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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Appo / Appe / Appam / Paniyaram / Indian Aebleskiver


Appam or appo (in Konkani) is like Konkani pancake made for breakfast. It is good change from the daily dosa and idli breakfast items. It is another good tiffin recipe. Traditionally, we don't add onion, coriander while making the appam's. Left over dosa or idli batter can also be used to make appams. Aebleskiver's are very similar to appo in looks but they are made from flour and are sweet in taste. It was interesting to see that similar dish like appo is prepared in Europe. Read more about aebleskiver's here.
I was in search of a Aebleskiver pan ("appe kalyali" in Konkani) since a long time. I found many non-stick Aebleskiver pans at Bed Bath and Beyond and at other shops. I am not very fond of non-stick pans as I have read about the harmful effects of teflon in many online articles. I also feel the non stick coating will wear away without my noticing it.
According to a article "According to a study by the advocacy group, non-stick pots and pans could reach 700 degrees Fahrenheit (370 C) in 3-5 minutes, releasing 15 harmful gases and chemicals, including two carcinogens, two global pollutants, and MFA, a chemical lethal to humans at low doses. Non-stick coatings break down to a chemical warfare agent known as PFIB, and a chemical analog of the WWII nerve gas, phosgene." [1]
Hence, I usually buy anodized iron pans or heavy aluminum pans from the Indian store or cast iron skillets from online stores. I bought this Aebleskiver pan on Amazon.

Ingredients
3 cups rice
1 cup urad dal or split black gram or black lentil
1 cup medium onion
8-9 tablespoon chopped coriander or cilantro
1/2 cup finely chopped coconut pieces
1 teaspoon salt
oil

Method
Soak rice and urad dal in warm water for 6-8 hours. Grind a part of urad dal very finely. Add a part of rice and grind it with the urad dal as finely as possibly. Repeat this with the rest of urad dal and rice. Mix salt in the batter. Keep the batter ina warm place for 8-10 hours. I heat the oven to 100 degrees and then switch off the oven once it is hot. I then leave the batter inside the oven for 8-10 hours for fermentation.

Chop onions finely. Ad the onions, coriander leaves and coconut pieces to the batter. Oil the
Aebleskiver pan or appo pan till hot and oil it well. i keep the heat on high till the pan heats up. Then I drop the heat to medium. Drop a tablespoon of batter into every hole in the pan.

Cover the pan for around 4-5 minutes. Remove cover and flip the appo's with a fork or a knife.It is a little tricky to flip the appe's and they may stick to the pan if the pan is not well oiled. Cook the appe's on the other side till it is light brown. Serve hot with coconut chutney.
Appe's can also be served with dry coconut chutney (chopra chutney recipe coming soon..) or coconut chutney.