The Authentic Neiyappam/Unniyappam From Kerala

The Authentic Neiyappam/Unniyappam From Kerala

Ingredients 

1. Raw rice 1 cup

2. Jaggery 250 grams

3. Bananas 3

4. Coconut slices/bits a handful 

5. Black sesame seeds 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp 

6. Ghee to toast the coconut slices/bits

7. Cardamom powder a pinch

8. Oil or ghee for cooking the appams

Method Of Preparation 

1. Wash the rice well under cold running water  & let the rice soak in water for 5 hours.

2. Melt jaggery in about 3/4 cup of water on a medium-low flame to a somewhat thick syrup & strain it well & set it aside for it to cool. 

3. Discard the water in which the rice is soaked & grind the rice adding some melted, strained & cooled jaggery syrup. 

4. Mash the bananas well & set it aside.

5. Mix the ground rice, rest of the cooled jaggery syrup & mashed bananas together & make a batter.

6. Heat a kadai on a medium flame & add the black sesame seeds in it & toast them & add the seeds to the batter.

7. In the same kadai/pan add some ghee & fry the coconut bits in it. Fry until they turn golden brown in color. Add the coconut bits to the batter & stir everything together until well combined. 

8. The batter needs to be the consistency of dosa batter. If you find it too thick, then add water little at a time. Each time you add water, check the consistency, if needed, add more.

9. Cover & allow the batter to rest overnight.

10. Prepare unniyappams the following morning. 

11. Pour oil upto half in all the moulds in the appam pan & heat the pan on high. It definitely shouldn't be smoking hot but it still needs to be very hot.

12. Just before adding the batter, reduce the flame to medium. Add batter upto half in each mould & let it cook on a medium flame. Once one side becomes brown in color, flip to the other side & let it cook till that side also becomes nicely cooked. As the appam rises while getting cooked, the oil will rise too.

13. Once done, remove from the oil onto paper towels.

14. Serve hot with a cup of tea.

15. The unniyappams stay good for 3 days in room temperature. Store in an air tight container. If your storing it in the refrigerator, then before serving just warm it up in the microwave so that it turns soft. 

Notes

1. You need to allow the batter to rest in order to make very soft unniyappams. If you make it right away, they will not turn out soft.

2. I used robusta bananas & added three of them. The addition of bananas makes the appams very soft.

3. Please note that I have not added baking soda to the batter so do not add it. The addition of bananas & the resting of batter overnight is good enough to make soft appams.

4. It is not necessary to grind the batter to a fine paste. It can be a little coarse. 

5. Cook only on a medium flame. If you cook on a high flame, the appams will burn & they will remain uncooked on the inside.

6. You can also use ghee for cooking the appams. 

7. Use dark colored jaggery to get the perfect color. Light colored jaggery will change the color of the appams to a lighter shade, so try to use the dark ones.