Vattayappam | Steamed Rice Cake | വട്ടയപ്പം

Vattayappam | Steamed Rice Cake | വട്ടയപ്പം

“Vattayappam” literally means “Round Cake/Bread”. It is a soft and fluffy ‘steamed rice cake’ often made for Tea. Now a days, Vatteyappam can be found in almost all bakeries. However, I like the homemade version better as it doesn’t have the overpowering taste of Yeast.

INGREDIENTS : 

For Appam Batter

1. Raw Rice (Pachari) – 2 cups (Use any short or long grain rice)
2. Cooked Rice – 3/4 cup approx
3. Yeast – 1.5 to 2 tsp
4. Sugar – 1 tbsp + 3-4 tbsp or as needed
5. Ice cubes – as needed
6. Water – as needed

Remaining Ingredients for Vatteyappam

1. Appam Batter – 2 to 2.5 cups
2. Grated Coconut – 1/2 cup
3. Sugar – 2-3 tbsp
4. Crushed/Powdered Cinnamom (Elakka) – 4 pods
5. Raisins – 10 to 15
6. Salt – to taste
7. Oil – for greasing
8. Water – a few teaspoons

INSTRUCTIONS : 

1. Soak the rice for atleast 6 hours or leave it overnight. Wash and drain the rice and keep aside.
2. Dissolve the yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in 1/2 cup of slightly warm water. Keep it aside for ten minutes until it foams.
3. Next, you need to grind the rice in several batches. Grind around two handfuls of raw rice along with a few tablespoons of cooked rice and very little water. I add 2-3 ice cubes while grinding each batch to prevent the mixie from overheating. Grind until you get a smooth batter.
4. Transfer the batter to large bowl. Continue doing this with the remaining rice.
5. While grinding the last batch, add the yeast solution to the mixie so that it gets incorporated well with the batter.
6. Leave the batter in a warm place for around 6 hours. I usually leave it overnight. Ensure that the bowl is large enough to prevent the batter from overflowing after fermentation.
7. The batter would have risen after fermentation and will look foamy. Stir the batter and keep aside. This batter can be used for making both Palappam and Vatteyappam.
8. Transfer 2 to 2.5 cups of this batter to another bowl for making Vatteyappam. You can use the remaining batter for Palappams or refrigerate it for later use.
9. Grind the grated coconut along with a few teaspoons of water to form a smooth mixture. Add it to the batter.
10. Add sugar as per desired sweetness (2-3 tbsp), powdered cardamom and salt to taste. Mix everything together. The batter should be somewhat thick and not watery. Keep this batter aside for 20-30 minutes so that it becomes foamy (optional).
11. Grease a round steamer plate and pour the batter into it. Steam it for 10 minutes. Open the lid and place the raisins on top. (Be careful not to burn your hands!)
12. Keep it covered and allow it to cook for 5 more minutes or until done. Insert a toothpick/fork to check if it comes out clean.
13. Once the vatayappam is cooked, allow it to cool thoroughly and then transfer it to a plate. Cut it into desired shapes and serve.

NOTES :

• You may need to adjust the amount of cooked rice used for preparing the batter. If you use too much of boiled rice, the appams will become sticky. If the rice used is less, appams won’t be soft. Try using 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cooked rice but not more than that.
• While grinding the rice, try adding very little water. The unfermented batter should be thick as it will rise and thin out after fermentation.
• If the batter appears watery after adding the coconut mixture, you can add a few tablespoons of rice flour to get the desired consistency.
• You can also make these in Idli moulds if you don’t have a steamer.

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PUTTU - Kerala Breakfast Food

PUTTU RECIPE - South Indian Food Recipe

TIME:

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min

INGREDIENTS:

