Velllayappam

Most of the dishes in this blog prepared by me are learnt from my mother and some from my mother in law.  Some dishes will turn out good by experience only.  Vellayappam falls in this category.  My mother still does not know how to make this properly.  I had done lot of assumptions to make this appam.  But now I can make soft and tasty vellayappams without too much tensions.
Firstly we must have good quality rice to make soft appam.  We are calling this rice as 'Pachari'.  Soak the rice for minimum four hours.  Grind this thoroughly with some cooked rice and grated coconut.  Add a pinch of yeast two spoonful of sugar in the mixture and allow it to ferment.  It will take around 6 hours for this.  After that add sufficient amount of salt.  We can make appams in 'Appa chatti'.  Now appa chatti is available in non stick versions also.  Its a nice breakfast item. 

All my memories related to this dish related to my neighbouring christian family.  They will come in early mornings with heaps of appam on Christmas and Easter.  I had tasted this in hotels also.  But most of the hotels will not add coconut to this item so we will not get this much taste.  In this dish when we add toddy or 'Kallu'  for fermentation its known as 'Kallappam'.

Chakka Appam

Chakka appam is my all time favourite.  My options for getting ripe jack fruit is so limited but every year my father will arrange one or two jack fruits on my occasionsal visits to my home.  We had a vazhana plant in our yard.  Last time we had collected some leaves of vazhana to make chakka appam.  It was very tasty.  Aroma when we cook this in vazhana ela is unbeatable.  I am very proud to post this authentic cuisine of Kerala.

We have enough time to make this item.  Firstly we have to separate chakka chulas and then clean it removing chakka kuru.  I had cooked it in pressure cooker with some water.  Then we have to add jaggery and roasted rice powder to this cooked jack fruit.  Mix it well and then add small pieces of coconut roasted in ghee.  Last ingredient is powdered cardamom.  Then clean the vazhana leaves and put the mixture according to the size of leaves.  Cook it in steam.  Its a nice palaharam.