Kuzhi Paniyaram is a round dumpling from south India made with a spiced fermented rice and urad dal batter. It is a common breakfast item made with leftover idli/dosa batter mixed with cooked onions, whole spices and aromatics. It is perfect as a snack or a meal served with a spicy chutney, such as kaara chutney.
Paniyaram (Tamil name) is known by different names depending on the region, so it can be called kulu/kuli paniyaram, gunta ponganalu, paddu etc. These have plain, spiced or sweet versions. Being fried in oil, they are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.
My mom used to make these all the time during my childhood and it was one of my favourite alternatives to dosa/idli. It is definitely a kid as well as adult favourite!
This recipe calls for really simple ingredients like rice, onions, mustard seeds, green chilli peppers, etc., so the star of the scene is the pan.
This recipe requires a special pan that is usually called as Paniyaram chatti or appe pan. This cookware comes with several mini round moulds and is similar to the Takoyaki (たこ焼き器) pan used to make Takoyaki in Japan or æbleskiver pan used used to make æbleskivers (danish pancakes) in Europe.
I use a Takoyaki pan and it works perfectly well!
Start with making idli batter, or use leftover idli batter. You can find the recipe right here, if you don’t know how to make it. Take out 2 cups of the batter and set aside.
Make the onion mixture that needs to be added to the idli batter. I used a mix that includes red onions, mustard seeds, ginger, green chilli peppers, chopped curry leaves, but you can choose to add or remove whatever ingredient you need to.
Ideas for other additions: You can use red chilli powder for an extra kick, hing (asafoetida), ground black pepper, shredded coconut or fresh coriander.
You can serve kuzhi paniyaram hot or warm with tomato onion chutney, kara chutney, idli podi or coconut chutney.
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We call them appe, Also we add soaked daal in that sometimes, Really Good.
That's awesome! Yes, appe too!!