If ever there was a trial on mums who’d sneak in unpleasant stuff into mainstream, ‘acceptable’ food… I would no doubt be there. My family is non fussy, yet this code is so embedded in my gene that I can’t help myself. So imagine my happiness when I learnt that with my new diet I can legitimately resort to these underhand tactics.

In my last post I talked about how “sugar” has been my undoing. How so? First let me explain what happens when we eat food.

When we eat, our body breaks down food into organic compounds, one of which is glucose. When glucose enters our bloodstream, our beautiful, yet forgotten pancreas automatically produce the right number of a hormone called insulin needed by our cells to absorb this glucose. The cells of our bodies use glucose as a source of energy for all our functions. But the cells cannot access glucose unless it moves from our bloodstream into individual cells. Insulin virtually opens the door of each cell… allowing the glucose to enter…. and energise us.

In PCOS, there’s an increased possibility that our response to insulin is at best sluggish, meaning the insulin knocks at the cell door, but the cells don’t hear it, the pancreas think “oh! the sugar’s not in yet let me send some insulin out there”… and so suddenly there’s a whole lot of them insulin guys and the glucose thugs (waiting to be reformed) hanging about in the blood stream. So a large amount of insulin needs to be released before the cells responds and takes the glucose away into the tissue… and you know how it works too many sugar vagabonds in our blood stream eventually leads to something called “diabetes”.

My diet at the present moment is something of a reform diet. I am training my body to accept only the acceptable (this is really the only way ahead). Know what’s right for you, figure out the good thing, and then change the way you live your life. And while I am at it here’s the disclaimer… what works for me, need not work for you. Its not one size fits all, never… my responses, reactions, and opinions are purely mine. If you like to try it for yourself, feel free to, after consulting your doctor or dietitian. Now that that’s out of the way let me tell you something about “appam”.

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Appams are to Kerala cuisine, what Eiffel Tower is to Paris. You cannot possibly appreciate the depth (or the heights) of a malayali’s taste buds if you haven’t tasted appams. If you’re in Kerala a make shift signboard declaring “takes order for homemade appams”, particularly in central Kerala, and more particularly if you’re near a church, is a given.

Appams are conversation starters when malayali women get together…

“oh my! what delicious appam!!!” (envy, that her appam’s never got off her appachatti, and had to be soaked in warm water for a day)

“appams! my great grandmother’s appams were to die for!” (ya right! just wipe that drool off your chin willya?)”

“what brand of appachatti do you use?” (put down, in the event the hostess was beaming too much)

“so you grind soaked rice, and use coconut milk or fresh coconut?” (ya sherlock, in a bid to unearth the secrets of that mighty puff in the centre and the lacy crisp that surrounds it.)

… and the tragic… there’s always one of those… ”sigh! I can never ever make appam.”

There are many ways to enjoy appams… Appam and Kadala curry (black chickpea curry), Appam and Ishtoo (or what malayali likes to call the stew, made with potatoes, or chicken in a coconut milk gravy), Appam and Motta curry (a spicy, egg curry) or as my daughter likes it, Appam with milk and sugar. Inspite of its elevated status and notoriety appams can be delightfully easy to make. Here’s the simple version, and then I present to you my coup d’ cuisine… take that any way you like… the energised version of the appam.

in which you make it like everyone else, you need:

2 cups unroasted rice flour (usually get that wth picture of an appam on it)
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup cooked rice (can use leftovers)
2 cups tepid water
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
4 teaspoons sugar (more sugar if you like sweeter appams, with crispier edges)
1 teaspoon salt
a kick ass blender
a small heavy bottomed wok with a lid

method

1. Put everything except the water in the blender, then adding water bit by bit, blend the whole thing to a smooth batter. Like a pancake batter.
2. Remove into a ceramic dish, cover, and let rise in a warm, dark place. In a couple of hours the batter would have risen, now mix and taste, and if required add more sugar or salt. if the batter’s too thick, add a little water to thin it – the consistency is of pancake/dosa batter.
3. Heat the wok on your burner, smear a wee bit of oil, and pour one ladelful of the batter, lift up the wok and swirl it around, until the batter coats the sides of the wok, keep back on the burner, on medium heat, cover and cook. You know the appam is done  when the centre looks puffed and risen. This process takes about a minute or so. Set aside, and make appams with remaining batter.

in which you make it like me, you need:

2 cups unroasted rice flour
2 cups watermelon rind (saved up from my daily quota of watermelon juice, remove the green skin, only the white rind is used)
3/4 cup grated, fresh coconut
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1,2 teaspoon jaggery
1 cup tepidwater
1 teaspoon salt
a small heavy bottomed wok with a lid

method

1. Put everything except the water in the blender, then adding water bit by bit, blend the whole thing to a smooth batter. Like a pancake batter.
2. Remove into a ceramic dish, cover, and let rise in a warm, dark place. In a couple of hours the batter would have risen, now mix and taste, and if required add more sugar or salt. if the batter’s too thick, add a little water to thin it – the consistency is of pancake/dosa batter.

3. Heat the wok on your burner, smear a wee bit of oil, and pour one ladelful of the batter, lift up the wok and swirl it around, until the batter coats the sides of the wok, keep back on the burner, on medium heat, cover and cook. You know the appam is done  when the centre looks puffed and risen. This process takes about a minute or so. Set aside, and make appams with remaining batter.

Yes, you can thank me for demystifying the appam!

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If you’re looking at weekend breakfast/mealtimes when you can enjoy a delicious meal that doesn’t derail you from your diet, try this bulked up version. Watermelon rind doesn’t add up to the total calorie, and is a good source of an amino acid called cetrulline that helps improve our cardio vascular health, helps with cell division, healing of wounds, and in clearing out ammonia from our body.

Limit your portion to two appams, make a kadala curry to go with it. Chickpea is very high in protien, and what better way to kick start your day than a good dose of protien and fiber?

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