Unniyappam

  

       

    "Unniyappam" is a traditional Kerala Snack made with  rice flour, mashed banana and jaggery syrup . This fluffy deep fried sweet rice fritter got its name called "Unniyappam" or "UnniAppam" from  the Malayalam word "Unni" which means "small" and "Appam" means "cake". The popular South Indian snack is  considered as a ritual offering  or "prasadam"  in temples of Kerala and is also  commonly made during any  festive occasions as offerings to God.

Ingredients

1. Rice powder (slightly roasted) -  2 cup
2. Jaggery  syrup - 1 cup
3. Banana  - 3 small ripened (preferably "Palayankodan Pazham"- a popular small banana found in Kerala)
4. Salt - a  tiny pinch
5. Cardamom powder -1/2 tsp
6. Black sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
7. Coconut bits - 2 tbsp
8. Ghee -2 tbsp
9. Oil - for frying

Method

1.  Slice the ripened banana to small pieces and blend in a mixer to a smooth paste.
2. Add rice  flour, jaggery syrup, salt to the mashed banana mixture and mix everything well to a smooth dripping consistency. (Like dosa batter). 
3. Add  cardamom powder, black sesame seeds to the mixture.
4. Meanwhile fry coconut bits in ghee and pour to the batter.
5. Mix everything well and transfer  the batter to an airtight bowl and allow to ferment for about 5-6 hrs (depending on temperature of the region).
6. Heat an unniappam  pan and add oil about 3/4 inches in depth of each  rounds.
7. Make the temperature to medium and add a spoon full of batter to the heated oil so as to fill  half of  each rounds of the pan 
8. The batter will slowly puff up, and the oil  starts rising up .
9.  When one side is brown, flip the other side and cook them evenly. Do this for all the unniyappams.
10. When both sides are evenly browned, drain them and transfer to a paper towel.

Notes

• The batter should be rightly fermented neither too much nor too low to get the right unniyappams.
• The sugar should be slightly on the higher side when you mix the batter before  allowing to ferment.
• The frying should be done on medium heat to properly cook the unniyappam .
• You can add 2 tbsp of ghee along with oil for frying for making tasty unniyappams.

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Cheers,

Asha