Appam with Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk – Rice Flour Crepes

Serves 8

Appams are a childhood favourite of mine.  They were such a treat when my mom made them while I was growing up and they continue to be now.  Appams are most notably famous in the Indian state of Kerala and throughout Sri Lanka.  They were traditionally made with toddy – a palm wine – but is now often made with yeast or baking soda.  Appams are soft in the centre and thin and crisp around the edges and are unbelievably delicious especially with sweetened condensed coconut milk!  This recipe is completely vegetarian and dairy free and can be enjoyed for breakfast or savored for lunch or dinner with a spicy coconut based side dish.  The step-by-step pictorial guide makes it a snap to make.  Let’s get started.

Appam with Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk – Recipe

Ingredients

For Appams:

• 3 cups raw white rice, soaked in water for at least 4 hours and drained
• ½ to 1 cup cooked rice
• 2 ½ to 3 cups of coconut milk
• ¼ cup sugar, divided
• ½ tsp. yeast
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• ¼ cup warm water

For Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk:

• 2 cups thick coconut milk
• Sugar or other sweetener to taste
• Generous pinch of ground cardamom (optional)

Instructions

1. In a bowl, add yeast, 1 tsp. of sugar and warm water.  Mix well, cover and set aside while you prep the batter.
2. In a blender, add soaked raw white rice, cooked rice and 2 ½ cups of coconut milk and blend until smooth.  If batter is too thick add more coconut milk or warm water to thin it out.  Batter should be the consistency of crepe batter.
3. Pour yeast into batter and combine well.  Cover and let rest in a warm place for at 12 hours to ferment.  Make sure you store batter in a large vessel as it will double in size.  If you live in a very warm/tropical environment it may take less time, but where I live in the winter it takes at least 12 hours.
4. Once fermentation is done, heat an appam chatti or a small non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
5. Uncover batter and mix well until smooth.  The smell of yeast should be mildly strong.  Add sugar and salt and combine.  If batter appears too thick to spread around pan, add water a little bit at a time until the right consistency is achieved.  You may have to try a few appams before finding the right consistency for batter.  This may sound like a lot of sugar, but it will help crisp up the edges of the appam.
6. Add a ladle full of batter into the centre of the pan, swirl until batter lightly coats the sides.  It should be thin around the outside edge and thicker in the centre.  Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Uncover and slide appam out into a dish set over warming zone of stove and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.  Appam should be slightly crispy on the outside edges and soft in the centre.
8. Continue until batter is used up or until you’ve made enough appams.  Batter can be covered and stored in the fridge for 2 days.
9. Set large, heavy bottom non-stick pan over medium-high heat and bring coconut milk to a boil.
10. Add sugar or sweetener and ground cardamom and cook until coconut milk starts to thicken, 5 – 10 minutes depending on how thick you want it.  Remove from heat and pour into serving dish.

Click here for step by step instructions with images.