I got this basic vellayappam(വെള്ളയപ്പം) batter recipe from Aswathy, a very close friend of mine.
I try to make it in different shapes, in addition to the traditional round, to make it more appealing to the kids.
Batter recipe
Idli rice/raw rice : 4 cups
Coconut milk : 400 ml can
Sugar : 3/4 cup(this is for the kids- if you want it less sweet, feel free to reduce it to 1/4 cup)
Active dry yeast: 1 tsp
Soak the rice for 2-3 hrs. Start grinding the rice in the mixer. When it's about coarse ground, take out 3 tbsp and keep aside in a saucepan. Now add the coconut milk in small batches to the rest of the rice and grind it to a fine paste. Transfer to a large utensil or vessel ( it needs a lot of room to ferment and rise).
On a low flame, heat the 3 tbsp ground rice kept aside in the saucepan with half a cup of water. Keep stirring until it becomes a thick. Add this to the rice and coconut milk batter along with the yeast and sugar. Mix well until the yeast and sugar are uniformly distributed. Keep it in a warm place for 10-12 hrs(or longer is needed) until you see bubbles on the top.Once you're ready to make vellayappms, adjust the consistency to your preference, by adding water . If the batter is tight, you get thick ones. If you prefer really thin ones, add water to make the batter loose.
If it' sweet enough, serve it as such. Otherwise, you can serve it with milk and sugar. Adults can always eat it their favourite accompaniment.
If you're making it for the kids, just pour the batter and close the lid for it to cook.Don't spread it around and it'll come out like a pancake . Small kids(especially with not many teeth, like my younger son) and slighly bigger small kids (like my elder son,who does not like crisp edges) will love to eat it.
Just be creative -I've tried making 'flowers' (my husband thought it looked like the 'Starfish' from the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon!)
Technique to make 'Mouse' shaped vellayappams
Pour a big ladle of the batter into the appachatti. Make one average round and wait for it to start setting.Tilt the chatti to make one ear and come back to the starting position. Then to the other side of the head to make the other ear.
Try experimenting with other favourite cartoon characters and have fun!
