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White Appams or hoppers on wooden board
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Appam Recipe

Appams are soft, pillowy crepes made with a fermented rice and coconut batter. Here are two ways in which appams can be made!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Soaking time + fermentation time 6 hours
Servings 10
Calories 340kcal
Author Shinta

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flattened rice (poha), soaked for 30 minutes
  • 2 cups idli rice soaked for at least 3 hours
  • 1 cup grated coconut use fresh or frozen
  • 1 teaspoon yeast active dry yeast
  • Salt a pinch

Additional ingredients for Vattayapam (steamed rice cake)

Instructions

To make the batter:

  • Let the yeast activate in 2 tablespoons slightly warm water for 5-8 minutes until frothy. Grind the rice and coconut together along with 1.5 cups water to form a runny batter. Add poha (flattened rice) and grind again until a smooth batter is formed.
  • Add the activated yeast and salt and mix well. Keep it in steel vessel for fermentation.
  • To ferment the batter in the Instant Pot, set the IP to the ‘Yogurt’ mode for 2 hours. If you are fermenting it without an Instant Pot, keep it covered in a warm place for 4 hours.
  • Once fermented, we have the basic batter for both hoppers and vattayapams.

Additional steps for vattayapam (steamed rice cakes)

  • To the basic batter, add sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well to dissolve the sugar. The vattayapam batter is ready to use.

To make the classic appams / hoppers on the stove-top

  • To the basic batter that you just prepared, add 3-4 tablespoons of water and mix to combine. The batter should be runny, but thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
  • To make the appams, preheat a cast iron pan or a well-seasond wok on the stovetop. You can also use an 'appachatti' if you have one.
  • Add a ladle-ful of batter to the heated pan and spread it out into a circle like a crepe. Cover with a lid. Let the batter cook until you see a lace-like pattern forming and the appam can be easily lifted from the pan. Once cooked, use a spatula to lift the appam. Keep aside and continue with the rest of the batter.

Cooking vattayapams:

  • To steam the appams, use either a silicone egg bite mold or a lightly oiled steel pan or a greased cake tin. Pour in enough batter (around 3 cms deep).
  • Prepare the Instant Pot for steaming the appams: Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot. Hit the ‘Steam’ function, make sure the vent in in 'Venting' position and set the time for 5 minutes. Use an external timer or set an alarm for 10 minutes (the Instant Pot will not count down as it does in the Pressure Cook / Manual mode). Once 10 minutes are up, perform a manual release of pressure and carefully take out the mold/steel pan/cake tin.
  • Let the rice cake cool and gently take out the rice cake once it has cooled a little.

Notes

To steam the vattayapams, use a lightly greased steel stacking pan, or cake tin or a silicone mold for egg bites. Keep in mind that when the Instant Pot is in the 'Steam' function, with the vent in 'Venting' position, the Instant Pot doesn't keep time. 

Nutrition

Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 121mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg