Appe is an instant south Indian snack that is delicious and healthy. It is not only the snack it is one of the popular breakfast. It is a ball-shaped dumpling made from the batter by steaming them in a mold. The batter is made of black lentils and rice and is similar in composition to the batter used to make idli and dosa. But it can be made instantly with semolina. These tiny balls are made in specially designed pans, which contain multiple round molds. It has various names like paniyaram, paddu, guliappa, gundponglu, ponganalu.
Paniyaram is the popular name of the snack in south but it is usually called appe. Traditionally, appe recipe is made with left-over dosa or idli batter, these flavourful, spongy cake-like snacks are mostly served during breakfast or along with evening chai. The batter, which resembles that of idli or vada, is filled in the molds, which then slowly puffs in the heated pan as the cook drizzles some oil to make the edges crisp and golden. It is served with spicy chutney and all-time favorite coconut chutney.
Appe is made using black gram and rice, which are soaked overnight and then blended into a smooth batter. Few hours of fermentation make the batter fluffier, resulting in pillowy-soft balls. They can either be sweet (using jaggery) or savory (including a whole bunch of spices, chilies, herbs, and vegetables). But I am sharing an instant recipe of appe with semolina. The semolina batter is tempered with a few spices and vegetables, that add to its taste and also gives a crunch or bite to the soft appe.
It has the goodness of vegetables too. I have used carrots, capsicum, and onion, but you can add one or more vegetables too to make it wholesome and more nutritious. Then batter poured into a pan and cooked until the outer layer becomes a little brown and is properly cooked from inside. The appe are crispy from outside and soft from inside. The best part, you don’t need any fermentation in this like dosa or idli batter.
Read More : South Indian Delicacy : Dosa
For instant appe you don’t need to follow many steps like a traditional recipe without the hassle of soaking and grounding. In this recipe, I have used regular semolina which we typically use it for upma. I have added curd which introduces the sourness to the batter. It also hastens the fermentation process when mixed with baking soda. You can also use fruit salt in the instant appe recipe in place of baking soda.
To make the perfect appe you need soak the semolina, curd, and water for 15 minutes. Then add vegetables of your choice which adds good flavor and nutrition to your snack. Traditionally South Indian uses pans made of cast iron which uses oil to grease but nowadays people use non-stick pans which do not require any greasing and it make the appe more healthy.
Instant Appe Recipe
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil 1 tbsp
- Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
- Chana dal 1 tsp
- Curry leaves 10-12
- Ginger 1 inch
- Green chili 2
- Dried red chili 1
- Carrot (shredded) 4 tbsp
- Capsicum (chopped) 4 tbsp
- Onion (chopped) 4 tbsp
- Semolina (rava) 1 cup
- Curd 1/2 cup
- Salt as taste
- Fruit Salt (eno) 1 tsp
Method
-
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and chana dal and fry for a few seconds.
- Add curry leaves, ginger, green chili, dry red chili and fry till its aroma spread.
- Now add onion to the pan and fry till it becomes translucent.
- Add carrot, capsicum and saute them for 3-4 minutes.
- Switch off the flame and keep aside to cool down.
- Now in a large mixing bowl combine semolina, curd, and salt.
- Mix well to form a paste without forming any lumps.
- Further, add ½ cup water or as required.
- Mix well to form a thick batter. Keep aside.
- Rest the batter for 15 minutes or until rava absorbs water.
- After 15 minutes. Add the sauteed vegetables to the batter and mix it well.
- Now add the fruit salt and give it a mix.
- Heat an appe pan and add some oil in the cavities.
- Pour the batter in the cavities.
- Cover the pan and let the appe cook until nicely browned from the bottom.
- Flip and cook from the other side as well.
- Remove from pan.
- Serve it with chutney.
