Unniappam

I am sure, some of you might be wondering why haven’t I posted this recipe yet in the blog. I admit that I really made these Kerala delicacy for the first time in my life just few months before. And since then I have made it a couple of times. The main reason for not making such sweet snacks

is obviously my family 🙂 Neither my daughter nor hubby are fans of anything sweet. Fortunately, since the time my sister and family have shifted to Chennai, I get a chance to try out various sweet snacks at my home.

This surely is one of the most easy and frequently made snacks in most mallu households. This is a rice based dish sweetened with jaggery and banana and some coconut bits and sesame seeds for an added bite. Of course there are variations using rice flour, wheat flour and so on. There are different versions of the same recipe and people do have mild modifications. I too have been trying various combinations and this looked good to me. All you need is a good appe pan, which is easily available on Amazon or the usual utensils shop. The nonstick ones are a breeze to use, though I would prefer a cast iron or bronze one any day. My mom has a beautiful bronze one 🙂

I have used a normal tea cup. You can use any measuring cup of your choice.

Ingredients:

• Raw rice 1 cup
• Jaggery 1 cup
• Semolina 1tbsp
• Ripe bananas mashed 1/3 cup
• Black sesame seeds 1/2 tsp
• Fresh coconut pieces 2 tbsp
• Cardamom powder 1/4 tsp
• Baking soda a pinch
• Ghee 2 tsp
• Oil for frying

Method:

• Wash and soak the rice for atleast 4-5 hours.
• Melt the jaggery with little water and make a syrup. Strain it and keep it aside. Or you can directly use powdered jaggery.
• Grind the rice into a fine paste using the jaggery syrup. Adjust the amount of sweetness according to your palate.
• Mash the over ripe bananas and add it to the mixture. Or you can grind the bananas along with the rice.

• Add the black sesame seeds and cardamom powder and mix well.

• Mix the semolina with 5-6 tablespoons of water and cook till it forms a custard like consistency. Allow it to cool.

• Fry the coconut nibs in the ghee till it’s golden in colour.

• Now add the cooled semolina custard and the fried coconut pieces into the batter and mix well until combined.

• Allow the batter to rest for around 4-5 hours.
• Take an appe pan and fill the cavities with oil and heat it.
• Add a pinch of baking soda along with a spoon of water and mix into the batter.
• Adjust the consistency and sweetness of the batter. If the batter appears too runny, add a tablespoon of wheat flour and combine.
• Pour a spoon of the batter into each cavity, taking care not to fill it till the brim.
• Bring the flame to medium heat and fry these unniappams. Flip after few minutes.
• Remove them from the oil when they look nice golden brown on both sides.
• Drain the excess oil using a kitchen tissue.
• Serve it hot. These stays well for 2-3 days at room temperature. Infact they taste better the next day.

Notes:

• You can use Robusta banana or any sweet variety of banana. Make sure that they are fully ripe.
• You can skip sesame seeds if you do not like it.
• One can add around a teaspoon of cumin powder if you like the taste.
• If the weather is very hot, rest the batter only for 2-3 hours.
• You may use grated jaggery in place of jaggery syrup and grind it directly with the rice.