Appam is a very popular and traditional breakfast of Kerala. This is not the typical Kerala appam recipe but the Tamil Nadu style of making appams. Appams are soft and spongy in the center and has a lacy border. It is very good for health as it does not require much oil and I have not added much coconut also. This was requested by a reader long time back but I could not post it earlier. I learn’t this from my dear friend. There are hardly any chances for this recipe to go wrong as I have tried it many times and every time it comes out very soft.
How to make soft appam without yeast
Ingredients needed
Raw rice – 1 cup
Par boiled rice – 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 2 1/2 tbsp (whole urad dal without skin)
Coconut milk -3 tbsp
Cooking soda or appam soda – 1/2 tsp
Appam pan (also called appa chatti)
Appam preparation
Soak raw rice, par boiled rice, fenugreek seeds and urad dal for 10-12 hours.(I soaked it from morning 6 to evening 6 pm, then ground it and fermented it overnight)
After 10 hours, grind it to a fine paste. Add salt and mix it well with your hands. You can use lukewarm water to grind but it is optional. The batter should be of thinner consistency than dosa batter. Store it in an airtight container, leave it for another 10 hours or overnight to ferment. In the morning the appam batter would have raised nicely.
Before making appams, add coconut milk, appam soda and mix well. If the batter is too thick, adjust the consistency by adding water. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes- appam batter can be used to make soft appams.
Method
Traditionally appams are made in iron skillet called appa chatti. I have used the Prestige non stick appam pan. If you do not have appa chatti or appam pan, you can make it in any other non stick pan with lid.
First coat the appam pan with oil using a cloth. (Add a drop of oil into the pan and wipe it all over with a cloth.)
Heat the appam pan, then reduce the heat to low. Now add a ladle of batter in the center of the pan.(pan should be hot but not too hot)
Holding both the handles of the pan, rotate the pan in such a way that the batter spreads all around in a circle. The remaining batter will come to the center (that is why the appam is thick in the center and lacy on the outside) See picture below – My maid was kind enough to do the rotating for me so that I could take pictures to show you all.
After that close the pan with the lid. The flame should be kept in low. Once the appam is cooked and the edges start turning brown, remove the appam from the pan. (the appam will come off easily if you lift it with your hands)
Serve appam hot from the pan with sweetened coconut milk or any coconut based dishes.
Check out my Vegetable stew recipe.
Even coconut chutney goes well with appam.
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| Appam with coconut milk |
Note – This is a foolproof recipe. Suppose, if the appam gets stuck to the pan, then you have added more coconut milk.
Add coconut milk and cooking soda only at the time of making appams to needed batter as if you add coconut milk to the whole lot, you cannot store the batter for long.
Appam without cooking soda and Yeast
Many of you have been asking for appam without cooking soda also.
If you do not want to add coconut milk or cooking soda/appam soda, then you can soak 1 cup of beaten rice/aval/poha, 30 minutes before grinding. Then grind poha along with the other ingredients. Ferment for 7-8 hours. You need not add cooking soda, if you add aval/poha. I have tried it and can assure you of soft and spongy appams.
Kerala Style Appam with Yeast
Check Kerala Style Appam/Palappam which is totally different and has a different taste. Check the link below
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Aapam looks perfect,crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.I almost make with the same proportion but without urad dhal and fenugreek..will try this next time.
Love this appams, serve me with sweet coconut milk, i can have it anytime.
perfect appams…gud with stews
I have never made appam with cooked rice but I would like to try this yeast-free method. Thank you, Padhu! Yours look lovely and nice. 🙂
looks soo tempting..
Something I have been waiting to try for a long time. Thanks for the step by step presentation!
so soft n delicious appam, love to grab few 🙂
Perfect appam…my favorite…bookmarked…
looks perfect padhu :0
Perfectly made…my all time favorite..
Padhu !
Today Morning my aunt prepared appam..
I thought while having it i should also see appam making in PK today.. opening my mail now got your appam receipe.. !
soft & spongy…!!! Loved this version.. 😉
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Looks so soft, delicious appam recipe!
what is appam soda….? can we use fruit salt or normal soda?
THe appam looks so delicious and perfect 🙂
Madam,
I am grateful to you.
Appam photos are very beautiful.
I had a feeling ,while looking at appam photos,that I am at Munaa'sr 5 star Hotel.
shrikant tillu
Madam,
1)What is appam soda
2)With yeast and Without yeast-whether there will be difference is test?
3)I read somewhere that in Kerala Urad dal is not added.
Kindly give your opinion.
shrikant tillu
Madam,
What is Par boiled rice ?
Do you mean that 1cup of Cooked Rice is to be added?
Sorry for asking so many questions.But I want the test which I had at Munnar.
shrikant tillu
Deepa – Apppam soda is cooking soda. You can also use baking soda or cooking soda or appam soda.All are the same.Do not use fruit salt.
