How to make appam with rice flour

Appam is a South Indian recipe that is simple to make and can be prepared for your loved ones at any time. Traditional South Indian recipes often include curries and chutneys. This recipe is easy to prepare at home with readily available ingredients. Rice flour, sugar, dry yeast, and coconut are all you need to prepare this easy recipe traditionally.

How to Make Appam Recipe

1. The first step is to rinse 1.5 cups of regular white rice in water a few times. Then soak the rice in a bowl with 2 cups of water for 4 to 5 hours.
2. Drain all the water and discard it. Add the drained, soaked rice to a blender or grinder jar. Add 2 tsp of grated fresh coconut, 4 tbsp of poha (flattened rice), 2 tsp salt, and 2 tbsp sugar.

Instead of flattened rice (poha or aval), you can use cooked or steamed rice.

3. Add 3/4 cup water (or as needed) and blend or grind the ingredients to create a smooth and fine-flowing batter.
4. If using Dry Active yeast

Mix 1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast with 1 to 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water. Mix the yeast solution into the batter and add it to the mix. Cover and leave to ferment for 8 to 12 hours, based on the temperature conditions. Next day, the batter will rise and double in size.

If using Instant Yeast

Add ½ teaspoon Instant yeast (rapid rising yeast).

5. Make sure to mix thoroughly to dissolve the fine yeast granules in the batter. Cover and leave to ferment for 1 to 2 hours. You can also use an instant pot to ferment the batter.
6. Heat an appam pan or a seasoned kandai/wok with handles on the stovetop. Sprinkle about 12 teaspoon of oil on the pan and spread it evenly. If your kadai is nonstick, skip applying oil.

The appam pan or appachatti works best as you get a soft, fluffy texture in the center and crisp texture around the circumference. Fill the hot pan with a ladle of batter (approximately 1/4 to 1/3 cup).

7. Rotate and tilt the pan in circles to spread the batter into a circle.

Adjust the heat as needed. If the pan is too hot, the batter will cook faster, making it hard to get a neat round batter with thin edges and a soft center. Either reduce the heat or place the pan on the countertop and then pour the batter.

8. Make a neat circle with the batter. Keep the heat at medium-low or medium.
9. If you’d like, you can add a few drops of oil to the sides.
10. Cover the pan and cook the appam for approximately 2 minutes or until the base becomes nicely light golden and the center firm up and becomes soft and fluffy.
11. Remove the appam and serve it either hot or warm. Repeat with the remaining batter to make as many appams as you need.
12. Appam is perfectly paired with vegetable stew and sweetened coconut milk.