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Rice and the products derived from it have an amazing capacity to create several distinct dishes including saccharine meals with a typical and likeable grainy texture and flavour. When it comes to sweetmeats, Karnataka has an inexhaustible range of making them with limited ingredients like rice, coconut, jaggery and puffed paddy. These very elements also go into making Yelappa or Yeriappa, which are rooted in a tropical and traditional taste. The ease of making them just involves beating all the ingredients into a thick puree batter and deep frying them in hot oil to get the puffed, light and homemade sweet.
Familiarising With Yeriappa
Yelappa or Yeriappa is a traditional sweet which is an essential part of Kannada culture and is specially cooked during different festive occasions in various regions of Karnataka. Yelappa is prepared on the previous night of Narak Chaturdashi as a part of Diwali celebrations in the Udupi and Mangalore regions. This sweet dish is also made during Saraswati Puja and Navratri. In Mysore, these are made during Saraswati Puja in Dussehra. Yeriappa is prepared and relished even on Tamil New Year and Ganesh Chaturthi.
The main ingredients used for making Yeriappa are raw rice, jaggery, and coconut. It is normally prepared in the evening and it tastes more delicious the next day. The taste of Yeriappa is enhanced using mashed bananas. Yeriappa could safely be considered South Indian versions of Pua or Gulgule made in North India along the lines of cooking method. Pua is traditionally prepared with a batter of milk, flour, sugar and a few dry fruits.
Nutrition Of Rice And Puffed Paddy
Throwing some light on the benefits of omnipresent food and gluten-free grain, rice helps in maintaining a healthy weight, protects against chronic diseases, restores glycogen levels after exercise, and is easy to digest. A derivative of rice, puffed paddy or muri is an inexpensive ready-to-eat rice snack which plays an important role in relieving constipation and easing digestion.
Preparation: 2 hours 25 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes
Servings: 6-7 pieces of Yelappa
Ingredients:
- ½ cup rice
- ½ cup grated coconut
- ½ cup puffed paddy
- ½ cup powdered jaggery
- 1 cardamom
- ¼ cup water
Method:
- Rinse the rice thoroughly and soak it for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours drain the water, and transfer the rice to a blending jar.
- Add grated coconut, puffed paddy, powdered jaggery and cardamom to it. Grind it to a paste.
- Then add ¼ cup water and grind again to get a coarse puree.
- Transfer the contents to a mixing bowl and add water to adjust consistency and get a thick batter.
- In another pan heat oil, pour spoonfuls of batter in the oil and fry Yelapas until golden on both sides.
- Take out and place on tissue paper and serve hot.
These sweet Appams can be incorporated into our list of frequent sweets and even replace the humble Puas. Beat up a batter of these commonly available ingredients to surprise yourself and your loved ones with a new dessert. One can introduce dry fruits and fruits like bananas to the batter to bring some more fun to the taste.
