix by adding water and boiling it instead of wasting it. ( കപ്പി കാച്ചുക ). Hence if you have slightly roasted rice powder, making appam is a very easy job. Just mix it with enough coconut powder or ground coconut depending on the appam you want, along with enough yeast and leave it for fermentation.
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A bit of history!
Vellayappam
Ingredients:
1. Raw rice / Pachari– 3 cup (you can also use basmati rice of any variety)
2. Coconut- 1& 1/2 cup (more if you have!)
3. Boiled Rice - 1& 1/2 cup
4. Salt to taste
5. Sugar-3 tblspn
6. Yeast -1 tsp
7. Water as needed
Method
Wash the rice well and soak it for around 3 hours. Grind the rice and when it is half way through, grind coconut and boiled rice. Meanwhile let the yeast rise in warm water mixed with sugar. Alternatively you can skip this step and grind the yeast along with the rice. Leave the mixture covered overnight for fermentation.
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Only recently I discovered that one can entirely skip the boiled rice or boiled rice powder. Earlier when rice was pounded at home, the sieving of the powdered flour always left some residue (തരി). The homemakers may have incorporated this into the mix by adding water and boiling it instead of wasting it. ( കപ്പി കാച്ചുക ). Hence if you have slightly roasted rice powder, making appam is a very easy job. Just mix it with enough coconut powder or ground coconut depending on the appam you want, along with enough yeast and leave it for fermentation.
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A bit of history!
Am reading Wilbur Smith's Seventh Scroll and that is when I came across something similar to appam the Injera bread! Upon checking the recipe I find that it is almost similar except for the addition of coconut. So I guess appam must have it's origin in Africa (Ethiopia)! Here is a picture of Injera bread.
The Injera bread uses the teff flour. It is a flour made with the smallest grain on earth and it seems it is grown in India too. It looks like rice or wheat.
The Injera bread uses the teff flour. It is a flour made with the smallest grain on earth and it seems it is grown in India too. It looks like rice or wheat.
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