Unniyappam (2 versions) | Sweet Paniyaram | Traditional Kerala Snack

Unniyappam is a traditional Kerala sweet snack which is very familiar among all the Keralites.These are made in the Dutch pan or the south indian paniyaram pan or unniyappam chatti.I love unniappam from childhood days and my favorite now too.Ideally puttu podi is the rice flour used for making unniappam,says my mom.Puttu podi is slightly coarse rice powder with small tid bits in it and its roasted just for 3-4 mins unlike the idiappam or kozhukatta rice flour.But here I tried it with the puttu podi that we find in stores and also tried another version with ground rice too.The former was soft appams but the latter with ground rice was very very soft ones.I have explained both the versions,Do give this a try whichever suits you better if you have the unniyappam chatti or paniyaram pan !!

Ingredients
1.Using rice flour method
unroasted rice flour(preferably unroasted puttu podi) 1 cup
banana 2 mashed
jaggery 3/4-1 cup(refer notes)
cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
ghee 2 tbsp
coconut pieces 2 tbsp
cardamom powder 3/4 tsp
oil for deep frying

OR
2.Using ground rice-
long grain rice /pachari/plain rice 1 cup
banana 1 mashed
jaggery 3/4-1 cup(refer notes)
cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
ghee 2 tbsp
coconut pieces 2 tbsp
cardamom powder 3/4 tsp
oil for deep frying

Method

1.Using the rice flour method-

- Boil water (1 cup )water in a pan and add the jaggery in it.Boil until the jaggery melts,turn off flame.Strain for impurities and keep aside to cool.

-Heat ghee in a pan and fry the coconut pieces till golden brown.

-Mash the bananas using a fork or blender whichever comfortable.

-Take the rice flour in a bowl,add the jaggery,bananas and make a smooth batter like for dosas.Add in the cumin seeds and cardamom powder.

-Add in the fried coconut pieces along with ghee,mix well to combine.

-Cover and leave to ferment 6-7 hours.I usually leave it overnight like my mom does it too.

-After fermentation,heat the paniyaram pan.Pour oil until 3/4th full and let it heat well on medium heat.

-Check the consistency of batter,and if required add 2 tbsp of milk.Mix well.

-Using a spoon,pour batter in the holes upto 3/4 th full ideally.(But my pan holes were very small,so I filled full)

-You can see the sides getting slightly browned,then using a skewer or fork turn the other side.

-Let that side get cooked & brown too.Remove from flame using the skewer and drain on a paper towel.

-Pour oil into the holes if required for the next batch.Let it heat and then pour the batter.Repeat the same  steps till you finish the batter.

-Serve with tea,unniyappam stays good for 2 days !!

OR

2.Using the ground rice method

-Wash and soak 1 cup of long grain rice(pachari) in water for 4-5 hours.

-Boil about 3/4 cup of water in a bowl and add the jaggery to it.Melt and strain the impurities.Leave to cool.

-Add half of the strained jaggery and soaked rice in a blender/mixer.Grind it until 3/4th done that is you should have some bits of rice in it.

-Add in the bananas and blend once more.

-Remove from blender and add all other ingredients.Repeat all other steps from fermentation to frying just like the above method.

-The last image shows the ones made with this method.

Servings ~ 20-25 appams

NOTES

* Usually palayamkodan banana/mysore banana is used.But In US ,you can use 1 large overripe banana if you are using puttu podi.But I used 2 bananas as the rice flour wasn't puttu podi.

* Some people tend to add baking soda/baking powder,but here I haven't added anything to the batter.Adding baking soda consumes more oil.Leaving overnight helps the batter to ferment nicely.You can see the inside so soft in the last image.
* You can add 2 tbsp of maida too to the batter to make it more soft,but I haven't added that.(Mom's tips)

* Use the dark color jaggery for unniyappam as this gives the nice color.I have used that.

* You can add black sesame seeds (1 tsp)for added flavor and taste.

* The heat should be kept uniform throughout the process on medium heat.If you increase the heat the inside may not cook properly and gets browned faster.If you cook at low flame,the oil consumption will be more.

(Made from ground rice)

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Sending this to The Kerala Kitchen event hosted by Geetha @ Sun,moon & Potatoes