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Pesaha appam
Unleavened rice and lentil cake
Indri appam: Kerala's unleavened Maundy Thursday rice and urad dal cake
On Pesaha, Maundy Thursday, Syrian Christian families in Kerala gather in the evening for a meal that remembers the Last Supper. The head of the house cuts the Pesaha appam (indri appam), an unleavened, steamed cake of roasted rice flour, urad dal and coconut, marked with a cross made from the palm leaves blessed on Palm Sunday, and shares it with everyone, dipped in sweet Pesaha paal. It is soft, dense and lightly savoury. Chef's tip: grind the soaked urad dal and coconut together very finely; the batter should be smooth and thick, like idli batter.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 3 ½ oz split urad dalsoaked 3 hours
- 7 oz roasted rice flour
- 3 ½ oz grated coconut
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 shallots
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups waterabout
- 1 cross made from blessed palm leaves (optional)optional
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain 3 ½ oz split urad dal and grind with 3 ½ oz grated coconut, 2 cloves garlic, 3 shallots, ½ tsp cumin seeds and a little of 1 ¼ cups water to a very smooth paste.
10 minStep 2: Mix the paste with 7 oz roasted rice flour and 1 tsp salt, adding the rest of the water a little at a time, to a thick, smooth batter that drops slowly from a spoon. Don't leave it to ferment; Pesaha appam is unleavened.
Step 3: Grease a 20 cm round steel plate or cake tin and pour in the batter about 3 cm deep. Place 1 cross made from blessed palm leaves on top, if using.
Step 4: Steam over boiling water, covered, for 35–40 minutes, until firm and a skewer comes out clean. A common mistake is a thin batter, which steams into a wet, heavy cake.
40 minStep 5: Cool for 10 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve with Pesaha paal.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 200 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pesaha appam take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
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