Lacy-edged South-Indian pancakes with a soft spongy centre, made from fermented rice batter and coconut milk, served the local way with sweetened coconut milk. A Kerala and Tamil breakfast staple preserved in Singapore's Little India.
Appam (palappam) is a Kerala and Tamil breakfast staple preserved in Singapore's Little India and Bendemeer Market stalls. Lacy-edged pancakes with a soft, spongy centre are made from fermented rice batter and coconut milk, and are served the local way with sweetened coconut milk, or with egg or curry. The dish reflects Singapore's South-Indian and Tamil heritage, and the lacy edge against the spongy centre is the signature texture that defines a well-made appam.
A lacy, crisp, almost frilly edge giving way to a soft, spongy, slightly sour centre, the sweetened coconut milk pooling in the middle, the fermented tang bright. Eaten folded with the fingers, it is delicate, tangy and the South-Indian breakfast of Little India.
The batter is a fermented mix of ground raw rice, cooked rice, coconut milk and yeast, left to ferment until lightly sour and bubbly. It is poured into a small, deep, hot pan (an appachatti), swirled so the batter coats the sides thinly while a pool gathers at the bottom, covered, and cooked so the edges go lacy and crisp while the centre stays soft and spongy. The swirl in the special pan, building thin edges and a thick centre, is the defining technique.
Variations
An egg version cracks an egg into the centre. Some serve with coconut curry instead of sweet milk.
On the Palate
Where Appam Singapore sits in the Singaporean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 20 min
- 16 min
Soak 200g raw rice 4 hours; grind smooth with 50g cooked rice, 200ml coconut milk, 1 tsp yeast, 1 tsp sugar and a little water; ferment 8 hours.
Watch outFerment the batter until lightly sour and bubbly — that lift is what makes the spongy center; an under-fermented batter bakes flat and won't go lacy at the edges.
- 25 min
Heat a small deep appachatti (or non-stick pan); pour a ladle of batter; swirl to coat the sides thin.
Watch outSwirl the batter up the pan's sides so the edges stay thin while a pool gathers at the bottom — that thin-edge, thick-center split is the whole point of appam.
- 35 min
Cover and cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes until the edges are lacy and crisp, the centre set and spongy.
- 44 min
Slide onto a plate; repeat to make 8.
- 54 min
For the sweet milk: warm 200ml coconut milk with 2 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt.
- 63 min
Serve the appam hot with the sweetened coconut milk poured into the centre.
