THINAI APPAM | FOXTAIL MILLET APPAM

Millets are very versatile and can be easily substituted for rice in traditional recipes. I tried arisi appam recipe by replacing rice with Thinai (Foxtail millet). Millets (Siruthaniyangal) has many health benefits. These millets are not new to me. Back in my childhood days, whenever I visit my grandparents place, they used to prepare kanji with finger millet and pearl millets. At that time, the health benefits were not much appreciated. It is good to see that these grains are gaining popularity now.

Ingredients:

Thinai arisi - 1/2 cup
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 6 tablespoons
Wheat flour  - 3 tablespoons
Rice flour - 3 tablespoons
Baking soda - a pinch
Cardomom pods - 4
Small banana - optional
Ghee - for frying

Procedure:

1. Wash and soak the thinai with enough water for min 2 hours
2. Drain the water and grind it in a mixie. Add very little if required
3. Add grated coconut, jaggery, cardomom and banana and grind it for few seconds
4. Now add the rice flour and wheat flour and mix well. Add water if required. The batter should neither be watery or too thick
5. Leave this batter for 30 min - 2hrs
6. Add baking soda just before making the appams
7. Fry the appams in a paniyaram pan with enough ghee or oil

Notes:
Reduce the jaggery to 1/4 cup if you dont like much sweet
Banana is optional. This should be avoided if you need more shelf life
Instead of ghee, oil can also be used for frying