Traditional recipe to making Vellayappam or Kerala-style rice and tender coconut pancakes

Vellayappam (translates to white appam), is a Kerala-style pancake popularly eaten for breakfast, especially during the festivals of Christmas and Easter. It is made with soaked rice and tender coconut as the main ingredients and left to ferment with yeast. It is best eaten with Kerala naadan mutton curry, varutharacha Kozhi Curry or chicken curry with roasted coconut, mutton peralan, vegetable or chicken stew, or any gravy of your choice. Here's my recipe for it:

Fermentation time: 6 to 8 hours

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 10 to 12 pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups (450 gms) of raw rice 

1 tender coconut

1 glass of tender coconut water or plain water

¼ tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

2 to 3 tbsp sugar

Method:

Step 1: Wash the rice thoroughly a few times until the water runs clear. Soak it in water for four to five hours until it becomes soft enough to be ground. Keep the soaked rice in the fridge for at least half an hour before grinding.

Step 2: Drain the water and transfer the soaked raw rice into a blender. Add the required amount of tender coconut water or plain water in small measures and grind until smooth.

Step 3: Take two tablespoons of rice batter and pour it into a pan. Add 250 ml of water to it, for a thin consistency. Boil it on a medium flame until it starts to thicken. Make sure to continuously stir the mix using a spoon or spatula. Once thick, keep aside to cool. This process is called kappi kaachal.

Transfer the remaining rice batter to a bigger bowl.

Step 4: Combine one-fourth teaspoon of yeast with three tablespoons of lukewarm water and a teaspoon of sugar in a glass. Mix it and cover it for about 10 minutes, until it forms a frothy mixture. Keep aside.

Step 5: Cut the tender coconut into small pieces and grind it to a fine paste.

Step 6: Add the ground coconut paste, yeast mixture, and kappi kachiyathu with the rice batter and mix well.

Step 7: Close the bowl and leave it for six to eight hours to ferment.

Step 8: After eight hours add a teaspoon of salt and two to three tablespoons of sugar. Gently mix the batter and let it rest for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 9: Heat a non-stick pan or an iron skillet (if needed, grease with a little oil), and pour one ladle of batter.

Step 10: As the appam is cooked, you can see the air bubbles forming on top of the appam (pancake). Once the base is cooked, flip it over using a spatula.

Step 11: Once cooked on both sides, transfer it to a serving plate. Enjoy!

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