Aapam Without Yeast Recipe | Easy Breakfast Recipes| Vegan& Gluten Free

South Indian cuisine has its own charm. I havent made the aforementioned statement just because i am a South Indian. When one gives a little thought to the ways of eating in South India, the realisation that the need to cook vegan or gluten free meals come to an end very quickly. And that too in a delicious way. Because a majority of the south Indian cuisine is predominantly vegan and gluten free.

While we are people who cant imagine a life worthwhile without our daily doses of clarified butter and yogurt, our meals do not feature either as an ingredient by itself. Both are only additions to our meal. So, if a person really opts to be a vegan, then the south Indian cuisine is the ticket to all that deliciousness and yet living without butter and yogurt.
Because, we are kindred spirits who cant live without rice, we make it a point to have rice in one of its various facets in almost all our meals. So, even breakfast is a panoply of dishes that have rice in them. One such mouthwatering dish is this lacy pancake that s called aapam. That the folks from Kerala are really good at making. As light as air and totally delectable, these pancakes are also congenial to the tummy. They are usually relished with coconut milk and a potato stew that s every bit hearty as the pancakes themselves are. Today s recipe is all about these lacy pancakes. I hope you all enjoy eating them.

Recipe For Aapam
( Lacy pancakes made with rice and coconut milk.)

Prep Time: 6 hours to soak the rice and dal
                 20 mins for the rest
                 12 hours to ferment
Cook Time: About 3 mins for an aapam
Source: Malliga Badrinath
Level: Intermediate
Makes about 20 aapams.

Ingredients

Raw rice 1.5 cups
Urad dal 1/4 cup
Fenugreek 1 tsp
Thick Fresh Coconut milk from 1/2 a coconut ( About 1 cup here)
Sugar 2 tbsp
Salt as needed
Baking soda 1/4 tsp

Second pressed coconut milk and sugar for serving.

Directions

Soak rice, dal and fenugreek together in about 4 cups of water for 6 hours or overnight. I used Ponni rice for this.
Next day, drain the water, wash and grind to a smooth batter. Grinding the batter in a wet grinder gives best results.
Once done, add salt and mix well.
Let it ferment for about 10 to 12 hours. In case the weather is hot, your batter will not take long to ferment. The batter rises up just like bread dough once it ferments.
Once it ferments, mix well.
Mix the coconut milk with 1/2 cup water.
Just before making the aapams, add the coconut milk, sugar on the top of the batter.
Let rest for 5 mins.
Now, add the baking soda and mix well.
Making aapams requires a special deep pan. I ve a non stick pan for this and here s  picture tutorial on making aapams.
Heat the aapam pan.
The batter must be runny. Not as thick as the regular dosa batter.
Pour a ladle of the batter onto the center of the pan.
Now, with the help of the handles of the pan, lift it off the flame and gently swirl so that the batter evenly coats the inner circumference of the pan..

Once done, turn the flame to medium low and cook covered until you can see holes on the surface of the aapam.
If you dont see holes, add a pinch more of baking soda in the batter.
Cook the aapam on only one side.
You will know its done if you can easily lift it off the pan.

Once done, remove and serve hot with coconut milk and sugar. We enjoyed this with potato stew. Recipe coming soon. Stay tuned!