Chintamani Appam with Love from Kerala Cuisine

Ingredients

• For the batter:
• 1/2 cup Raw rice
• 1/2 cup Idli rice
• 1/4 cup Toor dal
• 1/4 cup Chana dal
• 1/4 cup Moong dal
• 2 TBSP Ginger, grated
• 1 tsp yeast
• Salt to taste
• Coconut or sesame seed oil – for cooking
• For tempering:
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafetida
• 1 tsp Skinned urad dal
• 20 Curry leaves
• 1 c Onion or shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 Green chilies, chopped

Steps

1. Make a checklist, keep ingredients within reach
2. In a big bowl take the batter ingredients, rice and dals, add plenty of water; rinse 4 times. Soak over night in plenty of water. Use the fermented water for grinding. Transfer the soaked ingredients to a grinder, add ginger, grind with water to make a a thick, slightly coarse paste (like fine rava). Cover and ferment for 3–4 hourskeeping the batter in a warm place. I usually add a tsp yeast and ferment in the oven with warm temperature. Add salt and mix gently. Batter looks bubbly and smooth
3. Prepare the tempering: Heat 2tbsp oil in a kadai over medium heat; sauté mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, with curry leaves, asafetida and chopped chilies and grated garlic. Add chopped shallots or onions, when the onions are translucent, turn off the heat. Add this to the batter. Mix gently
4. Over medium heat, Heat a kuzhi paniyaram pan, drizzle oil about 1tsp in each cavity, and fill them ¾ with batter, about 2tbsp batter. Amount of batter to add depends upon how big the cavity is in the appam maker. Cover and cook,for a minute. Then flip to cook the other side, cook until the appams turn golden and spongy.
5. Place the cooked appams on a paper towel to remove excess oil from the surface. Later transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot with onion chutney, coconut chutney, sambar or any accompaniment you like. I served with onion tomato chutney. soft fluffy silky spicy chitasmani appams are mouthwatering. Enjoy