PAALAPPAM

White raw rice - 3 cups (finely powdered)
Coconut - 1
Yeast - 1 tsp (Toddy can also be used for the purpose of fermentation)
Sugar - 4 tspn
Water - 1 cup for mixing
Lukewarm water - 1/2 cup
Cooked rice - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tbsp

Prepare yeast solution:

Mix sugar and yeast and mix with warm water. Keep aside for 10-15 minutes until a froth appears (ferments).
Grind cooked rice with 1/2 cup of water to make a paste.Sieve the rice flour in to a basin. Mix rice paste, fermented yeast and water. Knead it for about 5 minutes in to a soft dough. Let it ferment for 4 hours.

Extract the milk from the coconut in 3 cups of water. Add it to the mixed dough and make a thin batter without any lumps. Add sugar according to taste and allow batter to ferment for another 2 hours. Add salt and mix well.

Warm up the vessel for baking paalappam (Palappam Chatti), rub gingelly oil (Nallenna). Pour 3-4 tablespoons of this mix into the Palappam Chatti and rotate the Chatti by hand so that about 1" of the sides of the chatti is thinly coated and the remaining batter collected at the centre. Care should be taken that it is rotated only twice. Cover with tight fitting lid. lower heat and cook for about 3 minutes.

When it is ready, the edges resemble crisp lace and centre soft and well risen. Remove from chatti/kadai and it is eaten with chicken curry or vegetable stew.