"This is a journey of my life since I was all of 12 yrs when I started my hand in cooking to now with displays of my learning and creations of recipes from around the world. My inspiration and role model has always been my Mum who has always created dishes from around the world and excellently well. I do not believe I would ever match to her culinary skills. I remember the times she could cook and bake almost 4-5 dishes in one go without ever letting one go under cooked or burnt! I was born and raised in Dubai, UAE and recently moved to India for family reasons. Kitchenette just means that over the decades, my kitchen has changed from that of my mum's to my uncle and aunt's, to my home in UAE and now in India. Pala't'te, describes both global cuisines ('Palatte'-diverse flavours) and pleasing diverse 'Palates'."

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Traditional Appams ('KallAppam') - (Indian Toddy Pancakes)

'KallAppam'(Toddy Pancakes) - 'Kall' meaning 'Toddy' and Appam looks like pancakes. Appams can also be made as 'VellaAppam' which is made out of sugar and yeast. The Toddy, Sugar and Yeast are used for the fermentation process. We used to make 'VellaAppam' earlier. However due to the side effects of Yeast which was not agreeable to my Dad's diet owing to the side effects of yeast, we discontinued making 'VellaAppam'. Hence began the make of 'Kall'Appams at home. It is tastier and is one of my Mum's creations liked by all her children, family and guests at home.






















Cooking Time: 15 minutes|Makes 12 appams|Preparation Time(includes fermentation time):14 hrs

You need:

  • 1-1.5 cups of long grained rice (basmati rice) or raw (white) rice
  • 2 cups of 'Kall' (Toddy)
  • 1 cup of cooked rice (parboiled rice - which is fatter white rice than the basmati or long grained rice and is slightly shorter as well)

Raw Rice
* I will try and add pictures of the different rice types when I can to avoid any confusion

Method:

1. Soak 1-1.5 cup of the rice grains for a few hours(6 hrs - so if you soak it in the morning, you can grind it in the evening).

2. Grind the soaked rice with 2 cups of kallu. Do not throw away the water used to soak the rice grains. You may need it to grind the rice as required to grind the rice to a fine paste.

3. Add 1 cup cooked rice to the mix and grind well. Keep stored overnight. Use in the morning.

In the morning,

4. Heat a non-stick deep bottomed small pan(usually called 'AppamChatti' -(Pancake pan) - you can also get this pot made of iron)

5. Grease the pan with a dipped kitchen paper towel in oil. Repeat this between making each appam.

6. Pour the appam mixture (1/4 cup quantity) using a rounded spoon/ladle in the center of the pan.

'AppamChatti', the rounded spoon, wooden spatula



7. Using the handles of the pan, turn the appam batter in the pan in a clockwise fashion leaving the remaining batter to drop to the center of the pan . You will find the center is thicker than the sides.

8. Lower to medium-low heat and cover with the lid. It is important that you find the right pan(rounded pan or Appam Chatti) to get the desired result.

9.  After about a minute, your first appam should be ready. You will find the center is cooked and not goo-ey and the sides are crisp. Take it out with a wooden or non-stick spatula.

10. Repeat till the batter is used up or required quantity reached. You can also store the remaining batter in the fridge for use on the next day or to make Velaiappams (sweet appams). I will share this recipe with you the next time when I am left with extra batter.

Enjoy the Appams with Fish Mappas or Chicken Stew. Bon Appetit!




3 comments:

  1. I don't have access to any toddy - what can I substitute for it? Also, if I don't have any par boiled rice, can I just use regular raw rice?

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Chandribala
    Please accept my apology for the delay in responding as I was away in Kerala for a short break. As mentioned in this post, you can substitute toddy with yeast. In which case you need to add 1/2 tsp for every 2 cups of raw rice. I actually had posted a recipe to make toddy out of simple ingredients such as potatoes, yogurt(curd) and sugar. Please check this link http://gginaflavorspalatte.blogspot.in/2012/05/kall-toddy-for-fermentation-process-for.html
    You can use any rice instead of parboiled - I occasionally use brown or red rice if I do not have already made parboiled rice. Its best to use a fatter grain of rice than raw rice or long grained rice (in case of the cooked rice). PS. You can refrigerate and use the toddy for up to 6 months or longer if stored well. Do let me know how it turns out.

    ReplyDelete

"I would love to hear your views and suggestions on my post. If you have tried my recipe and made alterations too, I would love to learn of it!

Kindly do not post any links or advertisements as they would NOT get published.

In case you face any issue in posting your comments, please do get in touch with me on gginazkitchenette@gmail.com

Thanks in advance for all your positive comments, suggestions and critiques..I will respond to your comments and feedback as soon as possible....

Waiting to hear from you!"