Appam with Stew

Ingredients

• •Fermented rice-coconut batter
• •Coconut milk

Steps

1. 1Soak raw rice for four to six hours, then grind it with cooked rice and grated coconut into a smooth, slightly thick batter, adding a little sugar and yeast or toddy if using the traditional method.
2. 2Cover the batter and let it ferment in a warm place for eight to ten hours, or overnight, until it becomes bubbly and slightly risen.
3. 3Just before cooking, stir the batter gently and thin it with a little water if it has thickened too much overnight.
4. 4Heat a curved appam pan over medium heat, then pour in a ladleful of batter and immediately swirl the pan in a circular motion so the batter coats the sides thinly while pooling slightly thicker in the center.
5. 5Cover the pan with a lid and cook for two to three minutes until the edges turn lacy and golden-brown and the center looks soft and cooked through, with no need to flip it.
6. 6For the stew, sauté sliced onions, ginger, garlic, and green chili in a little oil until softened, then add cubed vegetables or meat along with whole spices like cinnamon and cloves.
7. 7Pour in thin coconut milk first and simmer until the main ingredient is nearly cooked, then add thick coconut milk at the end and warm it gently without letting it boil hard, which can cause it to split.
8. 8Serve the hot appam alongside a generous ladle of the mildly spiced coconut stew.