Appam or soft palappam recipe with rice flour is easy to make South Indian Kerala style rice flour pancakes or rice crepes which is gluten free as well as vegan.
Appam or palappam is a soft rice pancake which is enjoyed for breakfast and it is a very popular Kerala breakfast for Christmas, Easter etc, where appam is usually served with egg curry , Kerala egg roast, stew or any curry of your choice.
South Indian Kerala Appam Recipe With Rice Flour
Appam is also known as palappam, vellayappam etc based on minor variations in recipes and also the names varies within different regions in Kerala.
I have this popular appam recipe here which is made using raw rice which needs advanced soaking of rice.
This easy appam recipe uses rice flour so you can easily make this if you have rice flour and doesn't need soaking of rice.
How To Make Appam (Rice Flour Pancakes) Without Soaking Rice
Yeast and coconut milk are two other main ingredients in this easy appam recipe using rice flour.
Once I made the batter, I prepared the appam in a regular skillet (or use a non stick pan) just like we make regular pancakes, the only difference is that I covered the pan with a lid while it was cooking and I only cooked one side (we do not flip and cook the other side) so it remains very soft.
In fact, the specialty of appam is its signature soft texture.
You may also make this using an appam chatti (pan to make appams) and follow the traditional method of swirling the batter before covering with the lid if you want slightly crispy edges.
So let us see how to make this easy appam following this soft palappam recipe using rice flour.
Ingredients to make soft palappam with rice flour
2 cups rice flour
1.5 cups coconut milk
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup warm water for dissolving yeast
½ cup cooked rice optional
2 cups water for grinding the batter, adjust as needed for the right consistency of batter
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
for making the starter
2 tablespoons rice flour
2 cups water
Step by step instructions
Blend the coconut milk with cooked rice in a blender until smooth. Keep this aside.
to make the starter
In a small sauce pan, mix together 2 tablespoons of rice flour with very little water (from the 2 cups of water) to make a smooth mixture without any lumps.
Add the remaining of 2 cups of water to the sauce pan, mix well and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring and cooking in medium heat.
Once the mixture starts boiling, reduce the heat and cook for another 1 minute, stirring continuously to get a smooth porridge like mixture. Keep this aside.
to make the yeast mixture
Add the yeast to the 1 cup of warm water (you can microwave water for about 30 seconds in a microwave safe bowl) and also add the sugar to the cup.
Cover it and let the yeast mixture sit for about 10 to 15 minutes so it will form a frothy mixture.
After 10 minutes, mix the yeast mixture with a spoon. Keep this yeast mixture also aside.
to prepare the batter
In a large bowl, add the 2 cups of rice flour.
Transfer the starter (cooked porridge like mixture we made) to the dry flour mixture and mix together evenly, you will get a crumbly mixture by doing this.
Add the blended coconut milk mixture also little by little to this flour mixture and mix very well.
Add the yeast mixture to this, mix very well.Now transfer the contents to a food processor or blender and add enough water for grinding (I used about 2 cups, but make sure the batter is not too runny, it should be about the consistency of dosa batter so start with little water initially).
If its difficult to grind the batter in one batch, you can do it in multiple batches. I usually grind about half of the batter together, and do the rest in a second batch.
Transfer the batter to a container or vessel, mix everything well.
Close the container and let it sit for at least a couple of hours or about three hours (its good to leave it overnight or for 8 hours for even better results) for fermentation.
While making the batter this way, the batter usually starts to rise with in an hour. Once the batter is fermented you can start making the appam.
to make the appams
Add enough salt to the batter, mix very well.
Heat a non stick pan or iron skillet (if needed you may grease with a little oil), add one ladle of batter.
As the batter spreads, cover the pan with a lid and cook in medium heat for a couple of minutes.
As the appam is cooked, if you open the pan you can see that holes have formed on top of the appam (pancake) and once its completely cooked, you can easily transfer it from the pan using a spatula and transfer it to the serving plate.
Similarly cook all appams until the batter is all over.
Alternatively, you can use a traditional appam pan or appam chatti and follow the traditional method of adding the batter and swirling it, then covering with lid and cook so the edges will be crispy and inside will be soft.
Serve the delicious appam with egg curry, vegetable stew or any curry of your choice!
Notes: If you do not have coconut milk, you may grind about ¾ cup of grated or shredded coconut very well with 1.5 cups of water, make sure to blend it until very smooth with the cooked rice if using and add it to the rice flour mixture to prepare the batter.
Below you can get the recipe for soft palappam in detail.
Soft Palappam With Rice Flour - Indian Kerala Style Rice Crepes
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice flour
- 1.5 cups coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 cup warm water for dissolving yeast
- ½ cup cooked rice optional
- 2 cups water for grinding the batter, adjust as needed for the right consistency of batter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
for making the starter
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Blend the coconut milk with cooked rice in a blender until smooth. Keep this aside.
to make the starter
- In a small sauce pan, mix together 2 tablespoons of rice flour with very little water (from the 2 cups of water) to make a smooth mixture without any lumps.
- Add the remaining of 2 cups of water to the sauce pan, mix well and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring and cooking in medium heat. Once the mixture starts boiling, reduce the heat and cook for another 1 minute, stirring continuously to get a smooth porridge like mixture. Keep this aside.
to make the yeast mixture
- Add the yeast to the 1 cup of warm water (you can microwave water for about 30 seconds in a microwave safe bowl) and also add the sugar to the cup. Cover it and let the yeast mixture sit for about 10 to 15 minutes so it will form a frothy mixture. After 10 minutes, mix the yeast mixture with a spoon. Keep this yeast mixture also aside.
to prepare the batter
- In a large bowl, add the 2 cups of rice flour.
- Transfer the starter (cooked porridge like mixture we made) to the dry flour mixture and mix together evenly, you will get a crumbly mixture by doing this.
- Add the blended coconut milk mixture also little by little to this flour mixture and mix very well.
- Add the yeast mixture to this, mix very well.Now transfer the contents to a food processor or blender and add enough water for grinding (I used about 2 cups, but make sure the batter is not too runny, it should be about the consistency of dosa batter so start with little water initially).
- If its difficult to grind the batter in one batch, you can do it in multiple batches. I usually grind about half of the batter together, and do the rest in a second batch.
- Transfer the batter to a container or vessel, mix everything well. Close the container and let it sit for at least a couple of hours or about three hours (its good to leave it overnight or for 8 hours for even better results) for fermentation.
- While making the batter this way, the batter usually starts to rise with in an hour. Once the batter is fermented you can start making the appam.
to make the appams
- Add enough salt to the batter, mix very well.
- Heat a non stick pan or iron skillet (if needed you may grease with a little oil), add one ladle of batter.
- As the batter spreads, cover the pan with a lid and cook in medium heat for a couple of minutes.
- As the appam is cooked, if you open the pan you can see that holes have formed on top of the appam (pancake) and once its completely cooked, you can easily transfer it from the pan using a spatula and transfer it to the serving plate.
- Similarly cook all appams until the batter is all over.
- Alternatively, you can use a traditional appam pan or appam chatti and follow the traditional method of adding the batter and swirling it, then covering with lid and cook so the edges will be crispy and inside will be soft.Serve the delicious appam with egg curry, vegetable stew or any curry of your choice!
Notes
Nutrition
Hope you found this post on soft palappam recipe with rice flour helpful in making easy and delicious, soft appam (rice pancakes) at home!
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