Neyyappam

Name: Neyyappam
Prep time: 345 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 365 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian (Kerala)
Ingredients: 200g raw rice (soaked 5 hours, then drained and dried on cloth); 120g palm jaggery (karipetti) or dark jaggery, broken; 1 small ripe banana (Nendran or Robusta, mashed — about 60g); 2 tbsp fresh coconut, cut into tiny cubes (3-4mm); 1/4 tsp dry ginger powder (chukku); 3 green cardamom pods, seeds only, crushed; 1 tsp ghee; 100ml water (for jaggery syrup); Coconut oil or ghee for deep frying (about 500ml)

🍗 Non-veg🌾 Gluten-free📊 Medium

Traditional 74. Neyyappam recipe

⏱️345 minPrep

🔥20 minCook

🕒365 minTotal

🍽️4Serves

🧺 Ingredients

200g raw rice (soaked 5 hours, then drained and dried on cloth)
120g palm jaggery (karipetti) or dark jaggery, broken
1 small ripe banana (Nendran or Robusta, mashed — about 60g)
2 tbsp fresh coconut, cut into tiny cubes (3-4mm)
1/4 tsp dry ginger powder (chukku)
3 green cardamom pods, seeds only, crushed
1 tsp ghee
100ml water (for jaggery syrup)
Coconut oil or ghee for deep frying (about 500ml)

👩‍🍳 How to make Neyyappam

Grind rice flour (5 mins): Spread soaked, drained rice on a clean cloth for 5-8 mins to remove excess moisture. Grind in a mixer to a fine powder — rub a pinch between fingers; it should feel like fine semolina, with almost no grit.
Make jaggery syrup (5 mins, medium heat): Dissolve palm jaggery in 100ml water, stirring on medium heat until fully melted. Strain through a fine sieve to remove grit. Cool to room temperature.
Fry coconut pieces (2 mins): Heat 1 tsp ghee in a small pan. Add coconut cubes and fry on medium heat until golden, about 2 mins. Remove and cool.
Mix batter (3 mins): Combine ground rice flour with jaggery syrup, mashed banana, dry ginger, and crushed cardamom. Mix well — the batter should have a pourable, thick consistency similar to thick dosa batter. Stir in fried coconut pieces. Rest the batter covered for 30 mins.
Deep fry (12 mins, medium heat): Heat coconut oil or ghee in a deep heavy-bottomed kadai to 170°C — a small drop of batter should sizzle immediately, rise to the surface, and turn brown in 90 seconds. Pour in batter using a small ladle (about 3 tbsp per fritter). The batter will spread into a round fritter. Fry 2-3 at a time — do not crowd. Fry 2 mins per side until dark mahogany brown on both sides. The colour should be deeper than caramel — almost the colour of dark chocolate. Drain on paper towels.
Serve: Serve warm. These are best eaten within 2 hours of frying while the outside is still crisp.

📖 Cultural notes

Neyyappam is the sacred prasadam offered at temples across Thiruvananthapuram and southern Kerala — the dark, jaggery-sweet fritter is placed before the deity at dawn and distributed to devotees as a morning blessing before breakfast. ---

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