Neiyyappam

Recipe No: 251

This is my Fathers favorite Kerala snack and I still remember my Mother making it from 2 and 3 Kilo Rice, starting at 6 a.m. Apart from Unniyappam, Neiyyappam doesn’t need to have any specialized pans to make and it don’t have Bananas in them, giving a clear difference in taste. This will stay good at room temperature for longer period of time than Unniyappam.

Ingredients                              Makes 12 - 14

• Long Grain Rice…...1 Cup
• Jaggery……………….1 Cup (Cut into small pieces)
• Ghee……………………1 Tablespoon
• Coconut pieces…….3 Tablespoons (Cut into thin, small pieces)
• Cumin Seeds………..1/2 Teaspoon
• Pinch of Salt
• Oil for deep frying

Method of Preparation

1. Wash and soak Rice for 4 hours. Drain it properly.
2. Grind the soaked and drained Rice into a course powder. This will yield around 2 ¼ cups of Flour. Keep aside till ready to be used.
3. Melt Jaggery with ¼ cup of Water and strain it a few times to get rid of the impurities. Let it cool completely.
4. Add the Jaggery syrup and a pinch of Salt to the Rice Flour and make a thick batter out of it. (Well don’t add any more Water and take care as we are using raw Flour; it will need only a fraction of Water when compared to the roasted Flour.)
5. Keep this mixture aside for 6-7 hours.
6. Once that resting time is over, heat Ghee in a pan on medium heat and fry the Coconut pieces till slightly brown. At this stage, add the Cumin; let it fry for 3-5 seconds and switch off the heat.
7. Pour this fried Coconut and Cumin together with the remaining Ghee into the batter and mix well.
8. Adjust the thickness of the batter by adding more Water (a tablespoon or two) if necessary. The batter should be a bit thicker than the Unniyappam batter or when poured it should be flowing in thick lines.
9. Heat at least 2 inches of Oil in a deep pan on medium high heat and pour a small ladle (two tablespoons) of batter into the Oil. (When the batter is poured, it will sink to the bottom of the pan and will take some time to puff up and rise to the top of the Oil. Pour the second one only after the first one started floating.)

10. Fry the Neiyyappam for a few minutes on both sides or till it is golden brown.
11. Drain the excess Oil on a paper towel and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

• Instead of starting with Rice, you can use 2 cups of Rice Flour (Regular ones in American Grocery stores which are not fried well.) with 1/4 Cup Cream of Rice (that resembles coarse rice powder.) which is available in most of the Indian stores.
• The coarse nature of the Rice Flour is very important as that helps in raising the Neiyyappam. (We don't use any other leavening agents.)
• As per my mother, keeping the prepared batter for less time will reduce the puffing up of Neiyyappam and on the other hand if you keep it for more time it will absorb a lot of Oil.
• Neiyyappam needs to be immersed in the Oil while frying and hence, I prefer a pan which is deep in the middle like a Kadai/ Cheenachatti.
• Let the Kadai/ pan heat up really well before adding the Oil or the batter may stick to the bottom of the pan. (and it may need a bit of help to float.)
• Adjust the heat according to your stove to a medium- medium high, as higher temperature may brown the Neiyyappam fast without cooking the inside properly and too low temperature will make it absorb a lot of Oil. So decide the temperature that is suited in your cooking conditions.
• Neiyyappam will stay good at room temperature for up to a week; don’t keep them in the refrigerator. But if you want to keep it for longer period of time, do refrigerate and serve them at room temperature; but I am not so sure about its texture after refrigeration.
• Don't over fry the Neiyyappams as it  hardens them.

 




Make it, enjoy the deliciousness and 
serve it to your family with love…