Cook's Hideout: Vatteppam for ICC-March

April 14, 2011

Vatteppam for ICC-March

For this month’s Indian Cooking Challenge, Valli chose a delicious rice cake dish from Kerala, Vatteppam. Recipe is courtesy from an Keralite who knows her rice cakes very well, SHN @ Kitchenmishmash. SHN’s pictures are breathtaking and when I saw her mouthwatering pictures of Vatteppam, I wanted to try and make them right away and for the first time ever, I made them almost 2 weeks before the deadline.

I halved the recipe, since I was making for just the 3 of us at home and I made them in idli stand instead of a round mold. I also used coconut milk instead of fresh grated coconut as I didn’t have any fresh coconut on hand. I really loved the sweet, spongy, yeasty treat. Thanks to Valli for choosing the dish and to SHN for providing the detailed recipe.

Vatteppam for ICC-March 2011

Here's how I made these delicious Rice cakes:
  • Soak ½ cup of Raw Rice (Par boiled rice) for 6-8 hours. Then grind the drained rice with about 1-2tsp water to make a coarse paste.
  • Set 2 tbsps of the coarsely ground rice to the side.
  • To the remaining rice, add 1/3 cup coconut milk and grind to a fine paste.
  • Next add 1tbsp cooked rice (I used cooked brown rice) and ¼ cup of water to make a batter that is as thick as idli batter.
  • Cook the coarsely ground rice with 1/3 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil in a small saucepan and simmer until it gets to porridge consistency. Set aside to cool.
  • In the meantime, proof ¼ tsp yeast by adding it to ¼ cup luke warm water and 1tsp sugar. Set aside in a warm place to foam up.
  • Once the rice porridge is cool enough to handle, add 2tbsp of it to the blender with the rice and coconut batter and blend well until combined.
  • Finally add the frothy yeast solution and blend until mixed well.
  • Pour the batter in a glass/ steel container and leave in a warm place for about 8-12 hours to ferment. Choose a container that can hold about double the batter once it rises.
  • After the batter has doubled and fermented, add 1/3 cup sugar, mix gently and set aside to ferment for another1½ - 2 hours.
  • In the meantime, fry some cashews and raisins in ghee until golden brown and plump. Set aside.
  • When ready to steam, add the fried cashews and raisins and 1tsp of ground cardamom (elaichi).
  • Mix well and pour into greased idli molds. Steam in a pressure cooker for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Kerala Steam Rice Cakes: Vatteppams for ICC-March
Cool completely before enjoying them.
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12 comments:

  1. Pavani, your vattepppam looks cute as idlis..:)..so glad that you enjoyed!

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  2. I should have used coconut milk too... instead, I used frozen grated coconut.. :( By the time the batter fermented, I think coconut rotted and smelled.. the batter had a spoiled coconut smell.

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  3. Oh you made them in idli shapes too! Looks cute:)

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  4. Cute looking vattayappams, we enjoyed it a lot,hope u too..

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  5. Oh!!! Very Cute!!!! i too tried them in idli moulds!!!

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  6. Lovely cakes they look really delicious.

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  7. pavani thats a new dish for me never had it before gonna try it

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  8. looks cute in the form of idlis. wonderful challenge.

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  9. Awww..such cute looking vatteppam idlis..I should have tried making a few idli shaped ones too...

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  10. Wow, you made cute idli appams.

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  11. Although it is a new recipe for me - it looks fabulous!
    It resembles the idli very much and we have great idli fans here- so i have to try it :)

    US Masala

    ReplyDelete

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