AMMACHI'S ACHAPPAM

If only you could see me now! I cannot tell you how happy I am to have made this traditional snack at home. I am very excited because I've heard a lot of people saying that it's a palaharam/ traditional snack which is hard to find success in it's first attempt. I must say, I proved them all wrong. This was my very first attempt and I haven't stood next to anyone trying to learn it. All I had was my Grandmother's 'achu' / brass mould + self confidence + an age old recipe.

I vaguely remember Mamma frying the Achappams in her big old kitchen but I very very clearly remember eating them.The clearest of them all was when Mamma bought a huge tin full of her special Achappams to our house. That evening Babitha, my childhood friend came over to play and Amma gave her some Achappam to eat. She always had a big appetite (I hope she doesn't have the time to read this !) and would eat them very soon. Then, she would ask for more! I was a single child for 8.5 years so I didn't like the idea of sharing , a lot. I did share a share of those Achappams but when she asked for more, I clearly remember being disturbed :-)Anyway, the Achappams are long gone now but we are still thick pals.

Unfortunaltely none of us got hold of Mamma's recipe instead Amma has her twin sister, Daisy's mother-in-laws recipe.All of us fondly call her 'Ammachi'...to be specific...Kothamangalathile Ammachi. I remember eating Ammachi's achappams during our 1000 stop overs and sleep overs in Daisy Mummy's house. It used to be very thin, crisp, tender and yummy! I could easily eat a truck load of those because my stomach could never get filled with this light weight palaharam.

One evening, without any specific reasons, I felt like eating Achappams. So I went ahead and soaked my Mamma's acchu in oil, overnight.The next morning, I dialed Amma and got hold of that precious family recipe for this awesome palaharam. I am so glad I tried these because I can now proudly say, I can make Ammachi's Achappams at home! :-)

AMMACHI'S ACHAPPAM
Recipe source: Kothamagalathile Ammachi
Makes 100 achappams

Ingredients
4 c fresh rice flour*
1 c maida/flour
2 c coconut milk, medium thick
6 eggs, beaten
2 tsp black sesame seeds/cumin seeds
Salt to taste
Powdered sugar for dusting
Oil for deep frying

Method: In a large bowl, mix rice flour, maida & coconut milk together. It will be quite thick like Idli batter. Leave it aside for 2 hours. After 2 hours, add beaten eggs , seeds & salt. Mix well.Keep aside.

Heat about 4-5 inches of oil in a sauce pan on medium-high and while doing so, immerse the mould into it. Let it heat up along with the oil. To check if the oil is heated enough, add a drop of the batter into it and if it sizzle up right away, it's ready. Take the mould out of the hot oil and dip just 3/4 th of it into the batter, lift it up and then dip it into the oil. Hold it for a count of 5 and the shake the mould gently to release the achappam. If you are finding it a little difficult, use a skewer/thin knife to help it release. It will go smooth from the second one onwards. Fry till golden. You may or maynot have to adjust the heat depending on the colour of your fried goodies.

Drain on paper towels and when cooled, dust with powdered sugar.Munch away!

* I used Sona Masoori rice. I soaked 3c of rice in tap water for 1 hour,rinsed, spread it over a paper towel and let it dry for 45 mins. Then I powdered it very very fine in my mixie and it was sieved once before using. DO NOT use store bought roasted rice flour.
* A lot of recipes use sugar in the batter but we don't since we don't like the Achappams to turn dark.

Believe in yourself, be it in the kicthen or anywhere and you are bound to find success. That's all I did when I tried this out. When I was measuring and getting the things ready for it, I felt there was someone looking over my shoulders to make sure I was doing it right. I bet it was Mamma, my paternal grandmother. She was an interesting character,who lived to eat and cooked the most amazing Chinese food! Appan still complaints that Amma's fried rice is no where close to Mamma's even though Amma learnt it from her :-)

So go ahead and oil your Achappam mould right away and make these for your family or for yourself and enjoy!