Kerala Style Appam / Palappam – A Popular Breakfast, Rice Hoppers of Kerala! Crispy on the Edges with a Fluffy Center, these Mildly Sweet Pancakes are a Delight when Savored with a Dish on the Side! This detailed post covers both the recipes of Appam; an Authentic preparation from scratch and an Instant version.
This post was one I never thought I would publish, as Appam recipes are plenty over the internet and I didn’t want to bombard you all with another one from my collection. It all started when a fellow blogger of mine twincookingproject asked me casually knowing that I am Keralite, if I had a recipe of Appam to share. I quickly typed a short write up (as I never had a proper one written nor planned to) and texted her. The next day she sent a picture of her appam and like every other recipe remake, I shared it in my Instagram stories. And then started all the fun! To my surprise, I began receiving so many requests for the recipe and was overwhelmed by the response, that at one point I felt I can’t be sharing this short hand version and should do a better job with a full-fledged recipe.
So here you go, the traditional way in which Appam is prepared in my home! And as a bonus, along with my “from scratch” version, I am also including an “Instant” one which would help many of you make prepare the same tasty fluffy appams at home with ease.
The secret to perfecting this recipe is the fermentation of the batter, and you have various ways to do it. The internet is filled with thousands of recipes and variations, but trust me… this is a foolproof recipe which I have tested many times.
Pro-Tip: If the batter turns out to be thick after fermentation, add ¼ – ½ cup milk or water to thin out the batter.
Best Side Dishes to go with Appam
- Fish Molly/Moilee/ Kerala Style Fish Stew
- Duck Curry
- Chicken Stew
- Mutton Stew
- Beef Curry
- Beef Ularthiyathu
- Chicken Ularthiyathu
- Roasted Coconut Chickpeas Curry/Varutharacha Kadala Curry
- Vegetable Kurma
- Kerala Style Potato Curry
Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!
Follow me on Instagram, try out the recipes and tag @pepperdelighblog or #pepperdelightblog to all your pictures of Pepper Delight recipes you prepare. Rate us if you love it!
This is the traditional method of preparing Appam from scratch. The process requires a total of 6-8 hrs of fermentation.
- 1 cup idli rice/pachari (soaked for 4-5 hrs)
- ½ cup grated coconut
- 1 handful of any cooked rice (you can use sona masoori also)
- 2-3 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp yeast
- ¼ cup warm water (for yeast prep)
- 1½ cup + more water / coconut milk / coconut water (for grinding)
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Rice Prep: Wash n Soak idli rice for 4-5 hrs.
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Yeast Prep: Prepare yeast mix by mixing ¼ cup warm water with 1 tsp sugar. Add yeast and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. It will froth by this time. Using a spoon, mix it well. Keep aside.
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Making Batter: In a blender, grind the soaked idli rice with grated coconut, cooked rice, 2-3 tbsp sugar, and either of water / coconut milk / coconut water (in batches), till it forms a smooth batter. Make sure your batter is not too runny, it should be slightly thick with a pourable consistency.
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Once the batter is ready, add yeast solution and mix well.
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Fermentation: Allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 8 hrs or overnight, so that it ferments. Use a long-bottomed pan / bowl (preferably glass) as the batter will double in quanitity, ensure to cover the bowl.
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Once properly fermented, the batter would have doubled. Stir by adding salt and sugar (add more if you prefer it sweet).
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Make Appams: To prepare the appams, heat an appam pan (or regular pan if you don’t have one). Once hot, season the pan with a little oil and pour a ladle full of batter on to the center of the pan. Swirl the pan so that a thin coat of the batter covers the edge, forming a properly shaped appam (thick in the center and thinning outwards). Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium flame. Once the edges turn golden brown and the center cooked, remove it to a plate.
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Taste your first appam and add more sugar to the batter if needed. Appams taste best when sweet.
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Pro-tip: If you are living in a cold place during peak winter times, keep your batter inside an oven for the proper fermentation process.
This recipe requires lesser fermenting time. Your tasty appams can be made within 4 hours.
- 1 cup palappam podi (Eastern or any other brand of your choice)
- 1 cup rava / sooji
- ½ cup lukewarm water (for yeast prep)
- ¼ tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar + 2 tsp + more
- 1 cup thick coconut milk
- 1 cup thin coconut milk
- 1 ½ cup + more water
- Salt (to taste)
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For rava kurukku: Prepare the rava kurukku (porridge) by mixing rava and 1 ½ cup water in a saucepan. Continue stirring and cook on a medium flame until the rava is cooked and water absorbed completely. Keep aside to cool.
