South Indian
Appam (Kerala Fermented Rice and Coconut Pancakes)
Appam (Kerala Fermented Rice and Coconut Pancakes) is South Indian home cooking, eaten at breakfast and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw rice, soaked
- 1/2 cup cooked rice
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
How to cook it
- Soak the raw rice for 4 hours, then drain and blend it with the cooked rice, coconut, sugar, and just enough water into a smooth, thick batter.
- Cover and let the batter ferment at room temperature for 8 to 10 hours, or overnight, until it turns light and bubbly.
- Whisk the fermented batter with the salt to loosen it slightly, then heat a curved appachatti or small wok over medium heat and brush with a little oil.
- Pour a ladle of batter in the center and quickly swirl the pan so the batter spreads thin at the edges and pools thicker in the middle.
- Cover and cook until the edges turn lacy and golden and the center is soft and cooked through, about 3 minutes, then lift out and serve warm.
Serve it with
A South Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Appam (Kerala Fermented Rice and Coconut Pancakes), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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What it is eaten with
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The sharp little thing
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Something cool and fresh
A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Appam (Kerala Fermented Rice and Coconut Pancakes) carries coconut. It is free of the remaining 9 allergens on that list.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | Yes | Adai (Tamil Nadu Multi-Lentil Dosa) |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Moderate
- Protein
- Low
- Food groups it covers
- Grains and Nuts and seeds
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Appam (Kerala Fermented Rice and Coconut Pancakes) takes about 30 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a fair bit of work. It is eaten at breakfast and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
Watch someone make it
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More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on rice and coconut.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from South India.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.