Unniyappam-Nei Appam-Neyyappam Recipe (Using Rice Flour)-Diwali Sweets

Unniyappam or Neyyappam (Nei Appam) is a favourite at home and when I posted my athamma's unniyappam recipe that uses flour (or atta) and rava, a lot of people asked about the traditional Kerala-style unniyappam recipe that uses rice flour. I had gotten that recipe from my bedhamma (amma's elder sister) over a year back and made it around then but never got around to posting it because I thought athamma's neyyappam was easier and way softer. Also, the method I used was a bit different from the recipe.

Nevertheless, neyyappam (or unniyappam) is a regular Diwali sweet at my place and I can't think of a better time to share this recipe with you.

Unniyappam-Neyyappam-Kerala-Style using Rice Flour

Preparation time: 3 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes 30 uniyappam
Recipe source: Bedhamma

Ingredients:
1 cup of rice flour
¼ cup of grated coconut
½ cup of grated jaggery
¼ cup of pureed ripe banana (she uses palayan kodan or poovan pazham)
2-3 pods of cardamom, powdered
¼ teaspoon of powdered jeera (cumin seeds)
1 teaspoon of black sesame seeds (ellu)
2 cups + 2 teaspoon of ghee (how to make ghee)

How I Made It:

1. Add 3 tablespoon water to the jaggery and make a syrup by heating it for 3-4 mins. Strain and set aside.

2. Roast the coconut in the ghee until the edges start to turn golden brown.

3. Transfer the rice flour, roasted coconut, pureed banana, jeera powder, sesame seeds, and powdered cardamom to a bowl and mix well. Add the jaggery syrup and mix well again. You can also add a pinch of salt at this stage.

5. Leave this batter aside for 2-3 hours for fermentation. Then, heat the paniyaram pan and add ghee. Pour spoonfuls of the batter into each hole and cook on each side until golden brown.

Drain on kitchen towels and serve hot with tea.

Notes:

- Instead of using rice flour, you can soak raw rice in water for 2 hours, drain it completely, and grind to a smooth powder before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. Bedhamma also recommended blending all ingredients together in a blender so it will get combined properly before fermentation

- Add a pinch of soda powder to the batter before fermenting if your banana is not too ripe

- Adjust jaggery quantity to the sweetness level you prefer

- You can fry fry the unniyappam in oil too but use ghee for the authentic taste and flavour