Unniyappam

It is Vishu in Kerala tomorrow. It is the celebration of New Year and it marks the Sun entering the Aries in the Zodiac.  There are a lot of regional variations of how it is celebrated in different parts of Kerala. Thrissur area where I come from, we typically have Vishukatta for breakfast, a sadya including payasam for lunch. The other highlights of the day, especially for kids is the Vishukani  and kayneettam in the morning. In my place we typically have the elders giving the younger ones money as kayneettam, wishing for a prosperous year. But what I  have heard from some of my friends from Southern Kerala is that along with the kayneettam, the kids are also given unniappam, which is also part of their Vishukkani. Hence an unniyappam recipe form me for this Vishu.

I had previously blogged another recipe for Unniyappam, but the ingredients of this are slightly different and the preparation time is a bit longer.
May this Vishu bring happiness your way.
Have a great Vishu.

Ingredients:
Sona masoori rice-1 cup
All purpose flour-1/2 cup
Jaggery/Brown sugar -1/2 to 3/4 cup
Banana-1 ripe or 2 if its small in size
Coconut-1/2 cup grated
Sesame-1 tsp
Baking soda- 1/2tsp
Salt-a pinch
Ghee- for frying
Cardamom and dried ginger powder-1/2 to 3/4 tsp
Method:
Soak rice for 3 hours,grind to a fine paste with as little water, powdered jaggery(use good quality jaggery or brown sugar) and banana.Mix in the all purpose flour, the batter should be thick as an Idlli batter or cake batter.Keep this overnight or 6 to 8 hours for fermenting. After the fermenting add rest of the ingredients except ghee and mix well. Heat an unniyappam pan and add ghee to the indention  ( you can add a few drops of sesame oil first and top it with ghee if using a nonstick pan this will prevent sticking) fill it  with ghee only half way.Now pour the batter and cook at medium heat, at about 2 minutes turn the appam and cook the for another 2 minutes till unniyappam  turns golden brown all over. Remove them and have them to your hearts content.