Appam and stew is the classic breakfast of Kerala's Syrian Christian homes, and it is the dish served on Easter and Christmas mornings. Appam is made from a fermented batter of rice and coconut, traditionally raised with toddy, and cooked in a small round pan called an appachatti, which is swirled to give it its bowl shape.
A good appam has a lacy, crisp, golden rim and a thick, spongy, slightly sweet centre. The stew, or ishtu, is mild and fragrant: vegetables simmered in thin coconut milk with whole spices, green chillies and ginger, and finished with thick coconut milk. Nothing is fried brown or heavily spiced, so the coconut flavour leads.
At a glance
| Region | Kerala |
|---|---|
| Cuisine | Kerala |
| Diet | Vegan |
| Course | Breakfast |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 40 minutes |
| Total time | 70 minutes |
| Serves | 4 |
| Spice level | Mild |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Gluten-free | Yes |
| Key ingredients | rice / coconut / coconut milk / potato / carrot |
Ingredients
For the appam batter
- 1.5 cups raw rice (pachari), soaked 5 hours
- 1 cup fresh grated coconut
- 1/2 cup cooked rice
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- about 1 cup water
For the stew
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 3 cloves
- 3 green cardamoms
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 inch ginger, julienned
- 3 green chillies, slit
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 large potato, cubed
- 1 carrot, cubed
- 1/2 cup French beans, cut
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 1.5 cups thin coconut milk
- 3/4 cup thick coconut milk
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
Method
- Grind the soaked rice, grated coconut, cooked rice, sugar and yeast with water to a very smooth, flowing batter. Cover and ferment in a warm place for 8 hours or overnight, until doubled and bubbly. Stir in salt; the batter should be like thin pancake batter.
- For the stew, heat coconut oil in a pan on medium heat. Add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and peppercorns and fry for 20 seconds.
- Add onion, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves and saute for 3-4 minutes until the onion is soft but not browned.
- Add the potato, carrot, beans and peas with the thin coconut milk and salt. Cover and simmer on low heat for 12-15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Lower the heat to the minimum and stir in the thick coconut milk. Heat for 1-2 minutes until just hot; do not let it boil, or the milk will split. Switch off.
- To make appam, heat an appachatti on medium heat and grease lightly. Pour in a ladle of batter, lift the pan by its handles and swirl once so the batter coats the sides thinly and pools in the centre.
- Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes until the edges are golden and crisp and the centre is set and spongy. Do not flip.
- Loosen with a spatula and serve straight away with the stew.
Tips
- The cooked rice in the batter gives appam its soft, spongy centre.
- Thick coconut milk goes in at the very end on low heat to keep the stew creamy and white.
- In cold weather, ferment the batter in an oven with only the light switched on.
Serve with
Serve the stew poured over the appam; chicken or mutton stew is the festive alternative.