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1. Soak rice in water (cover the rice with about 1-2 inches or water) for at least 3 hours to soften it.
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2. Mix jaggery with water (just enough to melt it) and heat for a few minutes till the jaggery melts. Strain the syrup and set aside.
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3. Drain the water from the rice and grind it with the jaggery syrup until you have a fine paste, adding a little water if needed.
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4. Add the banana to the rice and jaggery paste and pulse once or twice until the banana is mixed well with the paste. Pour the mixture in a bowl. Check the consistency: it should be slightly thicker than pancake batter. If it is too watery, just add 1 tablespoon rice flour to it to get the correct consistency (see note below).
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5. Add cardamom powder and grated coconut to the batter and mix well.
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6. Set the batter aside for at least 2 hours to allow it to ferment (see note below).
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7. Add the baking soda to the batter and mix well.
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8. Heat a paniyaram pan (see note below), add 1 teaspoon ghee (or oil) in each hole. Pour a spoonful of the batter in each hole.
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9. When cooked on one side, carefully flip to other side, add ghee or oil if needed.
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10. Cook until both sides are dark brown. You also deep fry them fully by adding ghee or oil to fill 3/4 of each hole.
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Enjoy!
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Notes:
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1. If you do not have a paniyaram pan, you can also deep fry the appams by pouring a spoonful of the batter in heated oil until golden brown.
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2. If the batter is too runny, it will absorb more oil, so adjust the batter by adding rice flour accordingly.
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3. Make sure to ferment the batter for at least 2 hours. Never skip this step!
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4. You can use half oil and half ghee to fry the appams.
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5. You can increase the amount of jaggery to suit your taste.
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6. Adding banana results in soft and spongy appams. So never skip it!
