Nei Appam / Unniyappam Recipe – Coconut Banana Fritters

The Nei Appam also known as Unniyappam is a traditional festival sweet that is made for festivals like Karthigai Deepam and also many other festivals in Kerala. This crispy appam or fritter is a famous Palakkad sweet made with bananas and rice flour batter, that is a favorite among children.  Rice, Jaggery, Ripe Bananas, Fresh coconut, Cardamom Powder (Elaichi), Enos Fruit Salt, Ghee, Salt   1 cup Rice 3/4 cup Jaggery , powdered 1 cup Ripe Bananas , mashed 1/2 cup Fresh coconut , grated 2 teaspoons Cardamom Powder (Elaichi) 1/4 teaspoon Enos Fruit Salt , optional Ghee , for cooking Salt , a pinch     130   90     To begin making the Nei Appam / Unniyappam recipe, wash and soak the rice in water for 2 hours. Strain the water completely. Using a blender, grind the rice with very little water to a thick batter. Melt the jaggery with about 1/4 cup of water. Stir in the jaggery syrup, mashed bananas, coconut, salt, eno and cardamom powder to the rice batter.  Make sure all the ingredients are well combined into the batter.The Nei Appam / Unniyappam batter should be of thick pouring consistency.Now, heat a paniyaram pan (a pan with cup shaped depressions). Add a teaspoon of oil or ghee to each depression. Now drop in a large spoonful of Nei Appam / Unniyappam batter into each depression.Allow it to cook for a few minutes until you notice that the top is getting steamed. You can optionally cover the pan to cook the top of the Nei Appam / Unniyappam faster.Turn over after a few minutes to cook on the other side. Cook the Nei Appam / Unniyappam on medium heat, as you want the batter to get cooked evenly from the inside as well.Once the Nei Appam / Unniyappam is browned well and crisp on both sides, remove from the pan and serve hot. Serve the Kerala Style Nei Appam / Unniyappam Recipe as a Tea time snack or even as a school snack box for kids.