Baked Nei Appam

It is been a while since I tasted Nei Appam. Recently I saw my friend Priya’s Nei Appam. After seeing that I was so tempted to taste It, but the traditional method of preparation is a bit time consuming for me. Previously I used store-bought rice flour for Kozhukkatai, Seedai and thattai, so I used the same rice flour for an instant version. Instead of using Kuzhi Paniyaram pan (like I did for wheat appam), I baked them this time, as a couple of my friends who do not have kuzhi Paniyaram pan asked for a baked version.

Baked Nei Appam

Preparation time:  5mins  |  Cooking time: 20 mins

Recipe Category: Snacks/Sweet

Ingredients:

Rice Flour – 1 cup

Jaggery, grated – 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (Adjust according to your sweetness)

Fresh grated coconut – 3 tbsp

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Water – 2 tbsp

Salt – 1 pinch (optional)

Ghee (clarified butter) – 2 tbsp

Method:

• In a pan, add jaggery and water, and cook till jaggery melts. Add cardamom powder and coconut, and switch off

• Add rice flour and salt to jaggery and mix well without lumps. Let it come to room temperature

• Knead them into a pilable dough

• Grease the parchment paper with ghee and make small balls of batter and place it in the greased tray

• Bake them for 12 – 18 minutes turning sides in between. As they cook they expand and attain the Appam shape. Appam becomes crispy over time so remove from the oven before that stage

My Notes:

• If you are using kuzhi Paniyaram pan. The batter should be thick like idli batter (Dropping consistency).  Heat the kuzhi paniyaram pan (Aebelskiver mould) and when its hot, grease each indent with ghee. Pour batter into the mould till 3/4 full and let it cook for 2-3 mins till it becomes golden brown. Using a skewer or a spoon gently flip them over and let the other side also cook for 1-2 mins
• Banana can be added. Adding banana makes them soft
• If you doubt whether jaggery may have impurities, you can filter  them after melting
• If you want to reduce ghee, add a tsp of ghee in the batter and use oil for greasing
• Instead of baking/ using Paniyaram pan, you can also deep fry them in oil. Just pour a small ladle full of batter into hot oil and cook till golden brown, flip it over and when cooked, drain onto a kitchen paper

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