December 30, 2006

When first you don't succeed...

...alter the recipe and try again. If it still doesn't seem right, consult an expert for advice and follow as instructed.... When all else fails...watch expert make batter;copy recipe notes; bring batter home..and make some in the morning *giggle*...I'm sorry, I do admit.. I resort to cheating when I'm desperate ;)

I apologize for the late post. I know I irresponsibly promised everyone the recipe 2 days ago...*blush*. I went a long way for these precious recipe proportions...but just to cut the long story short, I owe it all to Pinky's grandma and Kak Ti. They've been making delicious Indian "appoms" for a long time...and after many attempts at difficult batter and sticky unseasoned mini iron woks; I called out for help.
Pinky's family was very helpful with tips+old wives tales on seasoning brand new mini appom pans to make it them "non-stick" and more workable; but after many attempts and long afternoons frying coconut and coating its surface with grease. It apparently takes MONThs to perfect! They decided to ease my suffering by lending me their family's old beautifully seasoned pan. Not only was that thoughtful enough;...Pinky's grandma and aunt actually took the trouble to purchase a modern teflon coated appom wok for me from their local Indian store! I was overwhelmed. Everyone in her family is so sweet~ Kak Ti; helped me with the recipe proportions and I took notes attentively as she got her hands dirty for me. The batter she made worked perfectly and I brought some of the appom I made that afternoon to their place for everyone to have a taste of what I've done. I really hope they weren't too disappointed with how the lil Chinese girl's appoms turned out! *laughs*My parents were pretty happy munching away on crisp piping hot appoms straight out of the pan! Drizzle on a spoon of freshly squeezed sweet coconut milk....dig in (Indian style)~ *wink* ...MmMmm....*licks fingers* perfect for a tea time snack.Pinky's grandma also mentioned that appom can be eaten savoury with curry! I'll try that next time~

Blend: 1/2 tsp yeast+ 1/2 cup warm water+ 2 1/2 heaped tbsp's of cooked rice.
500gms rice flour
3 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
1 tsp salt
Mix all ingredients in a large metal bowl and knead with your fingers till well combined. Cover and leave to rest overnight.

Whisk in 450ml coconut milk just before making appoms.
Heat mini appom wok well on medium-low heat and spoon in 1/4 cup batter into the center. Swiftly swirl the pan in a circular motion with your wrist a rest wok on low flames with the lid on. cook for 1-2 minutes till center is cooked through with a cushion-like consistency. It should be thicker than the corners and fairly soft in the center. For crisp corners; only swirl the pan in a circle once to make a thin coating around the border. Remove lid and cook for an extra minute.
When the edges begin to crisp and brown slightly; briskly flip the appom out with a wooden spatula and serve immediately with a spoon of coconut syrup on the side~

Coconut syrup: 2 tbps's castor sugar diluted in 100ml's fresh coconut milk.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Su Yin,

You have a really lovely blog. I just chanced upon it and I gave your apom recipe a try yesterday. I made half of your recipe. Just to check with you as the ratio of rice flour to the water do not even form a dough. My ´proofing dough´ was like the texture of breadcrumbs. Can the yeast proof properly without enough liquid? Anyway, I decided to add the coconut milk to the flour mixture & left it overnight to proof. It turned out quite ok but I cannot achieve the texture like yours because I used a normal non-stick pan & I found it very difficult to get the sides to be thin & crispy. Another question is on the amount of sugar used. I like the sweet type of apoms that we normally eat as snacks & buy from the hawkers back home. This apom recipe is not sweet enough. I would appreciate your feedback on this. Many thanks.

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

Hi elizabeth...sorry to hear about your apom not turning out well. The proofing dough has a fair amount of coarse rice in it, but it should be still fluffy and moist. Check the expire date on the yeast. And make sure u you warm water (not boiling hot) I've killed yeast a fair amount of times myself *hehe*. Our conventional flat nonstick pans don't give appoms the crisp corners they should have. You will need to use deep plate sized mini woks to give the corners a light coating of batter and the centers a thick fluffly pillow. Try not to add too much sugar into the appom batter as it can burn the base as it is cooking too quickly. Add more sugar into the coocnut syrup to go with the appoms if you like them sweet. I hope that helps. GOod luck!~ :)

Sweety said...

Hi Su-yin,

As always, your blog is great and a lot of effort put in.

Your Apam look so good and I am trying it right now.
Question: Is the liquid ratio is correct with 500 g of rice flour? Should it be a bread dough like or bread crumb before let it rise?

I know this is looooooog old recipe and you may not remember now.

Thanks

Su

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

Hi sweety... you're right; i don't exactly remember! haha..but i do know for sure that is isn't supposed to be 'breadcrumb-like'

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

you add coconut milk to it the day after.. so don't worry.. it should come togehter :)

Anonymous said...

mmm appoms.. Pinky will u marry me :)