Naivedyam : Sweet Strawberry Appo (Paniyarams)

"Naivedyam : Sweet Strawberry Appo (Paniyarams)" ... sweet appos are a traditional dish prepared and offered to Ganapathi Bappa on festive day as Naivedyam/ Prasadam ... I gave a small twist of adding on strawberries and I am sure Bappa will love these as they are something different from regular ones, after all, I think Bappa too likes something new ... Bappa Bless All ....

** It's always a delight to prepare Bappa's favorite Sweet Appo Naivedyam as an offering on festive days and when they turn out perfect and come out in one go in a smooth texture without tearing here and there my pleasure is doubled making me feel that Bappa's must be pleased and giving me his blessings. Well giving twists to dishes be it curries or desserts is something I love and this time I added strawberry to bring in a different taste to appos and they turned out fantastic. I am sure Bappa loved them too, Ganapathi Bappa ... Morya ...

** Here is my recipe for "Sweet Strawberry Appo (Paniyarams)" ... My style ...

** Wash, wipe dry, slice off the stem portion and cut about a dozen or 6-8 if in large sized strawberries into small pieces. Keep aside a handful of the cut pieces and add the rest into a mixer grinder along with 1-2 tblsp freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal/ tengina kaayi), 2-3 tblsp of thin pova (poha/ avalakki/ beaten rice), 5-6 tblsp sugar (shakkar/ sakkara), pinch of kala namak (salt/ meeta), 1/2 of small ellaichi banana cut into pieces without adding water into a smooth paste.

** Note : Ellaichi Bananas are those small ones available all round India, though a native of southern part of India. These are the bananas we usually add in preparation of Naivedyams and avoid addition of any other though if not available you can add any other. In all add about 2 tblsp of cut pieces.  

** Remove and add the ground paste into a bowl, add in 3-4 tblsp of wheat flour (atta/ gonva peeta/ godi hittu), and mix well. Lastly add about 2 cups (approximately) of chiroti rava (fine textured rava/ rulavu) and mix well taking care to see that there are no lumps. Add in water if necessary to make the mixture into a very thick smooth batter. Leave it covered aside for 15-20 minutes to be settled well before preparing appos.

** Note : Allowing the batter to rest is very important step and should never be skipped, as it helps the rava to soak in moisture and get swollen a bit, it soften the rava which makes appos soft and spongy and avoid being brittle later on.

** After resting mix well once again and check the consistency, it should be of thick pouring bhakri consistency, if not add some water and mix well. Lastly add 1/4 tsp cooking soda (sode pitti) in little bit water and immediately add to the mixture and mix well. Now the batter is ready to be prepared into appos/ paniyarams. 

** Note : You will need a appo/ paniyaram tava to prepare appos and I am sure you know of it. It's a tava which has dents of about 2 inch in depth and comes in various sizes of either, 7, 9, 11 etc. and are easily available in stores all round the world. You get both Iron and non stick ones and you can purchase any if need be, it is definitely a good investment if you love appos which can be prepared either sweet or otherwise. You can check the collage picture in which the cooking appo picture is shown for reference. 

** Heat the appo tawa, when hot, lower the heat and add some toop/ ghee in each of the dents. (You can use oil/ tel too, instead of ghee, however, the taste lies in being prepared in good homemade ghee, always Naivedyams are usually prepared in ghee). Pour a little bit of the batter to cover 1/4th of the dent only, add a few pieces of the strawberries kept aside in each dent and then top it up with some more batter to cover strawberries. The level of the mixture in all should be about 3/4th level of the dents.

** Now cover and cook on medium heat for a few minutes say about 2 minutes and then lower the heat to minimum/ low and let cook until the bottom side is done well and the top portion of the appo is firm to touch. Gently run a blunt knife or a spoon and loosen the appos gently and then flip it over and cook on the top side uncovered for a few more minutes. When done, remove and keep aside in a serving plate/ bowl and proceed in the same procedure as above to remove more or required number of appos.

** "Sweet Strawberry Appo (Paniyarams)" are done and ready to be offered as Naivedyam/ Prasadam to Ganapathi Bappa and then share the same with family and friends. Remember blessings of Bappa, are always multiplied when Naivedyam is first distributed to all and then consumed by us. My humble offering of strawberry appo/ paniyaram to Ganapathi Bappa was loved by all who received it, do give it a try and enjoy with your family, neighbors, guests and friends. There are many more types of Appos or other Naivedyam dishes in my Blog, do use search or label section and browse through them and try out that you/ your family will like. Stay Blessed- Spread Happiness.