Recipe- Kerala Unni Appam Is A Very Popular South Indian Dish

Unniyappam is a Kerala famous sweet recipe made with rice flour, wheat flour, coconut, bananas, jaggery and cooked in ghee. Learn how to make Kerala Unni appam with step wise pictures and a video.

Originated from Kerala this Unniyapam is very popular in South India. You might have seen this as packed snacks in Malayali shops. This is a perfect tea time snack and healthy food for kids compared to other sugary junk foods.

Unniappam is also called as karollappam and neiyappam. The traditional Kerala nadan recipe calls for soaking rice(some add urad dal too for softness) for three hours, grinding and mixing with coconut and other ingredients. Then it is fried in oil or ghee.

This process is a bit time-consuming. Nowadays most of the snacks at home we would be interested in preparing instantly with whatever is available right?

If you are like me to find quick fixes then this rice flour and wheat flour version is for you. There is another method with maximum wheat flour and that is deep-fried.

Ingredients

5 tsp ghee approx.
¾ cup grated coconut
2 large overripe bananas
1 cup rice flour
½ cup wheat flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking salt optional
½ tsp cardamom powder
½ cup jaggery powder as per taste
½ tsp white sesame seeds optional
1 cup water approx

Method

* Heat a tsp of ghee in a frying pan and add 3/4 cup of grated coconut.

* You can either use in grated form or small chopped bits.
* My kids don't like the bits hence I add grated coconut.

* Fry the coconut in ghee for up to five minutes until the coconut turns into light golden and aromatic.

* Switch off and keep aside.

* I use roasted white sesame seeds. If you don't have already roasted one, fry the sesame seeds in ghee for a min until they pop, switch off and keep ready.

* Take two large ripe bananas and mash them thoroughly.

* Add one cup of rice flour and a half cup of wheat flour.

* Put a 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of baking soda.

* Add a 1/2 tsp of green cardamom powder and 3/4 cup of jaggery powder. If the jaggery has impurities, dissolve it in water, filter the dirt and add the jaggery water.

* Put sesame seeds and the coconut.

* Mix all the ingredients once well and gradually add water.

* Approximately one cup of water may be needed to make the appam batter.

* If you are using jaggery water instead of powder adjust water accordingly.

* The batter should have a thick idli batter consistency.

* Leave this batter aside for 10 minutes to rest.

* How to fry unniyappam in a paniyaram pan:

* Heat a paniyaram pan with a 1/4 tsp of ghee or oil in each slot.

* Fill 3/4th portion of the slots with the batter.

* Cover with a lid and cook for around 3 to 4 minutes until the bottom sides become golden brown.

* Flip the sides and cook the other sides too for two more minutes until done.

* When both sides of unniyappams are fried, remove them from the pan and serve them warm