Kerala Appam with Stew

Kerala appam with stew pairs lacy rice pancakes with a coconut-milk accompaniment. Suguna Vinodh’s palappam recipe, shared by Nivashini, combines ground soaked rice, a cooked portion of the batter, coconut milk and yeast. After fermentation, the batter is swirled around a curved pan and cooked covered on one side, producing a soft centre and crisp edges.^[1][2]

Vinodh’s vegetable stew uses boiled carrots, potatoes and peas. A raw-ground paste of cashews, poppy seeds, green chilli, clove, cardamom and cinnamon is fried with softened onion, ginger and curry leaves. Vegetables simmer in thin coconut milk; a starch slurry thickens the sauce before thick coconut milk is added at the end.^[2]