Paniyaram is an Indian dish made by steaming batter on a special pan comes with multiple small cups. A similar dish is found in Japan named as takoyaki. It is a very tasty snack popular throughout South India and can be served with pickles, chutney, etc.
To make this, you need a special paniyaram pan. Traditionally a separate batter is prepared for making paniyaram but these days however it is more commonly made with left over idli/dosa batter.
Ingredients
- Parboiled Rice/Idli Rice – 1/2 cup
- Raw Rice – 1/2 cup
- Urad dal – 1/4 cup
- Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Salt – to taste
Method
- Wash and soak both the rice together for 4 hours.
- Soak urad dal with the fenugreek seeds in a separate bowl also for 4 hours.
- Grind both separately to a smooth paste.
- Mix both and add salt. Ferment the batter for about 10 hours (or overnight) till the batter doubles in volume.
- Now when the batter is ready to make paniyarams, add some grated vegetable and coconut to the batter. Mix well.
- Heat the pan. Drizzle few drops of ghee in each mould. Pour a spoonful of the batter, let it cook for just a minute.
- Using a wooden stick gently flip each paniyaram so that it will cook on the other side. It will automatically form a ball shape. Cook till small brown spots appear.
- Cook on medium low flame to give the best result. You will get fried paniyaram balls which are crispy on the outside and spongy on the inside.
- Serve with coconut chutney, peanut chutney or mint chutney.
- It can be served as evening snack with a cup of tea or it can be served for breakfast or dinner.
