Kerala Palappam Recipe Kerala Appam Recipe / Laced Rice and Coconut Pancake
Hello everyone, the next two weeks are going to be incredibly busy as our school’s First Terminal exams are just around the corner. As teachers, we’re working tirelessly to wrap up lessons, conduct revisions, set question papers, grade exams, and prepare mark sheets. It’s going to be a hectic period, but we’re geared up for the challenge!
Christmas is just two weeks away, and I’m excited to share some festive recipes! One of our family’s favorite Christmas morning traditions is making Palappam (or Appam) to enjoy with Chicken Stew (chicken and potatoes simmered in coconut milk) or other stews. Appam is a crucial part of our Christmas breakfast, and it pairs perfectly with these easy-to-make and delicious side dishes.
Appam and stew is a beloved breakfast staple in Kerala. I recently made Kerala Palappam for dinner, and it turned out amazingly well! Appam pairs beautifully with egg roast, kadala curry, or vegetable stew – a match made in heaven, indeed! It’s one of Kerala’s most cherished traditional breakfast dishes. I fondly recall my mom serving Palappam with sweetened coconut milk on busy mornings – a nostalgic treat that never fails to bring a smile.
For those unfamiliar with Appam, it’s a traditional Kerala dish made from a batter of ground rice and coconut, characterized by its crispy, brown edges and fluffy, spongy interior. Palappam is often served for breakfast or dinner on special occasions in Kerala, and its ease of preparation has led to various regional variations of this beloved recipe.
I love watching the formation of holes, or ‘kuzhis,’ on the Kerala Palappam as we pour the batter into the pan. The holes appear when the fermentation process is just right. Perfect fermentation results in a beautiful, lacy pattern with plenty of holes. I fondly remember being a kid and lifting the lid repeatedly to peek at the holes forming – and eagerly counting them as my mom made Appams. Of course, that usually earned me a gentle scolding!
I was hesitant to try making Palappam until recently. Seeing my sister effortlessly whip up Appam inspired me to give it a shot. She had mastered the recipe after her marriage, and it took me a while to gather the courage to attempt it myself – those were the early days of my married life! But once I did, I fell in love with making Palappam and now it’s a regular on my menu 😊
Nowadays, various brands of easy Palappam mixes are available in the market, and my mom has been using them for the past few years. She finds it incredibly convenient and quick, making it a staple in her kitchen.
Many people get confused between Palappam and Vellappam, but I don’t think there’s a huge difference between the two. One variation I’ve noticed is that Vellappam recipes often include shallots or tiny onions and cumin seeds in the batter, which adds a delightful flavor. It’s typically made on a flat tava or pan, unlike the Appam pan. The name ‘Palappam’ likely comes from the use of milk (‘paal’) to dilute the batter. Regardless of the name – Appam, Kallappam, or Vellappam – it’s a treat for the taste buds!
There are various methods to make Kerala Palappams. One traditional and popular method involves using toddy as a substitute for yeast, which gives the Appam a unique flavor. This type of Appam is known as Kallappam. Another method uses yeast, but the flavor isn’t quite the same as the toddy version. However, sourcing toddy can be challenging, as it’s typically available only in toddy shops, which are local hubs for alcoholic beverages in Kerala.
Making Kerala Paalappam is an art that requires precision and attention to detail. From the quality of the rice to the room temperature, fermentation process, and the delicate swirling of the pan, every element plays a crucial role in creating the perfect Paalappam.
To make Appam, you’ll need an Appa-chatti, a special pan designed for this purpose. This round pan features a concave center and wide, sloping edges. Whenever we make Appam, it’s a treat and a guilt-free eating day at home!
To make Appam, you’ll need an Appa-chatti, a special pan designed for this purpose. This round pan features a concave center and wide, sloping edges.
Whenever we make Appam, it’s a treat and a guilt-free eating day at home
Here goes the recipe of Kerala Palappam..
Soaking time: Minimum 6 hours
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: min 2 minutes for one appam
Yields – 15 to 20 appams.
Calories: 68
Author – Seena
Ingredients for Kerala Appam:
Raw Rice / pachari – 1 ½ cups
Cooked Rice – ½ cup
Coconut, greated – 1 cup,
Coconut water (optional) – 1 cup
Yeast – 1 tsp
Sugar – 3 tbsp or to taste
Salt – a pinch or to taste.
How to Make Kerala Palappam:
Rinse the rice thoroughly. Soak the rice in plenty of cold water for six or more hours. Filter the rice in a colander. Grind together the soaked and drained rice, the coconut, sugar, salt, yeast with 1 cup of water, just enough to grind the batter to a smooth paste. Once ground, transfer it to a big bowl and mix well with a spatula. The batter should be little watery. (Be careful not to add too much water). Cover the bowl and leave it for fermentation in a warm place for 2 or three hours (remember, I used Instant Yeast) or until fermented or almost tripled in volume.
Once fermented, mix salt with this. Do not over mix it. Keep it for another half an hour before you start making apams.
Heat your appa chatti on low medium flame; pour in a ladle of batter in to the pan. Swirl the pan slowly and close the pan with its lid and wait for one or two minutes or until the edges start coming off the pan and become brown. Slide in a flat spatula from the edges and take outside the Appam. Place it on a kitchen towel as you prepare for the next one. Once it is cool enough place it in the casserole.
Do not flip the appam. It requires cooking only on one side. Appam is ready to serve.. There are a good number of recipes in this blog like Kerala Chicken Stew, Egg Stew, Fish Molee, Kerala Vegetable Stew, Egg Roast, Chettinad Chicken Curry,
Mutton Curry, Nadan Beef Curry etc., which goes well with Palappam.
My Recipe Notes on Kerala Style Palappam
1. All the ingredients should be in the room temperature before grinding it.
2. I drained out the soaked water and added the coconut water for grinding. For those who are not using the coconut water no need to go for this step.
3. I used to add yeast in the blender (the tip I got from my sister who got it from her colleagues in her school!!) while grinding which is very easy rather than adding making yeast mixture and adding it in the batter. To see the difference between Dry and Instant Yeast Click Here.
4. I always use coconut water for grinding. I refrigerate coconut water once I break coconut and use it while grinding. But you should use it within a week.
5. Some people prefer the traditional method of adding yeast mixture in the batter after grinding it. For that, in a small bowl take look warm water and add yeast and sugar and dissolve both the ingredients, keep the mixture in a warm place for 15-20 minutes or until it foams on top of the mixture. For this traditional method, use ½ tsp. of yeast add 1 tsp. sugar in ¾ cup water.
6. Here I have used Instant yeast and so my batter would always be ready in two or three hours. . Dry Yeast will take 6 to 8 hours or overnight for fermentation.
7. While adding salt to the batter and mixing, always take circular motions otherwise the bubbles will break down and appam would not be soft.
8. Cooking time differs depending on the kind of pan you use. For non-stick appa chatti, flame from a gas stove is ideal since heat spreads in uniform way touching the entire sides of the pan, giving beautiful lace to Palappams.
9. Don’t place Kerala Palappam in the casserole when it’s hot. Do that only after it cools enough, otherwise it will get stuck to each other.
Pictorial of Nadan Palappam / Appam:
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Ingredients for making Kerala Palappam
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Serve Kerala Palappam.. 
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Easy Palappam Recipe / കേരള പാലപ്പം റെസിപ്പി.
Kerala Palappam / Appam.
Description
Learn how to make Kerala Palappam, a traditional breakfast dish, which is soft and fluffy pancake with crispy edges made with rice flour, coconut, yeast.