Appam (Fermented Rice Pancake)

Ingredients

• 1½ cups uncooked white rice
• 1½ cups fresh grated coconut
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 tbsp white rice, cooked
• water for soaking rice, and 2 to 2½ cups for grinding
• ½ tsp yeast or kefir, to start the ferment (optional)

Method

1. Soak the raw rice in water.
2. Grind the soaked rice until about ¼ ground.
3. Add the grated coconut along with a little water and continue grinding.
4. Add the sugar, cooked rice and yeast or kefir, and keep grinding until the whole mixture becomes smooth. It should be thinner than pancake batter.
5. Transfer it to a wide open container and leave it to rise overnight.
6. The next morning, add salt and refrigerate the batter until use.
7. To fry the appams, use a tava or a small bowl-shaped pan with either a non-stick coating or a little oil (coconut or any other refined oil) or ghee.
8. Pour a full serving spoon of batter into the middle of the pan and swirl it around a single time so that a little of the batter sticks to the sides.
9. Cover the pan with a hot lid and remove the appam with a spatula after 2–3 minutes, when it becomes slightly browned around the edges. It should be round, with a thick centre and thin, lacy edges.