Rice Flour – 2 cups
Grated Coconut – 1 cup
Ghee - 1/2 tbsp, melted
Water – as required (approx 2/3 cup)
Salt – to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• In a large bowl, place the puttu powder. Add salt to taste to 2/3 cup of water and slowly add about 2 tbsps at a time to the puttu powder and mix it. Do not add all the water at once. It should be a bread crumb consistency and not form a dough. Add melted ghee and mix. Normally 1/2 cup to 2/3 rd cup of water is sufficient to wet 2 cups of puttu powder.
• The right consistency of puttu powder is achieved when you take the prepared flour in your fist and close it to form shape. Leave aside this prepared rice mixture for an hour or two at room temperature. When the mixture sits, water is absorbed. After sitting time of 1 or 2 hours, if you find that the mixture is slightly dry, add a little more water and mix.
• Add 2 cups water to the bottom vessel of the puttu maker and allow to simmer till hot. Wet the puttu mould and lightly grease it. Place the round perforated disc with holes inside the puttu mould such that it fits well at the bottom of the mould. Place 2 tbsps of grated coconut at the bottom of the puttu mould. Carefully and slowly pour about 6 tbsps of the puttu powder from a height followed by another layer of 2 tbsps of grated coconut. Again layer with 6 tbsps of puttu powder and finish off with 2 tbps of grated coconut on the top. Place the lid over the puttu mould annd place the mould over the water vessel.
• Steam on high medium flame for 5-6 mts and 4 mts on low flame. Turn off heat and wait for 2 to 3 mts before removing the puttu from the mould with the help of a wooden ladle or skewer. Hold the puttu mould parallel to the serving plate and with the help of a long ladle gently push the bottom disc such that the puttu slides onto the plate. Serve warm with Kadala curry or banana and pappadam.

NOTES:

• A tsp of cumin seeds can also be added to the puttu mix.
• Addition of ghee yields soft puttu.
• Once the puttu mixture is prepared, leave it aside for a minimum of half an hour to 2 hours.
• Once the puttu is steamed, remove the mould and leave it aside for 3 minutes and then gently push the finished puttu onto a plate.
• Store bought puttu podi/powder can be used right away.
• If using store bought rice flour, you need to roast it on low flame for 5-7 minutess before using it to prepare Puttu.

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APPAM / PAALAPPAM

APPAM / PAALAPPAM (അപ്പം) | Kerala's Tasty Snack 

TIME:

• Prep time: 20 min
• Cook time: 45 min

INGREDIENTS:

• Raw rice - 1 1/2 cups (any rice like sona masuri) soak in water for 4-5 hours
• Grated coconut - 3/4 cup
• Cooked rice - 2 tbsps (optional)
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 2 tsps
• Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Drain the rice and grind it along with grated coconut and cooked rice in a mixer grinder. Add water little by little while grinding. You can add upto 3/4 cup of water. The ground batter need not be too smooth. When you run the batter between your fingers, it can feel a little coarse but not too coarse. Even if the batter is super smooth, its fine.
• In a stainless steel vessel, add 1/4 cup of the ground batter and 3/4 cup of water. Place it over very low flame and go on stirring constantly. It will begin to thicken, continue stirring vigourosly till it appears like a transparent thick mixture. Turn off heat and bring to room temperature.
• Add the cooled cooked batter to the remaining ground appam batter and mix well such that there are no lumps. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water, if necessary. This batter should not be too runny like rava dosa batter not thick like a masala dosa batter. It should be a slightly thick pouring consistency.
• Place lid and ferment this batter overnight. It will almost double in size on fermentation.
• At the time of preparation, add salt, sugar and baking soda. Mix well but do not over beat the batter.
• Heat the non-stick appam pan on medium flame for 2 mts. There is no need to add oil while preparing appams. Add 2 to 3 drops and use a tissue to grease the pan all over. Lower flame, pour a ladle full of batter or a little more than 1/4 cup of batter in the center of the pan.
• Lift the pan (off the flame of the stove) and twirl the batter in a clock wise direction so that the batter spreads out in a circular shape. Do not twirl more than twice. There will be more batter in the center than the sides, which is fine. Place back the pan on stove, cover with lid and cook on low flame. Check after two mts and if it is done, remove from pan, otherwise continue to cook with lid for a little while longer. It should cook within 2 1/2 mts to 3 mts.
• The edges will be crisp and will slowly leave the sides of the pan. Use a flat spatula to lift the appam off the pan and place on serving plate. You can cook for a while longer for browner edges but I prefer pure white appams.
• Prepare appams with the rest of the batter. There is no need to add oil for preparing appams in a non stick pan.
• Serve warm appams with vegetable or chicken stew, egg roast or sweetened coconut milk.

NOTES:

• Left over fermented batter can be refrigerated upto 2 days and not beyond that as it has coconut.
• If using toddy, add 1 cup toddy instead of water.
• If using active dry yeast instead of cooked appam batter, add 1 tsp yeast to 1/4 cup of luke warm water and 2 tsps sugar. Leave aside for 15 mts and the yeast will dissolve, froth and double in size. Add this to the ground appam batter and mix well. Place lid and let it ferment overnight in a warm place. Next add morning, add salt to the fermented batter, mix and prepare appams.
• There is no need to flip the appam to cook the other side.
• Left over batter that has been refrigerated and used on the second day can be sligthly diluted with very little water.

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