Neyyappam

Neyyappam,Unniappam a very famous snack in Kerala.I used to visit a krishna temple just for this "Neyyappam" :)).They gave this snack as prashadam.After coming here to US didn't get a chance to make it mainly because i didn't have the Unniappam pan which is used for making this delicious neyyappam.So when my MIL visited us , i asked her bring this pan.And she made unniappam, paniyaram(tamil version).It's been 2 years since i used it.When "Ghee" was anounced as the Jihva for ingredients , the first thing crossed my mind was Neyyappam.The name "Neyyappam" because it is fried in Ghee.You can use regular oil for frying.

Ingredients
Rice flour - 1 cup
Banana - 2 (the small ones which u get in the indian stores)
Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom pods- 3
Ghee - 4tbsp
Baking soda - a pinch(optional)
Sesame seeds - 1tsp (optional)
Coconut slices- 1tbsp(optional) fried in ghee.

Method
For making rice flour - Soak 1 cup of raw rice ( i used laxmi brand idly rice) for 1 hour.Drain and spread it in a paper towel.After draining fully grind it in a mixie.
I grinded the cardomom pods along with the rice.Sift the flour and keep it aside.

In mixie, grind the bananas, jaggery (don't add water).Add the rice flour and grind again until is mixed fully.Add baking soda,sesame seeds,fried coconut slices if you want.If the batter is too thick you can add little bit water/milk to make it a good consistency.Keep the batter aside for about 1-2 hours.The longer it is kept, the softer the appa will be.

Spray Non-stick spray to the Appam pan and wipe it off with a paper towel.Place it in the stove and fill 1/4 of each holes in the pan with ghee.Now pour the batter into the holes. Make sure it is not overflowing.Just add batter upto 3/4 of the hole.When the bottom side of the appam is golden brown(i prefer darker brown) , turn it upside down using a fork or pappadam kambi.Be careful while using fork cause oil may splutter.You can use even chopsticks for this.When appam are fried golden brown , take it out and drain the oil in a paper towel.Serve it hot with some tea.

You can use wheat flour instead of rice flour also for thses appam.shall post that recipe soon.


This will be my entry for Jihva for ingredients-ghee