This month I was really challenged to step outside of my comfort zone in trying some authentic South Indian Cuisine for the Daring Cooks Challenge. Mary, who writes the delicious blog, Mary Mary Culinary was our August Daring Cooks’ host. Mary chose to show us how delicious South Indian cuisine is! She challenged us to make Appam and another South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with the warm flat bread. I decided to make a Chicken Curry from Magpie’s Recipes, but I adapted her recipe to be made in a crock pot.
Appam (which go by many names) are eaten in South India and Sri Lanka, where they are called hoppers. Appam is made from rice, yeast and coconut milk. The well-fermented batter is cooked in a skillet, like making a crepe. The Appam have a thin, lacy, crisp edge and a thicker spongy middle. They are often served in Kerala with a breakfast stew and work well for soaking up curies. They are also naturally vegan and gluten-free.
Both recipes turned out great. The curry was flavorful and paired perfectly with the appam, which turned out like a crepe with the texture of couscous and the mild flavor of coconut milk. Making the curry in the crock pot was a great way to have dinner nearly ready when I came home from work.
Thanks to Mary for a great challenge!