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Yeast prep: Prepare yeast mix by mixing ¼ cup warm water with 1 tsp sugar, and adding yeast. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes, the mix will froth in the meantime. Using a spoon, mix it well. Keep aside.
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Making Appam batter: Into a large mixing bowl, add the appam podi, cooked and cooled rava, thick and thin coconut milk, along with 2 tsp of sugar. Whisk until combined well. You can mix it in a blender in batches to make the mixing easier as the rava kurukku is difficult to stir and mix. If the batter is too thick, add water and whisk till it forms a smooth batter. Ensure your batter is not too runny, it should be slightly thick with a pourable consistency.
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Allow it to sit at room temperature for 4 hrs, to ferment. Use a long-bottomed pan / bowl (preferably glass) as the batter will double in quantity, ensure to cover the bowl.
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Once properly fermented, the batter would have doubled. Stir by adding salt and sugar (add more if you prefer it sweet).
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Make Appams: To prepare the appams, heat an appam pan (or regular pan if you don’t have one). Once hot, season the pan with a little oil and pour a ladle full of batter on to the center of the pan. Swirl the pan so that a thin coat of the batter covers the edge, forming a properly shaped appam (thick in the center and thinning outwards). Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium flame. Once the edges turn golden brown and the center cooked, remove it to a plate.
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Taste your first appam and add more sugar to the batter if needed. Appams taste best when sweet.
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Pro-tip: If you are living in a cold place during peak winter times, keep your batter inside an oven for the proper fermentation process.
Best Appam recipe…. Tried this recipe and it came out really really good…. Thanks much for this
Thank You so much Aswathi for the wonderful feedback
Tried this appam recipe and came out perfect….Thanks Akhila
Thank You so much Indhu…so glad you liked it
Without any doubt the most perfect APPAM recipe!! So happy that I tried it and keep making it every other week. Thank you for sharing this Akhila
Thank You Sheenam, glad you like it
Came out super soft and just the way it’s served back home. Loved it. Keeper recipe
Thats GREAT Reny
Thank you so much for the wonderful comment, so glad you liked my recipe 
Thank you for typing out a blog post when I requested you for a recipe.made this exactly as you told and served my mom.she loved it.she never thought aapams could be made easily at home too!
Thank you Prithi
Dear Akhila,
what do you recommend when you say 1 1/2 cup of water/ coconut milk / coconut water?
Hello Farha,
For some extra flavor, you can use coconut milk or coconut water but regular water is also fine and it makes tasty appams. I usually makes with water most of the time and its yummy!
Hi, cant wait to try out this recipe. Had a couple of questions about the ingredients. What type of yeast did you use and can I use thai rice for the cooked rice? Thai rice can be a bit sticky.
Hello Reenu, You can use Active Dry Yeast for making appam and Yes, thai rice works for this recipe. I hope you love this, please let me know if you have any other questions!
Can we use sona masoori or basmati instead of idli rice?I love appams and can’t wait to try this one out. Also, do you have any recipe close to Nadan Kodi Curry?
Thanks!
Yes, you can use sona masoori for making appams.
I don’t have a Nadan Kozhi Curry recipe yet, will be uploading soon. Another curry option is stew, Appam goes really well with Chicken Stew.
Here is the link https://www.pepperdelight.com/chicken-stew/
Thank you! Your blog has reconnected me with Kerala dishes. I have made the meen Molly several times and it’s been a big hit! Thank you
I am so happy that you liked my page and Fish Molly recipe, please keep trying my other recipes and share your feedback
Hi Akhila, I’ve been very insterested in the egg bean side dish in the picture (if it’s eggs and beans) and wondering it’s name. How do you name it? And do you have a recipe of it? Thank you!
Hi Xinyi, the side dish which I pictured here is Egg Roast, I haven’t posted the recipe yet, will be uploading soon.
Thanks for your reply! Looking forward to the Egg Roast recipe.：）
Looks Great! I tried from scratch once and it didn’t come out great but I will try this!Question: I have ponni raw rice, parboiled rice and regular basmati rice at home, Can I use any of these instead of going out and buying idli rice?
Hi Iris, yes you can use ponni raw rice. Make sure to soak it for 6-8 hrs and follow the rest of the instructions as described in the recipe.
What’s the downside to not putting the cooked rice? Don’t always have it – I m making this recipe but realized I forgot that bit! Let’s see if it works!! I also had to use dried coconut powered which I rehydrated using coconut milk.
Hello Sirsha, using cooked rice is to make soft appams but it will work fine without rice also (in most cases). Lemme know how it turns out.
How is vattayappam and palappam batter making process different
At present I don’t have a vattayappam recipe in my blog, the making is quite similar but there is some difference as it is more sweet, will be uploading recipe soon!!