Morappam has always been our standard Sunday evening snack. All family members would gather at the table after a wonderful Sunday siesta over a cup of steaming South Indian coffee and plates full of Morappams and ramble endlessly about everything in general. What’s easy about the Morappam is that you use the same batter as for idlis. So if you’ve made extra idli batter you can make some morappams for a change. You need an Appakara, a special vessel with indentations as for unniappams. The only drawback about this recipe is that it absorbs a lot of oil so you can either purchase a non-stick appakara (which absorbs less oil) or drain the excess oil thoroughly with tissue after frying.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Idly/Dosa batter
- 1 Medium sized onion (optional)
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Chana dal
- 2 Finely chopped green chilies
- Curry leaves – few
- ¼ tsp asafetida powder
Method:
- Heat some oil in a pan.
- Add mustard seeds, chana dal, and onions
- After the mustard crackles, add green chilies, curry leaves
- Add this seasoning in the idli/dosa batter
- Add salt and asafetida and mix well
- Adjust the consistency by adding water, so that it is thinner than dosa batter.
- Fill the Appakara with 1/2 tsp of oil.
- Pour spoonfuls of the batter into each pit. It will take two minutes to cook one side.
- Flip the morappams upside down. Cook the other side also.
- Insert a knitting needle into the morappam to see if it’s cooked. If it’s done the needle will come out clean.
- Serve hot with tea/coffee
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3