Nei Appam is a very traditional Kerala recipe that is made with rice, jaggery, cardamom, coconut and cooked in ghee. It is called Kerala Unniappam and is a part of festivals from Onam, Chithra Vishu etc. “Unni” in Malayalam means small and “Appam” means made with rice.
Though there are many dishes in various cuisines, that may look similar to this, the Nei appam/ Unniappam steals the show with its soft texture and flavor. The key to getting a tasty Uniappam is to minutely follow each and every step in making them and slow cooking them with the right amount of ghee. Originally, the nei appams are made with soaked rice, so to achieve soft appam, avoid using rice flour to make them. They are easy to make once we get the exact measurements and the right consistency of the batter, which are the key. Follow the measurements given here and try making them for the upcoming festive sesason.
For other Kerala dishes, click on the recipes, Parippu Curry, Keralan Kalan, Kerala Olan, Pineapple Puliserry
Ingredients
Instructions
- Soak one cup of raw rice for 1 - 2 hours. Wash and drain them. Add to a mixer jar and grind coarsely.
- To the grounded rice, add two medium-sized bananas, cardamom pods, and two teaspoons of grated coconut. Grind once again.
- Add half a cup of jaggery powder and pulse them two times. Transfer the batter to a bowl.
- Add ghee to the appe pan and add a spoon ful of the batter once they turn hot.
- Cook on both sides until they turn golden in color. Transfer to a serving dish and serve.
Notes
- Soaking the raw rice for 1- 2 hrs is enough. They need not be soaked for long hours.
- After adding jaggery powder, do not run the mixer for a long time. This will heat up the jaggery and result in a runny batter.
- Instead of grated coconut, you can also add pieces of coconut to the batter before making appams.
- Always use ghee to make these appams for the best results.
- The more ripe and sweeter the bananas are, the jaggery quantity also varies.