Sweet Appam - 10 Servings

Place a pan on the stove and add crushed jaggery with 1/4 cup of water. Keep stirring as the mix heats up, and the jaggery completes dissolves in the water. Filter the impurities and add the jaggery water back to the pan. Allow it to boil for 3 to 4 minutes on low flame.
If you are adding banana, puree the banana in a mixie into a smooth paste.
In a mixing bowl, add the wheat flour, rice flour, grated coconut, and cardamom powder.
Add jaggery syrup and banana puree to the flour mixture.
Mix well and add 1/4 cup of water.
Add ghee to this and mix well. The batter consistency should be flowy but thick.
Now to make the appams, heat oil in a kadai. Use a small size, but deep ladle to pour the batter.
Test a sample to ensure the batter remains together in oil. It is best to pour one appam at a time.
Once in oil, the appam will rise slowly, then flip to the other side.
Once the appam is brown on all sides, take it out, draining the excess oil using a ladle with holes, and place it in a vessel with a kitchen towel or tissue.
Appams are unique in that they taste fresh from the oven when hot and have a delicious ghee aroma if eaten the next day. Enjoy per your taste buds!
Tip: If the batter consistency breaks in oil, use a Kuzhipaniyaram vessel (the one with scoops/cavities). Fill each with a little ghee, add the batter, and shallow fry the mix. Healthy and Tasty!