Know more about Orappam – Kerala Sweet Dish 

Orappam (also spelled “Oraappam” or “Orappam”) is a traditional Kerala sweet snack made from rice flour, particularly popular in Central Kerala and among Christian communities (often made during festive occasions like Onam, Easter, or Christmas). It’s a baked delicacy made primarily from rice flour, coconut milk, and jaggery (or sometimes sugar), resulting in a unique texture: a crispy, golden crust on top and bottom with a soft, moist, slightly chewy or fudge-like interior — often described as a cross between a halwa and a baked cake or pudding.
 
It’s not a steamed dish, but a baked dish. But it is not a cake either. The dish is quite similar to Kerala sweet snacks like Unniyappam and Neyyappam, but it’s distinct because it’s baked flat rather than fried or steamed in moulds. Nevertheless, all these sweet dishes carry an unmistakable  ‘Kerala touch’. It is a 4 o’clock snack in many households, especially in Central Kerala Christian families, and is often homemade for festivals.
 
In the first method of preparation, Orappam is baked at the final stage to give it a perfect finish. Sha Jeerakam gives it a distinct spice flavour too. 

Orappam – Method 1

Orappam recipe

Ingredients for Orappam (Method 1):

  1. Rice flour – 1 cup
  2. Coconut milk, second extract – 2 cups
  3. Coconut milk first extract – ½ cup
  4. Egg – 1
    Ghee – 2 small spoons
    Melted jaggery – 1 cup
    Salt – A pinch
  5. Nutmeg powder – ¼ small spoon
    Cardamom powder – ¼ small spoon
  6. Cashews broken – 1 big spoon
    Sha cumin seeds (Sha Jeerakam) – 2 pinches

How to prepare Orappam (Method 1)?

  1. Add the second extract of coconut milk to the rice flour, and mix well without any lumps.
  2. Boil thick coconut milk in a thick-bottomed pan.
  3. Keep boiling till a thin layer of oil appears on its surface.
  4. Beat ingredients no: 4 and add to rice batter.
  5. Mix it well and heat the contents in low flame.
  6. When the contents turn thick, add boiled coconut milk to it and mix the contents.
  7. Cook for some more minutes so that the mixture thickens.
  8.  Add cardamom powder and nutmeg powder to it, then mix well.
  9.  Add ingredients no: 6 to the above mixture, mix well, and turn off the flame.
  10. Preheat oven to 160 degree celsius.
  11. Grease a baking tray and pour the cooked contents into it.
  12. Using a spoon, spread it evenly, and arrange a few cashews on top.
  13. Bake orappam for ½ an hour and serve.

Courtesy: Vanitha Magazine, September 1-14, 2019

Orappam – Method 2

Orappam 1

Ingredients for Orappam (Method 2):

  1. Rice flour fried – ½ cup
    Jaggery melted – 1 cup
    Coconut milk – 3 cups
    Cardamom powder – ¼ small spoon
  2. Ghee – 2 small spoons
    Cashews – 1 small spoon
    Salt – A pinch

How to prepare Orappam (Method 2)?

  1. Mix ingredients no: 1 in a pan. Avoid the formation of lumps.
  2. Place the pan in a low flame, and keep stirring.
  3. Once the mixture thickens, add ingredients no: 2 and keep stirring.
  4. When your orappam starts leaving the edges of the pan, turn the flame off.
  5. Grease a container and transfer the contents to it.
  6. Spread it evenly and allow it to set for 20 minutes.
  7. When it cools off, cut into desired shapes.

Courtesy: Vanitha Magazine April 2-15, 2022

Also read a few more rice flour sweets recipes: Click here to read

 

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