Appam is made with fermented rice batter and what milk?

Appam is made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk.

This South Indian pancake has a thin, lacy edge and a softer, thicker center. The batter is traditionally cooked in an appachatti, a deep pan whose curved shape helps form appam’s distinctive bowl-like profile. Fermentation contributes both flavor and lift to the rice-based batter.

Appam is especially associated with Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India and is also a familiar food in Sri Lanka, where it is commonly called a hopper. It may be served plain, with an egg cooked in the center, or alongside vegetable, meat or fish curries.

The coconut milk is not the same as dairy milk: it comes from grated coconut mixed with water and strained. Appam should also not be confused with dosa, another fermented South Indian rice-based dish, which is generally flatter and crisper.