01 May 2020

Unniyappam Recipe | Unni Appam | How to make Unniappam Kerala style

UNNIYAPPAM-RECIPE

Unniyappam/Unni Appam is one of the famous traditional sweet snack from God's own country,Kerala.Unniyappam is actually a sweet fritter made up of rice,jaggery,banana/jackfruit,ghee,spice etc .Unni means small and appam means rice cake.Unniyappams are usually made as naalu mani palharam/evening snack or during festivals especially Vishu/Kerala's New Year eve .Every Malayali loves Unniyappam it seems .I like them but don't love them that much .My sweet tooth are for North Indian sweets mainly.😎

So,who is the biggest fan of Unniyappam in my family?

BIG BOSShhhh!!

Yep,Unniappam is my Big Boss :D/Hubby's favourrrrite snack.

Usually,I would ask my hubby to just order me whatever he would like to eat especially snacks and he would hardly say anything particular because he genuinely loves everything I make (my fav. trait of him !😊😋).He loves snack and since most of them are not that healthy (the deep fried ones especially) ,I am not that motivated to make them but once in a while I do make especially during festivals or b'day or anniversaries or weekends and I try my best to make it healthy if possible .He has lots of health issues like Asthma since childhood (which is under control now),diabetes from his 20s etc etc and he relies on my foods and handful of pills he got prescribed from doctors for the same.

Kerala-unniyappam-recipe


So,I am very cautious when it comes to cooking especially for him .Of course we have our cheat days too.It's my biggest wish to see him healthy sans any medicines.I motivate him to workout,go to gym or be physically active in some way.When positive ways don't work,even though I hate,I am forced to nag him ,challenge him ,motivate him to the extent of making 6 packs not for looking sekC (well,that's a bonus!) but healthy but alas,it hardly works ..You see like the Hindi saying,"Jab ghee seedhi ungli se na nikley toh unlgi teddi karni padthi hai." IT job (due to continuous sitting for looong) is to be blamed partially but one who is really concerned about their health and especially for their family ,will take measures by hook or by crook to stay healthy.Period.😔😒

I appreciate that he is working very hard and may all his dreams come true but I don't want it to be at the cost of his health for sure.Why to waste hard-earned money on pills,better waste it for that branded T-shirt,gadget,vacation etc 😑

unniyappam


Anyways,before I left US ,he did ask me to make Unniyappam and for many reasons, I kept on postponing and I totally forgot about that.So,that is my biggest regret now . Otherwise he is fine and happy with his 4 wives that I usually tease him for (which he might not have even listened to 😝) ⇉ Laptop(Work),Phone,TV and the new and the younger one,the sekC sounding Google assistant 😜😊 ...Hope she is taking good care of you Honey P😎😉😋...So why to be a swargathil katoormb(kabaab mein haddi ) ? Big Boss deserves a break and space from his weird-silly 5th wife (moi) for a while 😆 ..for rejuvenation .Right Honey P?😎 ..njoyyy 😉💥..Rest God will take care !

Significance of Unniyappam as offering to God

Unniyappams are not only famous snack but are also offered as prasadam/edible offering to Gods in various temples in South India and the temple that made these small and simple snack as the favourite and popular offering to God all over the world is the well-known Kottarakara Maha Ganapathi temple .

Kottarakara Maha Ganapathi Temple is a very popular temple in Kerala .Surprisingly,though the main prathishta of the temple is Lord Shiva ,the temple is known as the famous Maha Ganapathi temple.

kottarakara-unniyappam
PIC CREDIT:Kottarakaramahaganapathi.org


The legend goes that in the past,Lord Shiva ,Devi Parvati,Lord Ayyappan ,Lord Subramaniam were the idols worshiped in this temple.It was Perumthachan(an ancient master carpenter/architect/sculptor/wood-carver (all-in-one skilled) ) with blessed and amazing craftmanship,who while chiselling a jackfruit outside the temple found it to take a shape of Lord Ganapathy and it was him who probed the main priest of the temple to place Lord Ganapathy's idol in the temple as well so that the lord Shiva's family is complete.

unniappam-maker
Unniyappam Maker/Appa Kallu

 As precisely mentioned in Kottarakaramahaganapathi.org ,"Perumthachan then asked the priest “ Unni Ganapathy must be hungry. What is the sacrificial food that you have prepared?”. “Unniyappam” was the reply. On a leaf, the priest placed six to seven Unniyappams stringed together. Perumthachan, with all his heart devoted his first offerings-Koottappam. Koottappam is still known to be the most wanted nivedhyam for Kottarakara Ganapathy. After the offerings Perumthachan affectionately declared “Though father is the main diety, the son will be much more famous”."

Wow..How interesting!!...I love all these mythological stories.May be because my father is an expert in narrating ancient stories like these since my childhood days...How I wish to visit this temple someday and all the temples/Mosques/Gurudwaras/Churches of India (Churches of abroad too if possible), God-willing, in future (in my bucket list-Fingers-crossed! AMEN!)..I wish I was born in that era 😀😋.....#ProudToBeAnIndian

How-to-make-unniyappam


So,that's how this simple,humble sweet snack became not only human being's fav but also God's favourite snack it seems.

I usually make the instant Unniappams made with rice flour/aripodi like this Unniyappam recipe  especially when I've lots of super ripe Bananas I would rather trash'em and scientifically,the ripest Bananas with black scars on the skin are considered to be very healthy as well.So,my instant Unniyappam recipe comes handy.

