Appam kerala style ~ Appam with yeast

First i hate to name this has Appam. we call it as ஆப்பம்(aappam), in english it may be read / means burp. so without heart i call it appam now! My great grand mom used to make appam with coconut toddy (kallu) for us. the flavor and taste of those appam is just unbeatable. forget the drowsiness after eating appam. and just for the drowsiness, we kids won't be fed appam on school days!! 

On our recent trip to kerala, i had appam for break-fast and also for dinner all the 2 days we stayed. i like these soft white bowl shaped appam so much! 

                                as the appam is in oval shaped plate, it looks in oval shape! 

what i have made here is, appam with yeast. yeast is used as a substitute for toddy. usually fresh toddy should be added to the appam batter, which naturally ferments. it should be allowed to ferment for at least 8 hrs. In my experience, even if you are preparing appam without yeast, the batter should be allowed to ferment for above 16 hrs. only then you can get perfect appam's.

How to eat the appam is, sprinkle 2 or 3 tsp's of sugar in the centre of the appam and pour coconut milk/ just plain milk, let the appam soak for few seconds and eat! It will be a divine break-fast!

appam served with veg stew & milk and sugar

Appam 

yields about 20 appam's

Ingredients:

• Raw rice - 2 cup's (400gms)
• Par boiled rice / Idly rice - 2 cup's (400 gms)
• Urad dal - 1/2 cup (50 gms)
• Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
• Luke warm water - 1/4 cup
• Active dry yeast - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Rock salt / kal uppu - 1 tsp

Method:

Soak the raw rice, par boiled rice, urad dal and fenugreek in water for about 4 hours. Grind them into a very smooth and thin batter(not very thin actually). the grinding time may take from 45 minutes to 1 hour when grinded in grinder. Once the grinded appam batter is ready, transfer the batter to a clean vessel and close it with its lid and let the batter to ferment for overnight or 12 hours. 

After fermentation, its time to add yeast and let it ferment for the second time. so prepare for this second fermentation, ahead of 2 hrs of preparing appam. In a small mixing bowl, mix yeast, sugar, rock salt in Luke warm water and stir well with a spoon so that the yeast get's dissolved. close the mixing bowl with a plate and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. this is to prove the yeast for its activeness. once the yeast mixture turns frothy, add it to the fermented appam batter and stir well. Now let the appam batter ferment for the second time for about 1 and half hrs to 2 hrs. once the batter ferments. its ready to make appam.

this pic is taken after first fermentation. it actually ferments more after adding yeast!

Mix little water, if the batter is too thick. heat a appa kadaai, i use my non-stick appam pan. smear the pan with a drop of oil. with a sliced onion, just spread the oil on sides of the pan(repeat this when preparing each and every appam). Pour 2 heaped ladle full of appam batter in the center of the appa kadaai / pan and swirl the kadaai / pan, this makes the batter spreading towards the sides of the pan. close the pan with its lid. let the appam get cooked in high flame for just a minute. 

if you want the centre of the appam to be thick(like in the above pics) and the sides thinner, you should add another ladle of batter, this makes the excess batter get into the center. but you have to put the flame in medium and close the appam pan. it may take more than a minute for the appam to get cooked. you can test, by touching the center of the appam. if it sticks, its not cooked! then wait for some more time.

The left over appam batter can be put back in fridge, actually it ferments again and that gives still good appam 's in the next batch. do not forget to finish up the batter in 2 day's. its not like our idly batter, which keeps good for 5-7 day's. 

Notes:

if you want to prepare appam without yeast, just let the appam batter ferment for about 16 hours. take half a cup of water, add 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp rock salt and 1/4 tsp of cooking soda and mix well. now add the mixed water to the fermented batter and mix well. let the batter rest for 30 minutes before you start making appam.

You can also add Instant yeast and add it to the batter, without proving the yeast. if using coconut toddy, add 1 cup of toddy, for this recipe.