How to make Perfect Spongy Appam Batter at Home / Appam Recipe / Appam without yeast

This easy to make recipe traces its origin to the Southern part of India. It is most popular in Kerala and Tamilnadu. It is also a popular breakfast in Sri Lanka where they call it as hoppers or appa. We can also do this easy recipe with some variations using honey, egg,  jaggery, milk, ghee. People use yeast or toddy (kallu) to the appam batter for fermentation. But here we are using coconut as a fermenting agent. 

My amma likes to do this often. As I am not a big fan of this I say a big no when she asks me to eat. My siblings use to have this with coconut milk and sugar. Now after marriage I started to like aapam with uralaikizhangu kurma, channa gravy or egg curry. To me it is a special dish which I make in weekends alone. Try this for your next breakfast or dinner. Here we go to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Raw Rice/ Pacharisi – 1 cup

Cooked rice – ½ cup

Fresh grated coconut - ¾ cup

Baking soda – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Sugar – 2 tblspn

Oil/ Ghee

Method:

Wash and soak raw rice in water for 2 to 3 hours. Drain water and grind it.

Now add cooked rice and grated coconut along with this. 

Add little water to get a batter with smooth poring consistency. It should be thinner than dosa batter.

Transfer it to a wide container and leave it overnight for fermentation.

At the time of appam preparation, add cooking soda, salt and sugar to it and mix well.

Heat aapam pan and grease it with little oil or ghee.

Pour a big ladleful of batter into it and swirl it around by holding the side of pan. By this a thin layer forms on the sides while it remains thicker in the centre.

Smear oil on the edges and cover it with a lid. Cook on a slow flame for 2 to 3 minutes. 

When the centre fluffy part is cooked, remove and serve.

Notes:

• Do not add coconut pieces while grinding in a wet grinder as it will get stuck.
• If the batter is too thick it will not spread as you swirl. Be sure it is thinner than dosa batter.
• Cook the aapam in slow flame. On a high flame, it won’t cook properly in the middle.