Unniyappam (Unni Appam)

Happy New Year dear Senthil’s Kitchen family and friends! I wish the new year brings health, happiness and prosperity to all of us.

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!!! It is that time of the year now with many devotees of Lord Ayyappa observing the 41-day vratham (austerity period) that culminates with the Irumudi Kettu and a pilgrimage to the holy Ayyappa Temple that is on the top of a hill by the Pamba river in Kerala. Today’s recipe has a special connection to Lord Ayyappa, please read further to know more about it.

Unniyappam (Unni appam), also called Karollappam is a small round snack made with rice, urad dal (optional), jaggery, ripe banana, roasted coconut pieces, roasted sesame seeds, dry ginger powder, cardamom powder and fried in ghee or oil. This unniyappam is a special prasadam in any Ayyappa pooja, and is also part of the Onam Sadya feast. Our good old friends Gopal and Padma visited us from Dallas during the holiday season, and during our visit to the local Meenakshi Amman temple in Houston, we fondly remembered how we devoured this dish that was offered as Ayyappa prasadam during one of our earlier visits. We were not lucky and did not get any unniyappam this time, but thanks to Lord Ayyappa’s blessings, I made this dish at home and we all enjoyed it.

Special wishes to the beloved swamis (my father-in-law in Chennai and our friend Virudha in Houston) who are undertaking this holy pilgrimage this year.

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Unniyappam

A very special sweet dish from God's own country (Kerala) made with rice, urad dal, jaggery, ripe bananas, spices and fried in ghee or oil.

Course Snack

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Appe, Neiyappam, Paniyaram, Unni Appam, Unniyappam

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Senthil Sadasivam

Ingredients

• 1 cup Raw rice soaked
• 1/4 cup Urad dal (optional) soaked
• 1 Ripe Banana mashed
• 1/2 cup Jaggery powdered
• 1/4 cup Coconut scrapes roasted
• 1/2 tbsp Sesame seeds roasted
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
• 1/2 tsp Dry ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• Salt to taste
• Ghee or Oil to fry

Instructions

1. Grind the soaked rice and urad dal (optional) to a fine consistency and pour the batter in a vessel.

2. In a pan, add 1 tsp ghee and dry roast coconut scrapes and sesame seeds for a few seconds until they are slightly browned. Add jaggery and stir well and let it melt a little bit. Add this mixture to the batter.

3. Add mashed banana, dry ginger powder, cardamom powder, baking soda, salt and mix well.

4. The batter should be of pouring consistency like that of dosa batter. Best results are produced if the batter sits for 30 mins before you start cooking.

5. Heat paniyaram pan on the stove and in each mould pour about 1/2 tsp ghee or oil.  Pour one spoon batter mix into each mould just enough to fill them a little below their capacity.  The unniyappam will expand and almost become double the size when fully cooked.

6. Let them cook for few mins until they get golden brown at the bottom.  Then slowly rotate the appam using a wooden stick/ spatula (the accessory that came with the pan).  Cook on the other side for few mins so they get evenly browned on both sides.  Perfectly cooked appam will be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and should melt in the mouth.