Paniyaram is a popular snack item in India and is served as breakfast or as evening tiffin. It is made from fermented rice and urad dal batter mixed with some indian spices. It can be made both salty and sweet. Children love the sweet ones. It's another variant of the dosa, made out of almost the same ingredients; crisp on the outside and soft on the inside batter.

Paniyaram made of special pan with Kuzhis (holes) where the batter is poured. Chutneys go well along with them. I have also included a link to a paniyaram recipe video at the end of this hub. Check it out.

Ingredients

For kara paniyaram

Raw rice - 1 cup

Idli rice - 1 cup

Urad dal - 1/4 cup

Fenugreek seeds (methi seeds) - 1/4 tsp

Soak both rice and urad dal with fenugreek seeds for 6-8 hours. Grind it to idli batter consistency. Add some salt, mix well and ferment it for 10- 12 hours (best done overnight).

Seasoning for kara paniyaram:

Onions finely chopped - 1/2 cup

Green chillies finely chopped - 3

Curry leaves chopped - 1 tablespoon

Grated coconut - 2 tablespoons

Mustard seed - 1/2 teaspoon

Urad dal - 1/2 teaspoon

Utensils

Paniyaram pan

Ladle

Keep the kadai in the stove. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil, add the mustard seed and wait until the mustard seed crack. Now add the curry leaves, urad dal, onions and fry for 2 minutes. Then add green chillies and grated coconut and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Finally add the fried items into the batter and mix well.

Take the kuzhi paniyaram pan and gently rub or add few drops of oil in all the holes (kuzhi hole). Pour a ladleful of batter in each hole, close and cook for 4-5 minutes. when done, turn to the other side using a spoon or paniyaram stick and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Repeat the process for the remaining batches and serve with coconut chutney.

Ingredients

Idli rice - 1 cup

Raw rice (pachai arisi) - 1 cup

Urad dal - 1/4 cup

Toor dal - 2 table spoons

Salt - very little (to enhance the sweetness)

Jaggery - 1 cup

Methi or fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Soak both rice and urad dal with fenugreek seeds for 6-8 hours. Grind it to idli batter consistency. Add a little of salt, mix well and ferment it for 10-12 hours (best done overnight).Keep the powdered jaggery along with 1/2 cup of water and cardamom powder in the stove. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes. The jaggery should melt and boil it for 2 minutes. Add the jaggery sauce to the batter(similar to dosa batter).

Take the paniyaram pan and gently rub or add some oil in all the holes. Pour a ladleful of batter in each hole, close and cook for 4-5 minutes. When done, turn to the other side using a spoon or paniyaram stick and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Repeat the process for the remaining batches. Enjoy the sweet paniyaram.

Ingredients

Rawa(sooji)- 1cup

Maida(all purpose flour)- 1 cup

Sugar- 1cup

Banana(small)- 1/2

oil for deep frying

water- 1cup

Take rawa, maida and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add the mashed banana to the above mixture. Now add 1 cup of water to the above mixture and mix well using a ladle. The mix should be thick like bonda batter consistency. Let it stand for about 10 minutes. Heat the oil in deep frying pan and pour the batter using a ladle one at a time. When done, turn over and fry another side. Repeat the process for the remaining batches.

Tips:

Do not cook paniyaram on high heat. Always cook the paniyaram on medium flame or else it would end up too dark on the outside and half cooked on the inside batter.

To make a quick tiffin, use a left over idli/dosa batter for this recipe.