I never tried the traditional method of making Unniappams with soaked rice .So,finally learnt it from mother/Amma ,how to make Unniyappam traditional Kerala style.

Here's how :-

Unniyappam
Ingredients
Raw Rice/Pacha Ari - 1& 1/2 Cup
Jaggery - 250 Gm
Water ,as needed
Baking Powder - 1/4th Tsp
All Purpose Flour/Maida - 5 Tbsps
Coconut bits ,as needed
Ghee for frying
Cumin powder - 1 Tsp
Cardamom pods,pounded - 5 Nos.
Black Sesame seeds - 1 Tbsp
Coconut oil/Ghee/Any Cooking oil ,as needed for deep frying

Appa kallu/Unniappam Chatti/Unniappam maker 
 
Preparation method of Unniyappam :
  1. Wash the rice under water until it turns out clean  or soak the rice in water for 3-4 hrs and then wash them well .
  2. Grind them with enough fresh water until they turn a coarse batter and remove a bowl of COARSE RICE BATTER and keep it aside.
  3. Then either grate the jaggery or break it into small pieces and add it to the above rice batter in the mixer.
  4. Add baking powder and grind everything into a smooth lump free batter.
  5. Transfer the batter into a pan .
  6. Cut a few coconut pieces/bits and fry them in ghee until they turn light brown. 
  7. Wash the black sesame seeds under water,drain and keep them aside.
  8. Add the cumin powder,cardamom pods,pounded,fried coconut bits,sesame seeds to the above batter and stir well until well-blended.
  9. Keep this batter for 5 hrs for fermentation.
  10. Then heat the Appa kallu/Unniappam maker with oil covering it on medium heat.
  11. Pour the batter about 3/4 th of each depressions/rounds of Appa kallu.
  12. Once the bottom turns light brown it may flip by itself or manually flip to cook the other side.
  13. Adjust the heat to cook them evenly and inside out and make sure they don't burn.
  14. Repeat with the batter .Add oil if necessary.
  15. That's it yummy Unniyappams are ready !
NOTE:
  1. You can also boil the jaggery with just little water and strain it to remove any impurities if the jaggery is not of good organic quality. 
OR,watch this step by step how to make Unniyappam video . It also shows my munchkin's first Vishu celebration with her grandparents :)..Hope it makes sense in every way !


Unniyappam,tea,rain and my non-stop random thoughts...

I am not at all a fan of store-bought Unniyappams but homemade Unniyappams I like.As I am writing this post,I am having mom-made Unniyappams with a hot cuppa chai/chayya and it is raining cats and dogs ...Perfect combo for me !! And I can't be more grateful to God and all the circumstances he created for this loong vacation that I believe he tailored exclusively for me and my little Boss/Daughter ....Usually,we would come and go mostly in a blink of an eye. Well,God and his "wonder" FULL ways !!

COVID is heartbreaking and scary but personally,it is also a blessing in disguise for me.



I had this strong urge to visit India this time and just after 2 weeks I landed here in India ,this Corona thing which started in China (in 2019) was spreading faaast and wide ..Before it became a full-fledged pandemic, I could attend 3-4 weddings,met all relatives there ,went to a few temples ,attended a few local festivals and shopped with parents meaning had good time as if God was hurrying. Though all my plans to meet my friends residing in different parts of India couldn't happen yet,a few more temples I wish to visit are pending ,wonder if I'll be able to visit all my relatives house ...Well,hoping for the best not only for me but ALL and trying to enjoy every moment at home with parents .


 Little girl is the happiest one - learning Malayalam well -can even speak Hindi a bit,spending quality time with grand parents and can play outside enjoying nature (at home)...She is happily surprised that all at home are always available now and pampering her day and night.Besides,may be God is giving me time to relax,meditate (which I am quite bad at) and heal/recharge and it was my biggest wish since my marriage to stay with my parents especially to help Amma/mother to do chores as she is getting old and has health issues and it is a struggle to do everything by her own and also not easy to get a maid here.

AMEN!

I feel like God put me and little girl at a much safer place (from US to India) especially for the safety of our little girl as a preventive measure from Corona..Big Boss/Hubby will be fine as he is self-sufficient ,quite busy than ever with his work and glued at home.

I also wonder if God wants me to spend some quality time with parents for sure as we never know,they are getting too old and battling so many health issues as well..God forbid,if something awful happens after I leave as I don't know ,now after such a long vacation when will be my next vacation in India...Every time I leave for US,I have lost my fav uncles,aunties,relatives ...It is quite unpredictable,scary and painful when you are so far..Sighh😢😒...Well,God and his plans are so mysterious - sometimes awesome,sometimes awful....But then dear God did you go too far this time ??

Alright,for now I should try to stop all my spiraling thoughts ,take a deep breath ,enjoy my Unniyappams and more mom-made stuffs and try to enjoy every moment as much as possible...and YOU too...



You see ,life is like Unniyappam,crispy from outside and soft from inside,you have to eat it whole to experience the true essence.Got my point? 😉😁

Well,when you get time,do try my amma style Kerala Unniappam,you will love it and you'll get my point too ..heheee:P

Enjoy life/people who matters/moments kya pata kal ho na ho ..You don't need a COVID to suffer/die ...heheheeee (COVID's side-effect you see 😉😋😇😂)

Corona O Corona,abb bass karona 😂😂😂😉 (Same to me right ? ;D)

Okkk then...Please take care ...

I love youuuuu.....