Appam with vegetable stew

Method

1. Ahead (the morning before): rinse 280 g raw rice in a sieve 3 times and soak it in plenty of water for 5–6 hours.
2. Ahead (the evening before): stir ¾ tsp yeast and 3 tsp sugar into 60 ml lukewarm water (finger-warm, not hot). Leave 10 minutes, until it turns foamy. If it does not foam, the yeast is dead; start again with fresh yeast.
3. Ahead: drain the rice. Grind it in the large mixer jar with 80 g thawed grated coconut and 360 ml (about 1½ cups) water, in 30-second bursts, for 3–4 minutes. Stop when it is completely smooth, like thick pouring cream, with no grit when you rub a drop between your fingers.
4. The night before: pour the batter into a large mixing bowl (no more than half full) and stir in the foamy yeast. Do not add salt yet, it slows the yeast. Cover loosely and leave in a warm spot for 8–10 hours. In an Australian winter, put it in the oven with only the light on (oven off).
5. Morning: the batter is ready when it has doubled, is full of bubbles and smells sweet and yeasty. Gently stir in half of the 1¼ tsp salt (the rest goes in the stew). It should be thinner than dosa batter, like pouring cream. Add a splash of water if it is thick. If you are not cooking within the hour, keep it in the fridge.
6. Peel and cut 240 g (~1½ medium) potato into 2 cm cubes. Cut 120 g (~1 medium) carrot into thick slices and 80 g beans into 3 cm lengths. Thinly slice 100 g (~½ medium) onion, cut 10 g ginger into thin strips and slit 2 green chilli lengthwise.
7. Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in the kadai on medium heat for 1 minute. Add ½ tsp cardamom, lightly crushed in the mortar, and stir 20 seconds until fragrant. Add the onion, ginger, chilli and half the ¾ sprig curry leaves and cook 3 minutes until soft but not brown.
8. Add the potato, carrot and beans, half the 320 ml coconut milk mixed with 480 ml (about 2 cups) water, and the rest of the salt. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 12–15 minutes, until a knife slides easily into the potato.
9. Turn the heat to low. Stir in the rest of the coconut milk, ½ tsp pepper and the rest of the curry leaves. Heat 1–2 minutes until steaming, then turn off. Do not let it boil, or the coconut milk splits.
10. Heat the appachatti on medium heat for 2 minutes. Wipe the inside with a few drops of oil on a paper towel.
11. Pour one ladle of batter into the centre. Straight away, hold both handles and swirl the pan in one full circle so the batter climbs the sides in a thin layer and the centre stays thick. Put it back on the heat and cover.
12. Cook covered on medium heat for 2 minutes, until the edges are crisp, lacy and golden and the soft centre looks spongy with no wet shine. Lift it out with a spatula; do not flip. Repeat with the rest of the batter, wiping the pan with oil every 2–3 appams.

Tips

• Pick the chilli pieces out of the toddler's bowl. The stew is otherwise mild and good for kids.
• Leftover appam batter keeps 2 days in the fridge; it gets a little more sour each day.

Make it easier

• The night before: Appam batter: grind soaked raw rice with coconut, sugar, yeast and water; leave to ferment overnight. (Soak the rice in the morning.)

Keeping and freezing

• Fridge: keeps 1 day in a lidded box. Cool it within an hour of cooking.
• Freezer: does not freeze well; eat within the fridge time.

Good to know

• Asthma: buy frozen grated coconut without sulphites (220–228).
• Toddlers: take their portion out before adding chilli or pepper.