Idiyappam

Idiyappam is a popular string hoppers culinary speciality from the south Indian cuisine especially in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Coastal areas of Karnataka. It is also popular in certain areas of Sri Lanka and called as noolappam or noolputtu which means strings, but commonly known as Idiyappam. This dish is called as Semige in coastal areas of Karnataka. Idiyappam is made of rice flour or wheat flour, salt and water. It is generally served as the main course for breakfast or dinner together with avial, spicy curry either made of mixed vegetables, egg, fish or stews made with either meat or chicken curry and coconut chutney.

Idiyappam is also served with sweetened coconut milk in the Malabar region of Kerala. This is not usually served for lunch. Using wheat flour gives it a brownish hue. Idiyappam is one simple dish and is prepared often at many south Indian households for breakfast or dinner. It takes less time to prepare and very tasty to eat. Idiyappam and Stew or Idiyappam and Chicken curry are the best combo and taste amazing. The Idiyappam as tastes bland eating plain compliments well with the spicy stew or any curry. Normally Idiyappam is prepared from home-made rice flour.

To prepare the homemade rice flour, soak 2 to 3 cups of raw rice four hours. Drain the water completely. Put it in a mixie in batches and grind to fine powder. Put this powder in a large kadai and fry on medium flame till the moisture evaporates and when you touch the flour, it should not stick to your hand.

Cool it and sieve it. You can store this flour and use it for preparing idiyappam. Nowadays readymade Idiyappam flour is readily available in most of the super markets. Idiyappam is a very light dish and can be had with sweet or spicy side dishes.

For preparing homemade Idiyappam, firstly add some water in a pan. Add little salt and a tablespoon of oil. When the water comes to a boiling point, switch off the heat and add the rice flour stirring continuously. Knead this mixture to form a dough, but not too soft dough.

Lightly grease the iddiappam press mould (or sev maker mould) and put in one portion of the dough. Press out the dough to form small circular mounds onto each of the iddiappam stands. Steam the idiyappams in a pressure cooker for about 10 minutes till done, without the weight.

An idli stand is a good substitute for the iddiappam stands. This is the recipe of a plain Idiyappam. Serve hot with stew, avial etc. In Kerala, this dish is traditionally cooked by pressing down the dough onto the banana leaves and then steamed.

Then these are placed in a steamer and cooked till done. This can be served with sugar or honey and fresh grated coconut or with spicy dishes like egg curry or any other spicy dish.

To try out this classic south Indian delicacy do check out the recipe at:

Rice flour is a staple food in Southeast Asia, Japan and southern India. Mostly all types of rice flour are high in protein but the brown rice flour has higher level of Vitamin B, iron and fiber than white rice flour as bran is included in it. Since rice flour contains no gluten, it is beneficial for people who cannot tolerate gluten in their diets because of a severe allergic reaction (celiac disease). Rice flour is a suitable and healthy replacement for wheat flour if you maintain a gluten-free diet. Rice flour is high in protein.

Brown rice contains more fiber than does white due to the husk. Substituting brown rice flour for wheat may help with weight loss -- a diet rich in fiber helps you feel fuller and reduces hunger. By adding more fiber to your daily meal plan with rice flour, you may lower your risk for developing some medical conditions, such as colon diseases, type-2 diabetes and hypertension.