Want to know how to make the perfect neyyappam? This recipe is for you! Recipe by Executive Chef Vibhav Verma of Grand Mercure Bengaluru.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw rice
• ¾ cup jaggery
• 1 big banana (or 2 small bananas)
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp coconut, grated
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
• Ghee or oil

Method:

• Soak rice in water for 3 hours.
• Mix jaggery with water and heat it up for a few minutes till it melts. Strain the syrup and keep aside.
• Drain the water from the rice and grind it with the jaggery syrup to a fine paste. Add water if needed.
• Add banana to the rice and jaggery paste. Mix the banana well with the paste. Pour the mixture in a bowl and check for the consistency. The mixture should be slightly thicker than a dosa batter.
• Add cardamom powder and grated coconut to the batter and mix well. Set the batter aside for at least 2 hours to ferment.
• While frying, add baking soda to the batter and mix well.
• Heat the appam pan, add a tsp of ghee or oil in each mould and pour a spoonful of batter in it. When cooked on one side, carefully flip the appam. Cook until both sides are dark brown.