Mary, who writes the delicious blog Mary Mary Culinary was our August Daring Cooks' host. Mary chose to show us how delicious South Indian cuisine is! She challenged us to make Appam and another South Indian/Sri Linkan dish to go with the warm flat bread.
Time does really fly fast, not only when you're having fun but also when you are terribly busy! Hmm...4 more months or is it 3, and it's going to be Christmas again! Ooops...sorry...focus...
Like Mary I also love Indian food, I eat in an Indian restaurant at least every month but I always order my favorites Rogan Josh (Lamb Curry) and/or Biryani. So when I read this month's challenge I was really excited, Indian cuisine at last!
When I lived in Singapore I remember coming home every night from work and passing by the Hawker Center near our flat to order our Roti Paratha, *sigh* how I miss those days! Nowadays, I just content myself with the Naan (also an Indian flat bread) that I also order whenever I eat in an Indian restaurant...but I've never come across Appam until this month's DC challenge.
What exactly is an Appam? According to Mary they are South Indian yeasted breads made from rice, yeast and coconut milk...a cross between a crepe and a crumpet, with a thin, lacy, crisp edge and a thicker spongy middle.
We only have brown rice at home so that's what I used. My appams were not perfect like what I saw on the forums, I was a bit disappointed with myself at first because making crepes is not new to me and yet my appams were not cooperative at all. I had to throw a few appam fails before I finally produced decent looking ones for picture-taking. I was wondering if it was the type of rice I used because I noticed how everyone was raving how easy it was to make contrary to what I experienced. They tasted great though, I liked munching on some of the fails I didn't throw and I have to say I liked the flavor...tasted like a cross between rice and bread (because of the yeast, I think).
I followed the Appam recipe except that I substituted brown rice. And this is how my appams turned out...well the ones that escaped the trash can at least.
Mary also said we had to cook a South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with the Appams. My favorite Indian dish is Lamb Curry (Rogan Josh) and I know I was meant to cook it because there was a buy-one-take-one offer for lamb at the supermarket near my house. I just don't know if it's South Indian/Sri Lankan so that's what I cooked, except that I didn't have garam masala so I omitted it...tsk tsk! Here is the recipe I based it on. I added potatoes just because the marble potatoes were so cute...
Thank you Mary for a wonderful challenge...not only did I learn to make Appams (which I will continue to experiment on until I get it right!) but I also enjoyed eating them and mopping up the sauce of my Rogan Josh with it. Excuse me while I wipe the drool...looking at these pictures has just reminded me how delicious they were. Please visit the other Daring Cooks versions of their Appam and Curry.
21 comments:
Oh wow! That looks delicious indeed! I'm already craving Indian food! Sorry to hear the appams didn't come out as you have expected, but the one in the photo looks prety good, lightly golden... yummm
Hmmm, interesting. I wanted to try a brown rice version but I didn't. I wonder if there is something about the composition of the rice that makes a difference? It still looks yummy though, well done.
Looks wonderful!! great job.
I think your appam look great! Iused brown rice, too, and I found the batter thick... even after a bit of added water. You did a great job on this challenge, as usual!
Oh, yum. Your appam turned out beautifully, or at least they look so to me. And that lamb curry looks great! How cool that you already know and love Indian food - must have made the challenge all that much more fun!
Gorgeous work this month, and I'm glad you enjoyed the appams, even if they gave you a hard time! Thanks for participating!
That is a delicious looking plate of curry, Chef! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Nice seeing an all brown rice version that worked! I did 80 grams of brown rice flour and 220 grams of white rice flour, but I wasn't quite confident enough with the recipes to try 100% brown rice.
"Hmm...4 more months or is it 3, and it's going to be Christmas again!"
Don't say that! You're right though. The year has gone frighteningly quickly.
I think your appam look great & your lamb rogan josh ... *swoon* I love the sound of the added potatoes too.
AMAZING! Love this idea. I need to try using brown rice next time. You always do such an awesome job on the challenges and just in general. love reading your blog
My appams turned out 'eh', since they barely had any holes, but, hey..I was planning on making them into blintzes anyway! lol Your appam and curry look amazing. I'm not a huge lamb fan, but I would definitely eat yours!
Great idea to try the appams with brown rice. Everything looks great!
I had some difficulties perfecting the appams in the beginning, too. But you're right, the imperfect ones definitely make for some delicious munchies. :D Great job on this challenge!
I am a big fan of Appam. What I see in the pic looks delicious. Curry with Appam is a pair made in heaven. Now I am drooling thinking about how tasty it is.
I love the golden color of your appam and the curry looks delicious.
I think your appams look terrific, with super-crispy edges. Don't be so hard on yourself! And the curry looks delicious!
Hello! Hello! I'm so jealous...your appam and curry look so good;) I've been slacking! I haven't done any of the challenges in both DC and Kulinarya. I've been swamped as in really really busy;) I haven't even updated my blog. Hopefully this month will be a relaxed one and i'll be able to catch up! fingers crossed!
You just reminded me of my years of living in Singapore and my tastebud exposure to Indian food...
A delicious turnout of the challenge, I am sure you have a flair for Indian cuisine, thumbs up!
I think your appam look delicious! You did a great job on this challenge.
I found the appams hard going too but delicious. The one on your photograph looks amazing and I think all the better for being made from brown rice!
Very well done! That dish looks so good and appetizing. Something I've never had.
Cheers,
Rosa
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