For those who have read this blog, I apologize for repeating myself. I just cannot help myself when it comes to Indian food!
For the past couple of years, I have had a couple of recipes setting on the back burner, so to speak. Most definitely of interest, but somehow I just never got down to refining a recipe of my own. These recipes are from Kerala, a state that runs down the southwest coast of India (similar to Chile, in South America). Apparently coconut trees are ubiquitous to the area, and Kerala is sometimes called Land of the Coconuts. Rice is another food found everywhere and at most meals. Not surprising then, that coconut and rice together play a huge part in the cuisine of this state.
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| Vegetable Ishtu |
And so, we come to the point of this rambling monologue. The recipes I had been eyeing for a good couple of years were a Coconut Vegetable Stew, called Vegetable Ishtu (or Ishtoo), the locals' pronunciation of the British term of "stew." The stew looked so pretty with its white base and colorful vegetables. Plus, I just love coconut and coconut milk. The other recipe I was eying was one of the many, many possible accompaniments to this stew, called Appam, a bowl-shaped rice and coconut crepe.
Vegetable Ishtu
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| Vegetable Ishtu |
½ cup peeled, ¼-inch diced potato
½ cup peeled, ¼-inch diced carrots
½ cup frozen baby peas
½ cup cauliflower, in tiny florets, optional
GROUND MIXTURE:
1 tablespoon channa dal/desi channa dal
3 tablespoons raw cashews
1 tablespoon white poppy seed, optional
1 - 3 green chili peppers, seeds removed for less heat
1½-inch piece true cinnamon quill
2 whole green cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
TEMPERING:
1 - 2 tablespoons coconut oil
20 curry leaves
1 onion, chopped finely
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
1 can (14.5 ounce) coconut milk
½ -1 teaspoon salt, as needed
Heat a dry skillet over medium to medium high heat and toast the channa dal, stirring constantly, until deep golden. Set in a plate to cool. Toast the cashews briefly, stirring constantly, until they get some browned spots. Place into the plate to cool. Once cooled, put these and the remaining Ground Mixture ingredients into a blender container with ½-cup water and blend to a smooth paste. Set aside.
In a saucepan combine the cubed vegetables and just barely cover with water. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook the vegetables until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. While the vegetables cook, heat the skillet again and add in the coconut oil. Once hot, drop in the curry leaves to crackle a bit and add in the onion. Saute the onion until nice and soft, but not golden. Add in the ginger and stir, cooking just until fragrant. Add the reserved ground past mixture along with the vegetables with their water and the coconut milk. Add in the salt and taste for seasoning. Stir well and cover over very low simmer, to meld flavors.
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Appam, huh?
Appam seems to be a generic term for a whole variety of possible iterations of the basic rice and coconut based bread-like accompaniments that run from thin and crepe-like to pancake thick and all sorts of variations. The terms are very confusing, because many places seem to term Appam and Palappam as the same thing. Then there is Vallayappam, which seems to be the same batter, except instead of thinning to crepe-consistency, this batter is left like pancake batter and made like pancakes, although without flipping them. There are also Idiyappam, where the batter is pressed through a device that results in strings that are bunched into an idli mold and steamed, as for idli. There are some variations that call for the addition of some vegetables and or onion. It seems, truly, that the variations are almost endless, when it comes to Appam. |
| Appam / Palappam |
What all of this comes down to is the use of rice and coconut in a fermented batter. The batter is fermented, similarly to idli, whether by natural fermentation, the use of yeast or the use of a local fermented alcoholic beverage. In the making of idli, I have yet to have the batter actually ferment, so I end up using a bit of baking soda at the last minute. In the recipe I cobbled together for my Appam, I did use yeast, and the batter fermented beautifully, all bubbly and aromatic in the morning. My Appam (or Palappam) are a bowl-shaped crepe-like creation, and often are cooked until the underside is truly browned. I cooked mine to a bit less done: they were golden underneath, though nowhere approaching browned. They are delicate and soft and white and lacy.
To make these, a rounded pan, like a small wok (called an appachatti), is used. The batter is poured into the center and quickly swirled, as for crepes, but with the batter going up the rounded edges, then pooling back down to the center. The center remains thicker and soft, while the outer edges become very lacy and a little crisp. As I do not own an appachatti, I used my smallest pan, an old All-Clad "non-stick" 8-inch pan. When I rotated the pan to allow the batter access to the sides, I had to be careful not to get the batter onto the inner rivets, as it would stick. So, my appams were a little lower on one side, but it made no difference at all.
The true recipe for Appam (of any variety) calls for the use of raw rice and fresh coconut. It can also call for additions of Poha rice (a flattened, dried, parboiled rice) or some previously cooked and cooled rice. Some recipes call for a cooked rice flour paste to be added also. As the batter should ferment, and I have no local Indian alcoholic beverage on hand (in the U.S. southwest), I used a yeast version and made a shortcut method that worked wonderfully well.
Appam / Palappam
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| Appam / Palappam |
Makes about 20 (10-inch) Appam
2 cups plain white rice flour
1 can (14.5 ounce) unsweetened coconut milk
1½ cups water, plus more for adjusting
¼ cup pre-cooked, cooled white rice
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant yeast
¾ teaspoon salt
Eight hours before using the batter: Mix the coconut milk and water in a blender with the cooked rice, sugar and yeast, blend briefly, then add in the rice flour and starting slowly, blend the mixture to a fine batter. If it is too thick, add in water, ½ cup at a time, until just shy of crepe batter consistency. Pour into a large mixing bowl and cover with plastic film. Allow this to stand on the counter 8 hours, or overnight.
After 8 hours, the batter should be bubbly and yeasty smelling. Stir and add in the salt. If the mixture is still too thick (which is easy to determine once you make one or two), add more water, a little at a time.
Preheat a small, round-sided pan. I used an 8-inch (bottom diameter) skillet. Whatever pan is used, it should have rounded, flared sides. Once very hot, brush with a film of ghee or coconut whatever is needed to be able to very quickly roll the pan so the batter goes up the sides of the pan. Once done swirling, the remaining batter should pool in the center of the pan, while the edges become very lacy. It takes a few minutes at medium heat or higher until the edges begin to loosen. Once the appam is browned on the bottom, remove to a plate. Amount of browning is totally subjective.
Serve these appam with the Vegetable Ishtu recipe above, or (less authentically) with Sambar. It is also great with any chutney, or any meat or fish stew leftover from dinner.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
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