Sweet Appam /Nei Appam

I have never made sweet appam before even though my mom always make it for a lot of festivals.Last week I went for a family function on my father's side and happened to taste the most delicious sweet appam prepared by one of my aunt named Gomathi.The taste lingered in my mouth even after I returned home and I called my aunt to get the recipe and voila !here goes the recipe of the delicious sweet appam for this karthigai!!!!

I made these sweet appams in paniyaram pan so they take up less calories but you can deep fry them for a even richer and lovely taste.

Preparation time :15 -20 mins

Makes:approximately 17 appams

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour-3/4 cup

Maida/All purpose flour-1/4 cup

Rice flour-1.5 tbsp

Jaggery-3/4 cup

Ripe banana-1 small no(optional )

Water -1 1/2 cup approximately

Cardamom powder-1 tsp

Ghee -for frying in paniyaram pan

Procedure:

1.Take all the flours in a bowl.dissolve the jaggery in water and heat it in low flame till it boils slightly.Then switch it off and strain it to remove any impurities in the jaggery.Add it to the flours and mix well.

2.Mash the banana and add it to the flour and jaggery mixture.

3.Mix well so that they are mixed well and form a smooth and thick batter like that of idli batter.Add the cardamom powder also.Allow the batter to stand for a minimum of 30 mins at least.

4.Heat ghee in a paniyaram pan and pour a ladle of the batter into it.Keep the flame in medium throughout.

5.Once it is done on one side flip it using a spoon or stick.Once both sides are cooked till golden brown and take them off from the heat and place it on a paper towel to drain excess ghee if any.

Soft on inside and lightly crisp on outside sweet appams are ready to be served.Celebrate this karthigai with these Nei appams /Sweet appams offered to the almighty!!!

 Tips:

*You can deep fry them in oil/ghee for a even crispier texture and rich taste.

* If you don't want to add all purpose flour or maida then replace it with whole wheat flour.

* Adding banana gives a soft texture to the sweet appam and is optional.

*Make sure you add only 3/4 th cup of jaggery for 1 cup of flour.if you add more jaggery then the appams might break when deep frying in oil.

* Add less rice flour as increase in its quantity leads to harder sweet appams.

*Keep flame to medium otherwise the appams will brown faster in high flame due to the addition of jaggery.

*The appams comes out well if you leave a standing time of 1 to 2 hours for the batter before pouring them on to the paniyaram pan.