Monday, 20 April 2009

Onion & Green Chilli Appams


I do not even know if anything like this is common or not ... i.e. anything other than plain appams. And I have never made appams before .... enjoyed them everytime at South Indian joints though.

It was only at a food court .... where you can see the cooks preparing your dish ... that I saw the appam being made. And felt stupid.

Coz I realised that the cute little non-stick wok I have been using for low-oil for frying is actually an Appam kadhai.
And I always make the batter for idlis / dosas. Yet never gave a thought to making appams.


Appams are good to have with any gravy based curry. I have found them to be very soft whenever I have had them outside ... but mine turned out to have quite crisp sides ... but was soft and spongy in the centre.
If anybody can give me some tips on this .... please do.

I had made the batter to make something for breakfast. And as usual ... set off to experiment. Thought of adding onions and chillies to the batter and make something at one shot .... that can be had with just chutney.
So made this. A new thing .... a cross between the Uttappam and the Appam. :-)

If you are averse to the soft and just cooked smell of onions, I'd suggest you fry the stuff first in a little oil and mustard seeds tempering .... and then add to the batter.

Need : A thin batter of rice & urad dal ... (soaked overnight and ground to a smooth paste), chopped onions and green chillies, curry leaves, salt to taste, very little cooking oil.

How to : Heat an appam kadhai and smear a little cooking oil.
Add everything to the batter .... yes ... a little cooking oil too.

Pour around a tablespoonfull of batter into the kadhai and give the kadhai a swirl till a pancake is formed all around and a little batter settles in the bottom.

Cover and wait till the sides are done .... usually the sides are not browned ... but I did.
When done, the appams will come out easily when you try to pick them up.


For a meal, serve with any curry. I was making for breakfast .... and had it with chutney. :-)

Enjoy !!

Updated : Varsha suggested they will go great with stews too ... and I agree completely. Thanks Varsha!
My two stews .... one with the coconut milk and the other creamy stew seem perfect for the combi. :-)

32 comments:

  1. I have never made appam, & the only time i ate it once is in an airplane!! Had not idea that you get a separate utensil to make them:-) SO this is entirely new to me.

    no tips from me..:( Looks soft & pure tho'.

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  2. My brother calls this Masala appam... It looks great and a great dinner... Am book marking this...

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  3. YUM!! Aappamas like Uttappams! Great idea, looks gorgeous! :)

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  4. Oh wow awesome....Looks yum...

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  5. Looks gorgeous....I make something similar but with Suji+Maida and we call it Gola Ruti...
    I've never used an Appam Kadai though and use the regular Non-stick frying pan though...

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  6. Very crisp appams,sounds very appetizing with chutney:)

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  7. My Mom makes uttapams which look exactly like this. Appams I have had at only Mallu joints while in India. Appams have dal in the batter too, I thought it was only rice !!!

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  8. I love this post..a different way of making appams. I have tried with rice flour only. This looks great :)

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  9. Hi Sharmila,
    have had plain appams, this one looks all decked up with onions n chillies...looks yummm
    Thanks for sharing.
    tc

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  10. I ate plain appams in my south Indian friend's house...kintu barite banai ni konodin..with onion & green chilli, it sounds very tasty....love the clicks, Sharmi

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  11. Thanks Soma, Ramya, Asha, KF,Yasmeen, Suparna, Indrani! :-)

    SGD ... amar pishimoni gola ruti banato .. kintu ota mishti hoto .. I think gur diye. :-)

    Sandeepa ... I really don't know if they have dal in it ... I just used my batter for idli. :-)

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  12. Thanks Pooja .. I'll have to check out the actual ingredients.

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  13. Appams are hot favourites wuth me too.
    Here are a few recipes which looked good to me:
    http://madteaparty.wordpress.com/2006/08/24/appams-with-avial/

    http://www.tarladalal.com/recipe.asp?id=1689

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  14. Looks inviting!! Delicious appams.. Hmmm Yumm!

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  15. Sharmila, that's one delicious-looking appam, and I love the onions and green chillies in it.

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  16. Thats very innovative Sharmila..:)..Would be best with Stew's..:)

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  17. I have never eaten an appam before but have a heard a lot about the appam pans and how you can deep fry in them. I told MIL to pick it up for me from Mumbai and am just waiting for it to arrive here. I like this cross version Sharmila.

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  18. Hey Rashmi .. that's so nice of you ... will check out the links pronto. Thanks! :-)

    Thanks AnuSriram! :-)

    Thanks Vanamala! :-)

    Thanks Vaishali! :-)

    Thanks Varsha! Good idea .. stews .. I should have mentioned them ... am updating the post. :-)

    Thanks Bharti! Hope you get to try them out soon . :-)

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  19. Nevr tried appams at home ..these looks so good.....
    hugs and smiles

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  20. Sharmila those aappams look fantastic and so very inviting...

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  21. thnks for the tip ,..i guess i gonna try this in my non stick wok,..

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  22. Thanks Jaya! Try koro ... khub easy. :-)

    Thanks Usha! :-)

    Try it Priyanka .. you will like it. :-)

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  23. wow that is such a noce one .. love onions woth it

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  24. i adore appams and this is a nice twist. need to order that pan now. i don't have a kadai.

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  25. Thanks Deesha! :-)

    Thanks Bee! You can try with a regular non stick kadhai .. but pour only a small ladleful at a time. :-)

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  26. very delicious and yummy appams..

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  27. Appams look great, Sharmila! I've never tried to make them at home before.

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  28. interesting twist to the appam!:-) will try:-)

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  29. Very innovative topping for an appam.

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  30. Hey, I remember seeing this while I was away on my break. You have attained the perfect lacy effect.

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  31. Thanks Sireesha! :-)

    Thanks Vani! Actually they are pretty easy .. I just used the regular dosa batter and a kadhai. :-) Try it once. :-)

    Thanks Shreya! :-)

    Thanks Rachel! :-)

    Thanks Anudivya! Good to see you back. :-)

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