Nei Appam
South Indian sweet fritters with rice, jaggery, banana and ghee
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw rice
- 1 cup grated jaggery
- 1 small banana chopped
- 3 - 4 cardamom
- 2 tbsp coconut bits / thenga kothu
- Ghee as needed
Instructions
- Wash and soak the rice for 3 hours. Spread on a cloth for 15-20 minutes. Or leave in a strainer / colander for 30 minutes.
- In a saucepan, add the jaggery, 3 tbsp water and melt the jaggery. Remove and strain for any impurities. Set aside to cool.
- Add the rice, cardamom to a mixie jar and grind it to a powder. Then add banana, half of the jaggery syrup and grind to a smooth batter.
- Transfer to a vessel and add remaining jaggery. Mix well and set aside for 1 hour.
- Heat a paniyaram pan and add 1 tsp ghee in each hole. Pour batter in each hole and cook in medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Once the bottom side is golden, turn the appam gently with a skewer. Cook till the other side also turns golden brown.
- Using a skewer, remove the appams and drain on a paper towel. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Do not heat the jaggery syrup too much. Once the jaggery melts, immediately remove it.
- Do not add more water to melt jaggery.
- You can also use half oil and half ghee instead of adding full ghee.
- The batter should be thick and flowing, similar to dosa batter consistency.
- This batter does not require any fermentation. But if you have time, set the batter aside for few hours and it will give soft appams.