ponganalu with ragi and oats

South Indian Tiffins!  That wonderful snack or meal between meals.  Perfectly appropriate at five in the morning or midnight and in small portions or large 🙂 Those idlis and upmas, vadas and dosas, pesarattus and adais….all hold a very special corner in my heart.  And although these little savory cakes made of a fermented batter came into my life a bit later, ponganalu/paniyaram/paddu/appe soon become quite a favorite.

Made in a special pan with round compartments, it is very similar to an aebleskiver pan and quite easily available in stores and most certainly, online.  I have a fondness for cast-iron pans and keep adding to that collection…and I must admit that at least for me, the ponganalu turn out best when made in a cast-iron pan.  Perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside.  The batter similar to the steamed idli, I like to think of the difference between them as that of steamed dumplings vs potstickers.

For quite some time, I had been making them simply with brown rice and urad dal but this time I also added some finger millet (Ragi) and oats.  Not setting out to mess with a traditional recipe but more to pump in some nutrition and also make the flavors a bit more complex.

And the millet and oats are such wonderful powerhouses of both!  I find the Ragi most often in stores as flour but once in a great big while, I chance upon the whole one, which I then soak overnight and grind to make the batter.  Either way works perfectly fine.  The recipe I use is adapted from here and over time, I have also started adding some vegetables like carrots, spinach and corn.

Usually served with a peanut chutney, these taste best when freshly made.  I like to serve it with a tomato-peanut chutney and along with a cup of good south Indian filter coffee, this gets pretty close to being a perfect tiffin 🙂

1/2 cup urad dal

3/4 cup brown rice

1/4 cup Ragi (finger millet) flour or whole finger millet

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chana dal, soaked for an hour

1 green chili, chopped fine (I used a thai chili)

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 medium red onion, chopped fine

1/3 cup grated carrot (optional)

1/3 cup chopped spinach (optional)

1/2 tsp turmeric

3/4 tsp cumin seeds

salt to taste

canola, peanut or vegetable oil

Rinse and soak the rice, urad dal and ragi (if using whole) separately for about 8 hours.

Rinse them again and grind the urad dal in a blender to a smooth paste.  Next, grind the ragi to a fine paste and finally grind the rice to a sandy texture.  Mix all of them and add some salt, cover and leave overnight in a warm place to ferment.

The batter will have risen and become airy the next morning.  Add the rolled oats and stir.  Let it rest for about half an hour.  Then add the chana dal, green chili, cilantro, onion, turmeric, salt, cumin seeds and the carrot and spinach (if using) and mix well.

The consistency of the batter should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and be pourable.  If the batter is too thick, add enough water to bring it to the right consistency.

Heat the ponganalu/appam/aebleskiver pan on medium heat on the stove and add 3-4 drops of oil in each compartment. Then spoon the batter into each cavity until it reaches the top, cover and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the bottoms get golden brown and crisp and the top is completely opaque.  You shouldn’t see any raw batter on top.

Flip them over using the tip of knife and add a couple more drops of oil along the sides.  Cook for a few minutes until the bottom gets golden brown spots.

Remove and serve with peanut chutney.