Neyyapam- Fritter made with rice and jaggery
'Neyyappam' is a traditional Indian snack , from the beautiful state of Kerala in India ,also called as 'God's own country' .This is usually made during the festival of Vishu , a harvest festival .It falls in April and is also celebrated as the New Year. An offering of this delicacy made to the Lord along with other offerings. It is a type of fritter made with jaggery, rice flour and ghee (clarified butter) and tastes divine.
Deep frying neyyappam
Neyyappam - A Traditional snack
This is one of the recipes which requires expertise and it took me a couple of trials to get the right texture and taste .It is preferable to use jaggery which is dark brown so the desired color is obtained.The prep time with soaking ,grinding and waiting for the batter to mix well is about 5 to 6 hours .It is best if it sits overnight. Once the batter is ready, check if the consistency is free flowing but thick and adjust accordingly.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups raw rice
- 1 ½ cups of jaggery
- 2 tsp all purpose flour or maida
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
- 2 tsp of cut coconut pieces
- 10 -12 cashews
- 10-12 raisins
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 7-8 cardamom seeds powdered
- 2 tsp ghee
- 1 pinch of salt
Directions
- Soak the rice in water for about 3-4 hours .
- Once soaked , drain out the water and spead it out on a cloth or paper towel till it completely dries up.Powder it to a coarse consistency and keep it aside.
- Heat a cup of water in a pan and melt the jaggery to get a brown solution .
- Once cooled, add the powdered rice, all purpose flour and baking soda to the jaggery solution .
- Add water so that the consistency of the batter is as thick as used for making idli or pancake.
- Heat a pan and add ghee or clarified butter .
- Add the sesame seeds, chopped coconut pieces, cashews, raisins, cumin and sautée till it is lightly browned.
- Add the above sautéed items to the batter along with a pinch of salt.
- Let the batter sit for about 8 hours or overnight.
- Use a deep bottomed pan to deep fry the neyyappam. Normally, it is fried in a cast iron vessel as seen in the picture above.
- Use a medium flame to deep fry the neyyapam till it gets a brown colour .Using a high flame will leave the inner portion uncooked so it is better to fry with medium flame.
- The neyyapam , just like any other appams made of jaggery , tastes even better the next day and can be kept in an air tight container for about a week. Happy Cooking, Enjoy !
This looks divine but is that a little cast iron pot!!!! I have never seen one like that if it is.
I got it on one of my trips back home in India . Any other kind of pan can be used as well for deep frying .Thank you!