Ingredients

• Rice flour: 2 cups
• Water
• Salt: to taste
• Plantain leaves

For filling

• Coconut scrapings: 1/2 -3/4 coconut
• Ghee: 1 tsp
• Jaggery: 1/4 (add more if you need it more sweet)
• Cumin seeds / Cardamom powder (optional)

Ela_appam

 Initial Preparations:

• Boil water, add salt.
• In another pan, melt jaggery with a little water and strained.
• Wash and clean the banana(plantain) leaves and set aside.
• Get the steamer or Idly cooker ready with enough water.

Steps:

1. To prepare dough, pour the boiling salt water little by little into the rice flour and mix it with a spatula.
2. When it is warm enough to touch with hand, mix well to form a soft and smooth dough.
3. The consistency of dough should be same as idiappam or kozhukatta.
4. To make filling, mix well the melted jaggery with coconut scrapings, ghee and cumin seeds or cardamom powder. Keep this mix aside.
5. Divide the dough into equal portions.
6. Take a cleaned leaf , cut into rectangular shapes and spread each dough ball on it by using our finger tips. Keep a bowl of water ready so that we can dip our fingers while spreading the dough. This makes the spreading more easy.
7. Place 1 or 2 tablespoon of coconut filling on one half and fold the other half. Press the edges gently.
8. Repeat the same procedure for the remaining dough balls.
9. Steam this in a steamer or idli cooker for 10-15 minutes or the leaves changes its color.
10. Once it is done, allow it to cool before serving.
11. Enjoy a healthy and tasty snack!!!!!!!!!!

Tips:

• You may use sugar instead of jaggery, also jaggery can be white or brown. (Here I used white colored jaggery).
• You could replace coconut and jaggery with ripe bananas and sugar if you like.

Ela Appam

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