Appam

Appam (pronounced|apːam), or hoppers, are a type of food in Sri Lankan and South Indian cuisine. It is called Appam in Kerala and Aappam in Tamil Nadu. Appa is the singular of appam. It is eaten most frequently for breakfast or dinner.

*Plain hoppers are bowl-shaped thin pancakes made from fermented rice flour. They derive their shape from the small appachatti in which they are cooked. They are fairly bland, and always served with a spicy accompaniment. These hoppers are made from a batter using rice, yeast, salt and a little sugar. After the mixture has stood for a couple of hours, it can be fried in the appachatti with a little oil.
*Egg hoppers are the same as plain hoppers, but an egg is broken into the pancake as it cooks.
*Milk hoppers have a spoonful of thick coconut milk/coconut cream added to the doughy centre. When cooked, the centre is firm to the touch but remains soft inside and is sweeter as a result of the coconut milk. An alternative is *Honey hoppers, crispy pancakes cooked with a generous amount of palm treacle. Some people also like to add some jaggery just before serving to make it extra sweet.
*The string hopper, or "Idiyappam" (pronounced|iʈijapːam), is made from rice noodles curled into flat spirals. It is served for breakfast with a thin fish or chicken curry, containing only one or two pieces of meat, a dhal (lentil) dish, and a spicy sambol or fresh chutney. String hoppers are made from steamed rice flour made into a dough with water and a little salt, and forced through a mould similar to those used for pasta to make the strings. They are cooked by steaming. These hoppers can be bought ready-made. In the Western world, where lives are busy, the Malayalee population eats String Hoppers for lunch or dinner. There are many variations to this, depending on the type of flour used etc. This simple dish can be adapted to more interesting things such as String Hopper Biriyani, by adding scrambled eggs or vegetables.

(appum or aapum - pronunciation variation based on the region - is the term equivalent to bread.thus a bread made of rice batter on a stone gridle can and is in certain parts of the country called kullappam, kull=stone. NB:rice is the staple food in the south of india ,usually boiled) Appam also refers to another South Indian sweet dish, which owes its origins to Tamil Nadu and Kerala.This(neyyappum) is made with rice flour, jaggery, clarified butter — ghee — and bananas. A batter made out of rice flour, jaggery and banana is poured into a vessel called "appakarai", which has ghee heated to a high temperature. The appams take the shape of small cups, and are fried until deep brown. Appams are a festive sweet, made on Gokulashtami - the birthday of Hindu deity, Krishna. It is also a common prasadam in Kerala temples.

External links

* [http://www.top-indian-recipes.com/blog/how-to-make-delicious-coconut-appam-for-breakfast Coconut Appam Recipe]
* http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pal-appam