Yields: 15 Servings Difficulty: Difficult Prep Time: 6 Hr Cook Time: 5 Mins Total Time: 6 Hr 5 Mins
After all that busy holiday feasts, followed by the busy shopping, the Indian taste buds always demand us for those homemade, traditional, comfort foods. While I know how busy this long weekend would go, I planned this guilt-free, soft pillow-like aapam ahead and left them in my oven to ferment overnight ( Grr.. Mine almost takes the whole 24 hrs to get completely done). The best combo for these soft pillows is coconut milk and coconut chutney which is on-demand at my household. I love the aapam very hot, particularly the center cushion-like part. The coconut milk that is soaked in aapam, sliding in your tummy is bliss to enjoy in this cold weather. With no more exaggerations, let us move to the recipe!!
Ingredients
Adjust Servings
- Main Ingredients
Instructions
- In a wide bowl take one cup each of raw rice and boiled rice. Add half a cup of Urad dal and 1/4 tsp of fenugreek/methi seeds. Wash them thoroughly and soak them for about 6 hours.
- Wash and soak the poha/Aval for 2 hours separately in another bowl.
- After six hours, wash the rice- dal mixture three times and grind them smoothly in a wet grinder. You can also use a mixer to do this. But make sure it is done in batches depending on your jar capacity.
- Once the mixture is 3/4th done, wash, drain and add the soaked poha/aval to it. Continue grinding, until you get a smooth consistency. It is absolutely fine to have a runny batter.
- Transfer to a big container and add salt. Use your hands to mix them to initiate fermentation. Let them rest for 8 hours or overnight.
- Heat an aapam pan in your range and add one big ladle of aapam batter to it. Twist the aapam pan and cover it with a lid. Make sure to have thinner corners with some batter resting at the center. It takes a minute and a half to cook an aapam.
- Transfer to a serving plate and accompany with side dishes of your choice. We love any thing made of coconut with this. Tastes blissful when had hot.
Notes
- I avoid adding baking soda/sodium bicarbonate salt to aapam. Instead, I change the ratio of rice to Urad dal and add poha for the softness. My aapam is super soft and raised without this.
- If you do not have poha/aval in hand, you can also add a handful of cooked rice to bring in that cushion-like softness.
- For those, who live in colder regions like me, it almost takes a day for the batter to be in the right consistency to achieve this aapam. I made the batter last night and used it for dinner the next night.
- Do not flip over the aapam. It is fine as such and the top portion will be cooked as such when you cover the aapam with the lid.