Vattayappam/ Soft Vattayappam recipe
Vattayappam is an excellent traditional snack in Kerala; a sweet delicacy that is made with fermented raw rice and coconut batter. It is a perfect tea time snack in most of the Kerala Christian homes. Traditionally made with Toddy instead of yeast, the super soft, fluffy Vattayappam is also expended as a Breakfast item along with Vellayappam/ Appam / Kallappam and Veal Stew / Mutton Stew or Fish Molee during festival times. Some people confuse Vattayappam with Pesaha Appam, the special Appam made by Kerala Christians on Maundy Thursday as part of Holy tradition. While Pesaha Appam is made only once a year, Vattayappam is more popular as a healthy, steamed rice pancake, like Neer Dosa, Aval appam, Idiyappam or string hoppers.
This recipe is from my Kochammu (that’s my darling aunt, Rosammaunty) who is a Vattayappam Specialist. Her super soft Vattayappam is quite famous and when she came home for a quick visit, I immediately demanded for her Vattayappam. She was at her humble best, protesting that it was not so special, quite simple stuff etc; but I was after her and we made her special Vattayappam and it was over in no time. So, the next day we took double measure and made more, this time we added some ripe Ethakka (Plantain – Kerala), cut into rounds, instead of raisins and my kids just loved it. So you may also try this yummy recipe with or without bananas or raisins or just have it plain. I am sure you are going to love this!! Enjoy!
Ingredients for Vattayappam:
| Raw Rice (Pachari/ Dosa rice) | : 1 ½ cup |
| Coconut scraped | : 1 ½ cup |
| Instant dry yeast | : ½ teaspoon |
| Sugar | : ¾ cup |
| Cardamom | : 1 no. |
| Raisins/ Banana/ Jack fruit (Optional) | : little |
| Water | : As required |
Watch Video Recipe
Method:
Wash and soak raw rice in water for 4 – 5 hours. Grind the rice coarsely with just enough water. Take 3 big spoons of this mix (coarsely ground, with light grains) and mix with ½ more glass of water and heat this in a sauce pan, stirring continuously to make a thick paste. Keep aside for cooling.
Grind the rest of the rice mix together with scraped coconut, sugar, cardamom. Once you get a fine smooth batter, add the cold rice paste, yeast and enough salt and blend once more.
Mix well, cover and keep for rising. For 4 – 5 hours. Once it rises well, gently stir once. Grease a small steel plate with ghee and pour the foam from the top to the plate and steam for 10 minutes. You may add raisins or roundly sliced Ethakka (Kerala Plantain) or ripe Jack fruit. Enjoy fresh and tasty Vattayappam.
Tips:
- Always steam only for 10 minutes.
- You may also try adding thick coconut milk instead of ground coconut to get smooth silky soft Vattayappam. You just need to grind the rice with Coconut milk instead of water.
- The batter should be flowing consistency, like Dosa batter.
- Sugar mentioned is for medium sweet, you may adjust the sugar measures as per your taste.
- The rice paste should be cold before mixing in the batter.
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What would be the measurement if i were to use thick coconut milk?
If you are using thick coconut milk, you need to add it to rice while grinding. Add little by little just enough to grind the rice and to get thick batter. The exact measure depends on the type of rice you are using. Usually, half the quantity of rice is required. Adjust to get the correct consistency. Hope it helps.