Sweet Appams

For Krishna-jayanthi this year, I decided to make these appams as neivedhyam (offering) for God. When I made this once before I ground the soaked rice a bit coarse and I'm not sure if that's the reason but the appams weren't all that soft. This time my mom suggested that I grind it very smooth and also add the banana, coconut & jaggery during the grinding process instead of after and let it rest for a while to get soft appams - it worked and it was delicious. I hope Krishna was happy too.

SWEET APPAMS (makes 30)


Ingredients:

Raw Rice (Pacharisi) - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup, powdered

Banana - 1 large ripe, mashed

Coconut - 3 tbsp, shredded

Dried Ginger (Sukku) - 3 pinches, powdered (optional)

Cardamom (Elaichi) - 2 or 3, powdered finely (with some sugar, so it's easier to grind)

Coconut bits - 1 tbsp, fried in a drop of ghee till golden (optional)

Ghee - little

Method:

1) Soak rice in water for an hour or two. Drain and grind to a smooth paste with as little water as possible (I used the small jar of the mixie and got a reasonably smooth, thick paste)

2) When the rice is smooth, add the coconut, mashed banana and powdered jaggery and let it spin for a while more in the mixie until well combined.

3) Stir in the sukku, coconut bits (if using) and the cardamom powder and let it rest for atleast 4 hours.. mine was out for about 6 hours. [It's soft with this resting time]

4) Heat an appam pan (the one used to make kuzhipaniyaarams) on medium. When hot, add a tiny drop of ghee in each mould (since I use a non-stick pan, otherwise you may require more than just a drop) .

5) Spoon the batter into the moulds, cover and allow to cook till the edges are set and the middle is still a bit gooey - flip over.. I use the wooden stick with the pan but have often used a chopstick and it works just as well. Allow this to cook for a few more minutes till cooked through. Remove from the stove and proceed with the next batch.