Kuzhi Paniyaram:

 




We can use Aappam mavu/batter to make Kuzhi Paniyaram as well.


Aappam batter can also be used to make crispy Vendhaya Dosai. Just we need to dilute

the batter with little more water and make thin Dosais as usual. This will turn out very

well, similar to the Restaurant Dosais.



Ingredients:

Aappam mavu/batter 

Big onion – 1(finely chopped) (or)

Small Onion – 10 to 12 (finely chopped)

 Curry leaves – few (finely chopped)

 Coriander leaves – 1 tbs (finely chopped)

 Spring onion – few sprigs (trimmed and finely chopped) – (optional)

 Green Chilli – deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

 Grated Carrot – 2 tbsp

 Salt – to taste








Method:


Mix all the above ingredients and combine with the Aappam mavu. Take a non-stick

Kuzhipaniyaram pan, grease with oil. Pour the batter until the kuzhi is half filled. When one

side is done, turn over and cook the other side, until golden brown. It can be served with any

kind of chutney or sambhar.

It’s very simple, yet very delicious. If you don’t possess a kuzhi-paniyaram pan, you can use

Dosai pan. You can make Mini Uthappams. Kids will enjoy both Kuzhipaniyaram and mini

Uthappam.

Aappam

 

 

Appam is my son's favorite dish. It's not only delicious but also got medicinal value, which use to cure mouth ulcers, stomach ulcers and reduce body heat. The combination of fenugreek, rice, jaggery and coconut milk works wonders.

Usually, we eat with coconut milk. But for the spicy touch, we use to make tomato chilly chutney, in addition to coconut milk.


Ingredients:


Raw rice/long grain rice/paccharisi - 1 cup

Idli ponni arisi/idli rice/par boiled rice - 1 cup

Urad dhal/black gram - 1/4 cup

Fenugreek seeds - 2 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Coconut milk:

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Crushed Vellam/Jaggerry - 1/2 to 1 cup ( I use 1/2)

Cardamom powder - 1/8 tsp or
Crushed cardamom - 2

Warm water - 1 cup

Hot Milk - 1/2 cup


Method:


Soak rice, dhal and fenugreek for 1 hour.

Add salt and grind like idly/dosa batter.

Allow it to ferment for 6 to 8 hours, the batter would have doubled up by the time.

Fermented batter produces a nice aroma, esp., from fenugreek .

Now, it's time to make Appam

Take a non-stick Appam pan, pour one scoop of batter into the pan and rotate it (the pan) to

spread evenly. The centre would be thick, and the corners would be thin. If bubbles appear,

then it indicates the batter has fermented well enough. Cover with the lid, let it cook for 30

seconds to 1 minute, at medium heat, until the corners become crispy and the centre portion
cooked enough. Transfer the Appam to plate and stack the appams one over the other.

For coconut milk, thaw the coconut if it's been frozen. Fresh coconut yields more milk,

though. Add enough warm water and grind it in the mixer. Squeeze out the milk using a

kitchen linen.(clean white cloth)

You can extract more milk with the same coconut again, repeating the above procedure.

Add Jaggerry to the hot milk and let it dissolve. Strain it with a filter, to get rid of sand

particles from the Jaggerry, if any. Mix it with coconut milk, check the sweet, add more

Jaggerry/sugar, if needed.

Serve Appam with coconut milk.

For spicy touch, serve with tomato/chilli chutney. 

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.