Appeઅપ્પે
Small round dumplings cooked in an appe pan from dosa or idli batter. Barely any oil, crisp outside, soft inside, and they hold up well in a lunchbox.
Ingredients
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- 2 cups dosa or idli batter
- 1 onion and 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, ginger, coriander
- Tempering: oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, asafoetida
- Salt
- Oil for the appe pan
Method
- Temper mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and asafoetida in oil, then sauté the onion and carrot for 2 minutes.
- Stir this into the batter with the chillies, ginger, coriander and salt.
- Oil each hollow of the appe pan and heat it.
- Fill with batter, cover and cook on low for 3-4 minutes.
- Turn each one with a spoon, cook 2-3 minutes more and serve with chutney.
Tips
- Thin batter breaks when you turn them.
- Keep the heat low or they brown before the middle cooks.
Storing and reheating
Appe are at their best straight off the pan. Leftovers keep two days in a covered box in the fridge, but they turn rubbery once cold. Reheat them in the appe pan with a few drops of oil, turning both sides. A microwave makes them soggy. Keep any unused batter refrigerated, or it over-sours and the appe taste sharp.
What you can swap
- No dosa batter? Mix 1 cup semolina with ½ cup curd, rest 20 minutes and add Eno just before cooking. No fermenting needed, though you lose the slight sourness.
- Chana dal works in place of urad dal in the tempering and gives the same little crunch.
- Carrot can become grated bottle gourd, cabbage or boiled peas. Squeeze bottle gourd dry first or it thins the batter.
- Without an appe pan, drop small thick rounds on a non-stick tawa like mini uttapam. Different shape, same method.
What to serve with it
A breakfast dish, eaten with coconut chutney or a mild green chutney, and it goes well with tea. Because they are eaten by hand, they travel well in a lunchbox and are popular with children.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not fill the hollows to the brim. Just over half full is right, otherwise the batter rises over the edges and tears when you turn it.
- Heat the pan properly before the batter goes in. Batter poured into a cold pan sticks and the appe will not lift out.
- Do not rush the turn. Wait until the underside is golden and releases on its own, usually three to four minutes. Turn early and half of it stays behind.
- Let the tempering cool a little before stirring it into the batter. Hot oil partly cooks the batter it touches.
Questions people ask
Why do my appe stick to the pan?
Check that every hollow was oiled and that the pan was properly hot before the batter went in. Turning too soon also causes sticking, so give each side three to four minutes to form a crust and release by itself.
Can I use old batter?
Yes, but if it has gone very sour add a pinch of sugar and a pinch of baking soda. If the batter is very puffed up, stir it down a little first, otherwise the appe rise and then collapse.
How much oil does this need?
Four or five drops per hollow is enough, brushed around the sides as well as the base. That is the whole point of the pan: the same batter that would otherwise be fried as a vada gets cooked in a few drops instead.
