Unni appam (Sweet rice fritters)

Unniappams are sweet fritters made up of rice, jaggery and banana, fried in special pan for it .

As kids, my brother and I always looked forward to the yummy unniappams prepared by our mom and now that when I see the same enthusiasm in my kiddos when their father gets it from shop, I decided to prepare it at home for my kids with all the healthy ingredients I can use, as its name itself has the word 'Unni' which in Malayalam means small or children, so it can mean appam or sweet fritters made for kids( Unni). Its also called gulgule in North India.

And yeah !!!!!!!!!!it turned out to be really Weliciousdelicious so thought would share it with you all.

                                                                                                   

 

Ingredients                                                                          Quantity                                           

• Brown rice / White rice (Slightly roasted)                 : 2 Cups
• Maida (white refined flour/all purpose flour  )          : Half cup.
• Coconut pieces (optional) fried in ghee                        :1 cup
• Molasses (jaggery) grated                                                 : 1/2 cup (or as per taste)
• Cardamom Powder                                                              : 2 tsp
• Ghee                                                                                           : 2 tbsp
• Banana/Plantain                                                                    : 3
• Oil                                                                                             : As required
• Cumin(optional)                                                                  : a pinch (optional)
• Salt                                                                                          : a pinch
• Rava(Optional)                                                                   : 3 tsp

Preparation Method:                                                                                                                    

• Soak the brown rice for 2-3 hours.
• Drain the soaked rice and grind it to fine flour (Note: Either grind it into fine flour or to little course flour to get the feel of rice granules after its fried.) and slightly roast it if time permits.
• You can also use ready made rice powder available in the market.
• In a pan heat palm jaggery pieces adding little water,allow it to melt,strain it and keep aside.
• Chop the banana and grind it to a fine paste along with the cardamom.
• Fry the chopped coconut pieces in ghee till golden brown.
• In a mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients(Melted jaggery syrup, Rice Powder, Maida, Banana paste) except coconut pieces to make it to a thick batter consistency like fitter or idli batter. Add water if required. Mix it thoroughly using a hand blender, ensure that there are no lumps formed.
• Add the fried coconut pieces, a pinch of baking soda and a pinch of salt to the batter. Mix well and keep aside for 2-3 hours.
• Heat the appam pan and add little oil to all the potions of the pan, such that it’s half full.When the oil becomes hot pour the batter in each hole.Fry it in low flame until its both sides golden brown in colour.
•  Drain out excess oil with tissue paper and serve hot.

      Note: If possible use any non stick unniappam pans, as the unniappams won't stick to the pan.

Tips :

•  You can add rava to the batter just before frying, if you are using fine rice flour instead of coarse one.
•  Unniappams can also be made of wheat flour instead of rice flour and wheat is the main ingredient of "Gulgule" in North India
• Always add a pinch of salt to all the sweets which would give them a special taste.
• You can also add sesame seeds to get a different flavour.

Health benefits:                                                                                                                                 

Since I made unniappam keeping my kids in mind, I thought I should share the health benefits of the each ingredients being used.

Brown Rice:

Brown rice, unlike white rice, still has the side hull and bran, which provides “natural wholeness” to the grain and are rich in proteins, thiamine, calcium, magnesium,Selenium, fibre, and potassium and its rich in anti oxidants. For those trying to lose weight or those suffering from diabetes, brown rice can prove a healthful staple given its low glycemic rating which helps reduce insulin spikes.

Palm jaggery :

Palm jaggery is made from the sap extract of Palm Trees in Southern India. Palm jaggery is a natural sweetener and Energy Food, it is very rich in calcium, minerals, predominantly iron with traces of other mineral salts. It cleanses your body, act as a digestive agent, sweeten your food in a healthy manner, provide good amounts of minerals. Rich in anti-oxidants so helps in fighting the free radicals in the body strengthens the nervous system.

Banana:

Banana fruit is rich in calories, but very low in fats. The fruit contains good amounts of health benefiting minerals like copper ,magnesium and vitamins B6 and Vit C (which helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals.)

Health Benefits source : Google