Aapam - Aapam Recipe without yeast

Aapam is a traditional kerala dish which is soft and spongy in the centre and has a crispy outer layer. The recipe I have given here does not use yeast. This is the way my mother prepares and I have also followed the same. It comes out perfect both in texture and taste. Since I don't have the aapam pan specifically meant to prepare this, I used my normal iron kadai to prepare it. You can use any pan/kadai with an appropriate lid to prepare this.

Aapam Recipe

Makes  :  12 aapams

Ingredients

• Idli rice  -   1 cup
• Raw rice  -  1 cup
• Whole Urad dal(without skin)  -  3 tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds  -  1 tsp
• Salt  -  as required
• Coconut(grated or dessicated)  -  2 tbsp
• Cooking soda  -  a pinch
• Oil  -  for cooking aapams

Method

• Wash and soak both rice and urad dal together and fenugreek seeds separately for at least 5 to 6 hours.
• Drain water from the soaked ingredients. Put the fenugreek seeds at the bottom and add the rice and dal and grind by adding required water to a smooth paste.
• Add water little by little and ensure the fenugreek seeds are ground well.
• Batter consistency should be on the thinner side when compared to the idli batter.
• Add salt and allow to ferment overnight or for 12 hours minimum. This time varies based on the climatic conditions.
• Just before you decide to prepare aapam, grind coconut by adding little water and add it to the batter along with a pinch of cooking soda and mix well. After 10-15 minutes you can start to make aapams.
• The batter cannot be stored after adding coconut and cooking soda. Hence add it only to the portion of the batter which you will be using and you can store the remaining leftover batter.
• Heat a pan/kadai and once heated, drizzle little oil and spread it well.
• Pour 2 ladles of the batter in the centre and using both your hands rotate the pan/kadai such that the batter spreads.
• Drizzle oil and cover and cook in medium flame.
• If cooked properly and the batter was ground correctly, the centre of the aapam will be soft and spongy and the corners will be crispy.
• Serve hot with any spicy chutney or kuruma or coconut milk with jaggery.
• I served with onion tomato garlic chutney.

Notes

• The cooking soda is added to give softness to the aapams. Do not add more than the mentioned quantity.
• Always add coconut and cooking soda just before preparing the aapams.
• My mother adds little tender coconut water instead of the ground coconut paste and she never adds cooking soda too. In this method also we can get the same texture and softness.
• Ensure to cook the centre of the aapam well as the batter we pour will be more in the centre.
• The leftover batter(without coconut and cooking soda) can be used to prepare dosas.