Kandharappam

 

 

Kandharappam is a kind of Prasad (as the name states), offered to Lord Kandhan or Murugan. 

This is a very special sweet, which is made during festivals and functions like, Deepavali, Pillaiyar nonbu, marriages, betrothals, even get-togethers.

The sweetener used here is jaggery, which is made from unrefined healthy sugar cane juice.

Ingredients:

Raw rice/long grain rice (paccharisi) – 1 and ¼ (one & quarter) cup

Ulundhu/Urad dhal/Black gram (without skin) - ¼ cup

Vellam/Jaggery – 1 cup (5 achus)

Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp (it gives a rich flavour and softens the batter)

Cardamom powder – 1/8 tsp

Grated coconut – 1 tbsp (optional)

Oil – for frying

Method:

Soak rice, black gram and fenugreek seeds together for an hour.

Grind all the ingredients except jaggery,with water. once the rice has been ground well, we can add jaggery and let it blend completely for 5 more minutes. The batter should neither be watery nor too thick. More or less like Uthappam mavu (batter)

For grinding we can use grinder or mixer.  Grinder is preferable for soft appams. If we use mixer, leave the batter to cool for ½ an hour before frying.

We can add 2 to 3 spoons of milk, just before frying. Use a deep kadai instead of flat one for frying.  Deep fry the appam one at a time. Stir the batter until the bottom, before frying each appam. Because, the rice flour settles at the bottom.

Appams are tasty when it is served hot, but tastier after few hours of making or even the day after.  They would have turned soft like sponge by that time. This is why we make Kandharappam on Deepavali eve, to serve the next day. Should be finished by next day, otherwise refrigerate. To reheat, steam in idli pot to get soft appams.

This batter can yield up to 35 to 40 appams (small to medium)

If you want you can make more appams by increasing the quantity of ingredients proportionately. The ratio of rice and urad dhal is 5:1.

 

Tips Tips Tips..

Everytime we may not get the right consistency, sometimes appam can stick to the bottom while frying, perhaps the batter is too thick, try to add little more milk to dilute.

Also, if the appam turns hard, probably dhal content is not enough, add one scoop of idli batter and try again.

Any rectification you try, first try with small quantity of batter, in a separate bowl. Once it works out well, you can continue with the rest.

 

Avoid Basmathi rice.