Rava Appam | Happy Vijaydhasami

Today is really a very special day for us... Pappu is gonna write his first words in rice. Yes we have a ritual were the kid writes his first words on rice guided by his father (on Vijayadhasami). Not that he hasn't started writing scribbling all over the walls, but officially today is his first word. I am so excited. Our pappu is growing up and every day he does a new stunt. The other day he was wearing his cap (which he never touches) full day and would never take it off. He would remove it put it on in different styles, come over to me and give me a broad grin. That was the cutest thing.

I had bookmarked this recipe from Indian Cuisine since it sounded so easy to make and I am ok with making deep fried sweets occasionally. The only change that I made was I replaced the sugar with jaggery. However my appams were nowhere smooth in finish compared to the original recipe. Must be the jaggery I guess. But if you are ok with using sugar then go with the original recipe.

Prep time: 10 mins; Cooking time: 15 mins; Makes: 10 Adapted from Indian Cuisine ~*What U Need*~ Rava - 1/2 cup Grated Jaggery - 1/2 cup Water - 1 cup Grated coconut - 1 tbsp Crushed cardamom seeds - 1/4 tsp Ghee - 1 tsp Oil - to fry How I Made it: Dry roast the semolina till you get a nice aroma. Bring water to a boil, add the grated jaggery and allow to melt. Once completely melted, remove from heat, strain to remove any impurities and return to the pot. Add the rava and mix well without any lumps. Add ghee, coconut and crushed cardamom and mix. Cover and cook until the mixture thickens and forms a mass. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. When the mixture is warm, grease your hands with ghee and knead the mixture. Divide into lemon sized balls and flatten into a disc. Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown.

Serve warm!!!

** My Notes:
** Do not fry the appams for a long time.
** I replaced the sugar with the same amount of jaggery.
** I used the crushed seeds of one cardamom pod as I was out of cardamom powder.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,
Signs off!!!