Making Tender Coconut Appam at home has never been easier! This recipe uses tender coconut water as one of the key ingredients, and it’s a total game changer. The result is insanely fluffy and lacy appams that have a soft, spongy centre and crispy edges. You need to give this one a try!
Love South Indian food? Check out my South Indian Style Egg Curry, Mushroom Pepper Fry, Chutneys for Idli & Dosa, and Millet Mysore Masala Dosa recipes!
Dunking these incredibly soft and fluffy Tender Coconut Appams (also known as palappam) in a hot and aromatic veg stew is my idea of an ideal breakfast situation. Like dosa batter, making appam also requires a little prep as the appam batter needs time to ferment. Plus the multiple steps can feel a little intimidating, especially if you are a new cook. But if you follow this simple recipe, along with all the tips and tricks that I have mentioned in this article, I assure you that you will nail the process of making appam at home in no time!
This Kerala appam and veg stew is usually eaten for breakfast, but it’s filling and hearty enough to work for lunch as well as dinner.
Quick Walk Through: Tender Coconut Appam
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make Tender Coconut Appam
Rice: Soaked for about 8-10 hours or overnight. Idli or dosa rice works best to make this appam batter, but I tried a batch with sona masoori and that worked really well too.
Cooked rice: Just a handful. Helps make the appam really soft and fluffy
Tender coconut water: Used to soak the rice in. The same soaking tender coconut water is also used to grind the batter, so it’s important to follow the measurements provided.
Coconut: Grated. Both fresh and frozen work here.
Yeast: I have used dry active yeast to help ferment the batter. You can use instant yeast as well if you are in a hurry.
Sugar: For a hint of sweetness typical to appam.
Salt: For seasoning.
Water: If needed. To adjust the consistency of the appam batter.
Frequently Asked Questions
A sure-shot way to make soft appam is to add a handful of cooked rice while grinding. A little coconut also helps make soft appam.
Even though dosa and appam both need fermenting, the ingredients, taste and texture of the two are quite different. Dosas are generally crispy all over, but appams have a fluffy centre and crispy edges. Unlike dosa, appam uses sugar and therefore has a sweeter taste.
There could be several reasons for this. One could be that you haven’t added enough yeast to help ferment the batter. The second reason could be if you live in a cold place, then the batter will take longer to ferment. In this case, you can pour the batter in a cake pan or a deep bowl and place it in your oven with the pilot light on. This will provide a nice warm environment for the batter to ferment and rise beautifully.
Appam batter is best made fresh and eaten immediately as it starts to turn sour within a day. However, you can make the batter the previous evening, but you will have to allow it to ferment overnight. To do this, do not add salt and sugar after grinding. Once it is ground, keep the batter in the fridge overnight and remove two hours before cooking. Add salt and sugar and allow it to come to room temperature. After about 2 hours, you will notice bubbles in the batter and that’s when you know it’s ready to cooked
If your appam batter is watery, then you will run the risk of the appam breaking apart during cooking. Plus the texture won’t be the same. To fix this batch, try adding some rice flour to the batter, one tablespoon at a time, and mix well until you achieve the right consistency.
Absolutely! Both instant and dry active yeast work well for this recipe. If you’re using instant yeast, the appam batter will require much lesser time to ferment as compared to dry active yeast.
Richa’s Top Tips To Make The Best Appams
- I would highly recommend using tender coconut water (this is the one I use) to soak the rice in as that really enhances the flavor. If you can’t find it, you can use regular water as well.
- Avoid overfilling your mixture jar and grind the batter in batches in case it has a smaller capacity. An overfilled jar will yield an unevenly ground batter as well as be a cause of accidents.
- The perfect appam batter should feel light, airy, and bubbly when mixed with a ladle. If it feels heavy (like dosa batter), then it is not ready to be used yet. Allow it to rest for some more time.
- You adjust the consistency of the batter by adding one tablespoon of water a time. The right appam batter consistency should be thinner than dosa batter, similar to the consistency of lassi.
- When making appam, the kadai should be medium hot to make the perfect appam. If it’s very hot, the batter will not spread properly and your appam will come out uneven.
- Salt can affect the fermentation of the batter, so the point at which you add it is crucial. If you live in a hot and humid climate, then add salt after grinding and before setting it aside to ferment to prevent the risk of over fermentation. However, if you live in a cold climate, then add salt after the batter is fully fermented.
- Once cooked, place a layer of parchment paper between each appam to prevent them from sticking to each other.
- If you cannot find fresh or frozen coconut, you can swap it for desiccated coconut. This will change the flavor of the dish slightly, but it will still work.
- These appams are best eaten fresh off the stove, so I would recommend having all the other elements prepped and ready before you start making appams.
Once you try this homemade tender coconut appam recipe, I promise you it will make a regular feature in your menu rotation. I love serving hot appams with a hot bowl of either Kerala Veg Stew or Mutton Ishtu. The appams are the perfect vehicle to scoop up all the warm, coconut-y flavors of these rich stews.
If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to send me your photos on my IG; I love seeing your recreations!
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Tender Coconut Appam | Palappam
Equipment
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1 mixer grinder
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1 appam kadai
Ingredients
- 1 Cup rice preferably idli or dosa rice
- 1 Cup tender coconut water see note 2
- ½ Cup fresh or frozen grated coconut
- ½ Cup cooked rice
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- ½ Teaspoon salt
- ¼ Teaspoon active dry yeast
- ½ Cup water
Instructions
Soaking Rice
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Wash the rice 2-3 times till the water runs clean and soak it in tender coconut water for 8-10 hours or overnight.1 Cup rice, 1 Cup tender coconut water
Grinding Appam Batter
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To your blender add grated coconut, cooked rice, yeast and soaked rice (along with the coconut water it was soaked in). Grind the mixture to a smooth paste.½ Cup fresh or frozen grated coconut, ½ Cup cooked rice, ¼ Teaspoon active dry yeast
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Add sugar, mix and keep it covered in a warm place for at least 2 hours or until fermented. If the place where you live is cold, you can ferment the batter inside the oven with the pilot light turned on. (see note 4)3 Tablespoons sugar
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Once the batter is fermented, it’ll rise, you’ll see bubbles in the batter and it’ll look foamy. It’ll also feel very light, airy and bubbly when you mix it with a ladle. That’s when you know it's ready.
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The consistency of the appam batter should be slightly thinner than dosa batter - more like lassi. Add water a few tablespoons at a time if necessary to adjust the consistency of appam batter.½ Cup water
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Add salt and mix well. The batter is now ready to use.½ Teaspoon salt
Making Appams
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Heat an appam kadai until medium hot (see note 5).
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Pour a ladleful of batter into the middle of the kadhai. Slowly rotate the pan in a circular motion to spread the batter around the kadhai. The batter will stick to the kadhai as you rotate and any excess batter will dribble back down into the middle. That's okay because we want a little excess batter in the middle and thin, lacy edges all around.
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Cover with a lid and let it cook for a minute on medium flame. After a minute, remove the lid and cook for another 15-30 seconds on the flame. The appam is ready when the sides are set and the middle is cooked. Remove the appam on a porous plate to let it cool before serving.
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Serve appams with kerala vegetable stew for breakfast or dinner.
Notes
- Both idli or dosa rice work well in this recipe. I’ve also used sona masoori rice in a pinch.
- Tender coconut water to soak and grind the batter works best but if you absolutely can’t source it, please use regular water instead
- Grind in batches if your blender cannot take all ingredients at once.
- If you’d like to ferment the batter overnight, don’t add sugar or salt. Refrigerate the batter overnight. Remove it from the fridge two hours before cooking, mix both sugar and salt and let it come to room temperature. You’ll see bubbles when it's ready to cook with.
- One very essential item for making appams is the appam kadai. It's wider and more shallow than a regular kadhai. It's easily available on Amazon and in most grocery stores.
- Appam kadai should be medium hot while making appams. If the kadai is too hot, the appams will not spread properly.
Nutrition
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- Andhra Chilli Chicken
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