Appam ( Rice pan cake )

Appam is one the traditional dishes of Kerala. Appam is often served with kadala (kala chana) curry, vegetable stew or coconut milk. For Christmas I made appam with kadala curry which is one of my favorites. The proportions vary from household to household. I learned this recipe from my mom. In my family we made appam almost every week in the morning for break fast. I can still remember my hostel days in Trivandrum. Appam was usally served for breakfast. Those days I didn't like appam so much, but now I like it. I will post the kadala curry soon.

Ingredients

• 3 cups idly rice or raw rice
  
• 1 cup of shredded coconut
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1tsp Urad dal
• A pinch of Baking soda
• Salt for taste

Method

Soak the rice, fenugreek and urad dal for about 4-5hrs.

Drain the soaked rice and grind along with coconut to a thick paste. Keep the batter for 8hrs for fermentation. Once the batter is fermented add the baking soda and salt to the batter and mix the batter.

Heat a small non-stick pan which is shallow. In a spoon take the batter and pour the batter gently to the non-stick pan. Gently swirl the pan around so that a thin layer of batter covers the sides and thick layer collects at the bottom. Cover the lid and cook for 1 minute till the edges become golden crisp and centre is soft. It is only required to cook on one side of the appam.

Serve hot with kadala curry.