Vattayappam is a type of rice sponge cake prepared with yeast or toddy as a fermenting agent. It is an evening snack or even consumed as breakfast with tea. 'Vattayappam' means Round shape bread. Kerala there are many types of appams are prepared using entirely different ingredients. This is a type of soft, airy white steamed cake with nuts and raisins.

This dish is prepared especially at the time of Christmas as a snack item. This is basically a rice cake made with rice flour (or) rice paste with coconut (or) coconut milk and the fermenting agent such as yeast (or) toddy is added and fermented for 4-5 hours and steam cooked and topped with nuts and raisins.


Kerala Christmas Appam

INGREDIENTS:
Raw white rice- 1½ cups
Cooked white rice(parboiled/ raw)- 1/2 cup
Grated coconut- 1 cup
Cardamom powder- 1 teaspoon
Salt- pinch
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Instant yeast- 1/2 teaspoon
Semolina/ Rava/ Sooji- 2 tablespoons
Roasted cashew nuts- 10
Raisins/ cherries- 10
Oil/ butter- 1/2 teaspoon to grease

PROCEDURE:
  • Soak the raw white rice for about 1-2 hours.
  • In bowl take half a cup of warm water and add the sugar and the yeast allow to ferment for about 5- 10 minutes till frothy layer appears on top.
  • Meanwhile in a pan add a cup of water and the semolina and cook till it starts to bubble for about a minute (should nor become thick). Remove the pan from stove and allow to cool.
  • Grind the soaked raw rice, cooked white rice  with coconut as a fine batter by adding a cup of water little by little.
  • Now the batter is ready and the yeast get fermented and the semolina gruel is also becomes cooled.
  • Now add the ground rice batter and yeast mixture into the semolina mixture and mix well.
  • The batter should be like a thin idli batter consistency. Now add cardamom powder and salt.
  • Grease a plate with rim or Dhokla trays or even loaf tin or brownie tin using oil or butter.
  • Pour in the batter little below the top of the rim. Leave top 1/4 inch to hold the plate.
  • You could pour this batter inside idli plates and steam it like idlis.
  • Heat some water till rolling hot inside a idli steamer or any steamer. Keep the plate or tin with batter inside the steamer and steam for about 5 minutes (or) Keep water inside the steamer keep the plate then pour the batter and switch on the stove to avoid steam boils.
  • Now open the lid and add in the cashews and raisins and close the lid and steam for further 5-10 minutes or the knife inserted comes out clean.
  • Switch off the stove allow the steam to go then carefully remove the plate from steamer.
  • Remove the plate carefully and cool down and un mould the cake by inverting the cake in a clean plate.
Christmas recipes

Kerala Appam