Shrikant – First thanks you for you appreciation. There will not be much difference in taste if you do not add yeast. Only in Tamil Nadu they are adding a little urad dal .In Kerala they add toddy to ferment the batter. Since that is not available here I have used cooking soda.
Second question – Par boiled rice is Pulungal arisi in tamil . More details about par boiled rice is here -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parboiled_rice
I cup of rice means just rice and not cooked rice.I will mention if it is cooked rice
Hi first time here..nice collection of recipes,glad to fallow you..do visit my space..Appam without yeast sounds interesting..must try..
Never tasted appam with cooking soda. Will give it a shot.
I have seen my mom make appam the traditional way but this recipe is quite easy. I will surely try this one and thr4 am bookmarking it. Thanks for the same. Visit http://www.kitchensecrets.blogspot.com
Good and soft appam… I loved it….
Hi padhu what is the different between backing soda and backing sald?then which can i use for aapam?
Revathy -there is difference between baking soda and baking powder. You can use appam soda or cooking soda for appam.
Hi Padhu, can we grind this flour in mixie?
Hi Padhu, can i know 1 cup is of what size..it will be helpful if i get it in gms..
I use this measuring cup for all the recipes in this blog. You get it easily in all shops which sell baking items. Check link below
Measuring cups and spoons
Hi Padhu, Amazing collection of recipes, have tried a lot of them. I am not able to understand this one though. Could you please elaborate on the steps for making batter. Thanks in advance.
oh akka parboiled means puzhungal arisi?
I thought it is also one of the rice variety like puzhungal…or think about boiling it.
we normally use ponni puzhungal Is that enough?
Akka soda or cooking soda or aapa soda all are same na?
The one we are using for bhajjis,bondas and dosas is the same soda or diff?
Thanks for this wonderful recipe akka
Mymoon- you can use puzhungal arisi. All sodas are the same. Yes the one you use for bajji .Regarding your doubt about idiyappam, you can use the plate you got from your native. Also knead the idiyappam dough lightly into a smooth dough.You do not have to knead like chapati.
Hi Padhu….
Thank you so much for this recipe. Previously I tried making Appam so many times and it never came out well. This time I followed ur recipe…. It came out well…. :).
Hi Padhu….
Thank you so much for this recipe. Previously I tried making Appam so many times and it never came out well. This time I followed ur recipe…. It came out well…. :).
My mom use to make appam which we'll consume along with coconut milk and groundnut chutney. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Made it yesterday and came out very well even for a novice like me.
As mentioned in your recipe I think it is a fool proof one.
Yet another super collection to my tiffin menu for the children.
Thanks a lot,God bless you.
Does the colour of the Appam change by adding soda???
No, the color does not change
Hi padu I tried appam…but the brown color I couldn't get and appam wasn't white, it was sticking with inside and sides of appam …what was the reason?
Hello padhu, could you please let me know how to make aapam batter without adding coconut milk and baking soda?
Thanks So much for the recipe. I love appams.my only problem is my stove is electric heating element (coil-like) and flat. I also cannot find the pan in the country where I live. Can i use a normal non stick pan that's flat? Of course it won't be thicker in the middle but do you think it'll work?
Normal pan will not work out. You can try in a wok.
Without adding soda can I prepare appam , Padhu
Soda gives softness to the appams. If you do not want to add soda, you can add a little eno salt just 10 minutes before making appams.
My husband asks me to not use baking soda or eno as they are not good for health. He says in olden days they were not used. Padhu can you please tell me what alternatives I have to make appam soft?
In olden days, toddy was used in place of yeast to aid in fermentation. Now a days mostly yeast or baking soda is used to get soft appams. You can try adding some cooked rice to get softer appams.
Hi padhu
my appam batter is not fermenting. I live in bangalore
Keep it in a warm place or wrap it around in a woolen cloth and keep it in a warm place.
Hi Padhu I live in a place where I don't get par boiled rice or Raw rice , we only get sons masori rice , I use tat for cooking lunch , so pls tell me what should I do for making appams
Try with less quantity in that sona masori rice itself.
Hi padhu
How many appam this yields…(the measurements given above)
I am not sure. I will update it when I make it.It serves 3-4 people.
Hi
Thank you for the lovely recipe. I did the exact way and it turned out good. The only issue I had was the appam was a bit yellow in color instead of white. I don't know where I went wrong.Please let me know. thank u.
Preethi
No idea. May be the quality of ingredients or the batter had turned sour (due to too much fermentation).
Thank you so much paddu. My husband and son loved it. This is the first time I am making appam and both vegetable stew and appam were perfect thanks a ton
Do parboiled rice and idli rice are same ? Can I use idli rice ?
To correct you appam putty are traditional foods of Tamil culture. First of all in kerala theydon't have rich paddy fields like we have in our places in recent years only they have started growing rice that too motta rice their traditional food is kapa kajini so please don't say and believe that appam and putty are kerala food they adapted it.
You might have added more soda .. That will turn the appam to yellow usually
Yes,I have added and even mentioned it in the ingredients list.