Appe

 Appe are soft, bite-sized South Indian dumplings made from fermented rice and lentil batter, cooked in a special appe pan. Crispy on the outside and fluffy inside, they’re perfect for breakfast or snacks.

Ingredients

• Rice – 2 cups

• Moong dal – 1 cup

• Urad dal – ¾ cup

• Chana dal – ¼ cup

• Fenugreek seeds (methi) – ½ tsp (optional, for softness & flavor)

• Salt – to taste

• Oil – for greasing appe pan

Optional add-ins for masala appe:

• Onion – 1 small (finely chopped)

• Green chili – 1 (finely chopped)

• Ginger – 1 tsp (grated)

• Curry leaves – few (finely chopped)

• Coriander leaves – handful (chopped)

• Carrot – 1 small (grated)

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Method

1. Soaking:

• Wash and soak rice, moong dal, urad dal, chana dal, and fenugreek seeds together for overnight.

2. Grinding:

• Drain water and grind to a smooth batter with little water (consistency like idli batter – slightly thick but pourable).

3. Fermentation:

• Transfer to a large vessel, cover, and allow it to ferment for 8–10 hours (or overnight) until the batter rises and turns slightly airy.

4. Preparing batter for appe:

• Add salt to the fermented batter.

• If making plain appe → keep as is.

• If making masala appe → mix onion, chili, ginger, curry leaves, coriander, and carrot.

5. Cooking appe:

• Heat appe (paniyaram) pan and grease with a few drops of oil in each cavity.

• Pour batter into each cavity till ¾ full.

• Cover and cook on medium flame for 3–4 minutes.

• Flip with a skewer or spoon, drizzle a little oil, and cook until golden brown and crisp on both sides.

6. Serving:

• Serve hot mint chutney