Today’s recipe is a special dish that I got to know about in Kerala.
My husband tells me that when they were kids, they used to like it very much and that my mother-in-law used to make them very often.
In fact, after I made this, I found that my daughter also liked it very much.
Kinnathappam looks very much like a steamed cake. But I couldn’t fool my daughter with that pitch and she had at least 5 different reasons why she felt it was not a cake.
Don’t be fooled by the name “appam”.
In fact, when I was first told the name, I thought it would be similar to the normal appam.
But then I got to know that anything that is steam baked is known as “Appam” in Kerala and that is how this dish gets the name Kinnathappam.
This is a nice breakfast recipe and since it is not too heavy, your stomach won’t feel too full.
At the same time, it is healthy for the health-conscious because of the fact the there is little to no oil used. In fact, the only oil that we use is to grease the bowl.
My mother-in-law prefers putting cardamom in it and that gives it a nice flavor.
I liked it very much, but if you are somebody who doesn’t like the flavor of cardamom, you would want to avoid it. Dry fruits are also a choice if you want to add them.
So let’s jump onto the recipe now, and do give us your feedback.
Kinnathappam Recipe – How to Make it
Kinnathappam needs only 5 ingredients and the primary one is Raw rice. You will need to grind it.
Another important ingredient is Coconut. And just like with all other Kerala recipes, the addition of coconut gives it the authentic Kerala flavor.
Ingredients
- Raw rice – 250 gm
- Coconut – 1/2 grated
- Sugar or Jaggery – 1/2 cup or as per your taste
- Cardamom – 2
- Cashews and Raisins – handful
- Ghee/butter – for greasing and roasting dry fruits
Instructions
- Soak the rice in water for about 6 hrs. Drain the water and keep it aside.
- In a mixer grinder, grind the rice with minimum amount of water and pour into a large container and set aside.
- Grate the coconut coarsely and add this to the rice paste.
- Add the sugar or jaggery.
- Now add just enough water to make it to the consistency of idli batter.
- Leave this mixture overnight to rise up.
- Next day (or about 6 hrs later).
- Add cardamom powder to the ground paste and mix well.
- Roast nuts and raisins in ghee and set aside.
- In a pressure cooker/idli cooker add water to steam cook.
- Take a round plate and rub little ghee into this.
- Pour sufficient appam batter in to the plate, decorate it with the nuts and raisins.
- Steam cook for about 20-25 minutes or till done.
- Remove the plate from cooker and let it cool down.
- Now take it out from the plate by slowly pulling the edges using a knife or spoon.
- Cut into triangular pieces and serve with hot tea or coffee.
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