Idiappam - String Hopers

Idiyappam or sevai is a regular breakfast in our home in Kerala. In fact, steamed rice-based dishes are the most common and until I moved out and started cooking on my own, I never realised what a luxury it was to eat the hot, healthy, and delicious breakfasts that seemed to waltz effortlessly out of my mom's kitchen. The most common breakfast items at home are idli, dosa, idiyappam, puttu, appam, adai, kozhukkattai, chapati, and on rare occasions, toast with homemade butter. See what I mean? Among many other things in life, I believe that a hearty and healthy breakfast is a dying thing. It's definitely mourned in the home that I've set up now which sees idli or dosa on the best days for breakfast, but rarely anything more elaborate. I try to compensate with a hearty brunch or lunch but it's just not the same thing.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of rice flour
• 2 to 2.5 cups of water (more or less)
• To taste: salt
• 3-4 tbsp of grated coconut

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Mix the rice flour and salt together. Heat the water until bubbles start appearing at the bottom of the pan. When the water is just about boiling, add to the rice flour a cup at a time.

• Start mixing vigorously with the back of a spatula until the rice flour is coming together to form a moist dough. Add more rice flour if your dough is too watery and sticky and add more water if it's too dry.

• The dough should be just moist and you should be able to form a small ball easily without it sticking to your fingers.

• Working quickly while the dough is still warm, Take a fistful of it and form into a log.

• Place firmly into your idiyappam press or mould.

• Start pressing the idiyappam onto the tray in a concentric circle

         

•  Make sure it's not too thick otherwise it won't steam properly. PS: you can totally use your idli mould for this. The idiyappam pieces will just be much smaller

• Place on streamer.

• Steam for about 10 mins.

• Open, unmould, and enjoy hot with some Kadala Curry,Veg Kurma,Pulisseri

                   

Notes:

1. All measurements for this recipe are approximate. Please take care while mixing the dough, that's the trickiest part and takes a little bit of practice
2. Don't use boiling water since that will cook the rice flour and make it hard to press. The water just needs to be very hot
3. If the idiyappam dough is too dry, it won't be easy to press
4. Use regular rice flour or those marked as idiyappam flour. If the rice flour is too glutinous, the idiyappam won't taste good
5. Sprinkle more coconut on top before serving if that makes you happy