Palappam | Kerala Rice Crepes

Palappam or rice crepes featuring soft and fluffy center surrounded by intricate lace design. Now that sounds pretty complicated, right? Don’t worry, I’m going to tell you all about this Kerala breakfast favorite.

I grew up eating these delicious appams nearly every week. These were the brekkie showstoppers of Christmas and Easter, and the best way to welcome guests. That being said, it’s perfect for any day, whenever you want to cook something special for breakfast. These appams are an important part of our tradition, eventually I fell in love this dish. Seriously, you really need to try it.

We seldom make palappam in winter as it is not possible to get the right amount of fermentation. But in the summer months, these are made more often and enjoyed as part of an elaborate breakfast, mostly on weekends.

The right batter consistency and enough fermentation are the secrets to getting them perfect every time. These two factors keep the appams soft and easily spreadable in the pan making perfect lace. The delicate lace rim makes them extra pretty and yummy.

If you’re looking for a fabulous side dish for palappams, try these:

– Kerala vegetable stew
– North Indian lamb curry
– Capsicum chicken
– Kerala egg curry

Here are all the ingredients. Raw rice is soaked for 4-6 hours. Add yeast and sugar to 1/4 cup water and leave to ferment. I’ve used cooked matta rice in this recipe. You could also use long grain or basmati rice.

Grind each ingredient separately except yeast and salt (adding enough water) . Place them in a large bowl and mix well.The batter should be not too thick or too thin.

Now stir in yeast mixture, and cover the bowl with a lid. Place it in a warm spot to ferment. This will take around 8-10 hours.  You can see the fermented batter in the above picture.

Now the batter is ready to make appams. Just stir enough salt into the batter and you’re ready to go. Now heat the pan and pour 1/4 cup batter to the center of the pan. Swirl it around to form the lace pattern. When you swirl the batter around in the pan, it will create all those tiny holes that you can see in the above picture. Cover the pan with a lid and cook. Continue making more crepes until all the batter is used up.

Yield: 4

Palappams | Kerala Rice Crepes

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Perfect classic Kerala palappam or rice crepes. No fail recipe!

Prep Time 8 hours

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw rice (see notes)
• 2 cups grated coconut
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 tsp yeast
• ½ tsp white sugar
• Water

Instructions

1. You have to start this recipe one day ahead.
2. Rinse and soak rice in water for 4-6 hours. Set aside.
3. Dissolve yeast and sugar in ¼ cup water. Keep it in a warm spot for 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
4. Drain and place the rice in the large bowl of a food processor. Add water and grind to form smooth batter. Grind rice in batches, if necessary. Transfer it to a large bowl.
5. Place grated coconut in the food processor. Add enough water to grind to form smooth batter. Add coconut mixture to the rice batter in the bowl.
6. Place cooked rice in the food processor, and add enough water to grind to a smooth batter. Add it to the rice batter.
7. (Altogether, I added around 1 ½ cups of water)
8. Stir the yeast mixture into the batter. Cover the bowl with a tight lid, and leave to ferment for 8-10 hours or overnight.
9. When the batter has fermented and ready to make palappams, stir enough salt into it.
10. To make the pancakes, heat pancake pan (traditional appachatti) over medium-high heat. When the pan is warm, add 1/3 cup batter onto the center of the pan.
11. Use your both hands to hold the handles of the pan, and swirl the batter towards the sides of the pan. This will form a thin lace design. Place the pan over heat, cover with lid, and leave to cook for 1-2 minutes or until the center of the pancake is cooked through.
12. Repeat until all the batter is used up. Serve these palappams with your favorite side dish.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 508Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 0mgSodium 125mgCarbohydrates 113gFiber 5gSugar 16gProtein 9g