Ilai Appam is a very traditional sweet dish prepared with the help of certain type of leaf called Chelanthi ila. Nowadays its also done with moulds but inorder to enjoy the authentic taste you must try the ones in leaf. Its the flavour of the leaf that gets absorbed into the mixture providing it with a unique taste.It would absolutely be a very special dish on a very special day to enjoy with family..!

Ingredients:

  • Whole Green Gram (Cheru Payar) - 1 cup
  • Water - 2 cup to cook Whole Green Gram (Cheru payar)
  • Jaggery (Sharkara) - 2 and 1/2 cup
  • Grated Coconut - 1-3/4 
  • Rice flour - 1 and 1/2 cup
  • Water - 2 and 1/2 cup to cook rice flour
  • Banana leaf or Chelanthi ila or Mould  

Method:

  • Take around 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker and cook Whole Green Gram till you hear the first whistle. Switch it Off.
  • In another pan melt 2 and half cups of Jaggery by adding little water. Stain it after it melts completely.
  • To the cooked Whole Green Gram (Cheru Payar), add the grated coconut and melted jaggery and mix it well. Saute it in a pan for around 7 minutes till it becomes dry.
  • In a sauce pan, boil 2 and 1/2 cups of water with little salt. Now gradually add the measured amount of rice flour to the water and mix it well to form a smooth soft dough without any lumps like that of idiyappam.
  • Now take a small ball of dough and spread it over the leaf. Place the prepared sweet mixture at the centre and fold the leaf to seal the edges. 
  • If you dont have leaf do it with the help of a mould in the same way.
  • Place all the prepared ilayapam inside a cooker and steam it till it gets cooked. 
  • When the dough gets cooked you will find that the leaf opens up a bit and also there will be change of colour.