Ela Appam

When amma used to make this during childhood days I used to say "Oh I don't like this". But now in this desert land I'm yearning to get the odour of steamed appams, rice packed in banana leaves. That is when I realize that these things holds us lot closer to nature and relations. Here in the filling I used ripe banana too. My husband likes it. It is more sweet this way and filling too. Have it as a snack or for breakfast.

You need

• Raw rice flour - 1 cup
• Boiling water - 3/4 cup + (1/4 cup) 
• Ripe banana - 1 
• Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 2 tsp
• Oil - 1/2 tsp
• Banana leaves
• Salt to taste

Method

• Boil water with salt and oil
• By this time chop banana and mix together with grated coconut and sugar. This is your filling
• Put the rice flour in a deep bowl.
• Pour 3/4 cup of boiling water into this. Mix the flour and water well using a wooden spoon. 
• If you need more water add little by little until you get a tough dough
• Divide the dough into small lemon size balls
• Clean the banana leaves and cut it into small squares
• Place each ball in a banana leaf and press dough to the leaf until you get a thin circle

• Put a scoop of the filling onto one half of the circle
• Fold the leaf to form a semicircle (the other half of the circle falls over the filling. You'll get a semicircle)
• Repeat the process for the other balls
• Put the banana leaves with appam in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes