Sweet Appam | Banana Appam

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This time, I’ve got an easy-peasy South Indian style snack recipe for you, which is not just sumptuous but also quite nutritious – the Sweet Appam. Also known as the Banana Appam or Banana Paniyaram these are sweetish appams made with ripe bananas, rice flour and jaggery. Somewhat similar to the instant wheat appam, with the difference being in the type of flour used in both. One obviously is whole wheat flour and the other one is rice flour. Apart from this, the composition is more or less same. Try this one too!

banana appam served in a casserole with text layover.

About Sweet Appam

These Sweet Appam make for an amazingly delicious and healthy sweet snack. I have used overripe bananas to make it, but you can opt to choose just ripe bananas as well.

Also, I have added more number of bananas, than what is usually added in appams. You can easily make these and refrigerate them in airtight boxes, till further consumption.

One distinct feature about Banana Appam is that you need a special type of cookware called then paniyaram chatti or appe pan or Æbleskiver pan to prepare these appams.

But don’t stress, in case you don’t have it or are not being able to get it from the market or online as well. You can even shallow or deep fry these appams. The fried appams are just as good and stay well for a number of days.

To make these Banana Appam, it is best to use slightly coarse rice flour as it gives a better texture and moth feel.

But again, you can even prepare the appam with fine rice flour with a smooth texture in those. Puttu flour can also be used to make these wholesome appams.

Sweet Appam has a soft texture and are crisp, when hot. On storing, the crispiness will go away but the softness is still intact.

You must serve these hot, warm or at room temperature, or pack in your tiffin boxes as a lovely snack. You can refrigerate the remaining appams and consume within a week.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to make Sweet Appam

Preparation

1. First, chop 100 to 105 grams jaggery. You should be able to get ½ cup chopped jaggery. You can also use jaggery powder, instead of chopped jaggery.

chopped jaggery for sweet appam.

2. Then, add the jaggery in a bowl or pan containing 1.5 cups water.

chopped jaggery added to a pan of water for sweet appam.

3. Keep the bowl or pan on low to medium heat and let the solution heat through. Stir, so that the jaggery melts.

stirring and heating the solution so that the jaggery melts.

4. You only need to melt the jaggery. When the jaggery melts, then filter the syrup and keep aside.

jaggery melted in the solution.

5. Now, chop a small piece of coconut into tiny bits. You will need about ¼ cup chopped coconut. You can even use grated coconut or skip coconut altogether.

chopped coconut for sweet appam.

Sauté Coconut

6. Heat 2 teaspoons ghee in a pan.

heating ghee in a pan.

7. Then, add the chopped coconut.

chopped coconut added to hot ghee in pan.

8. Stir often and sauté till the coconut is light golden. Set aside.

sautéing coconut till light golden.

Prep Bananas

9. In a pan, peel and chop 3 small to medium bananas. About 250 grams bananas.

peeled and chopped bananas in a pan.

10. Mash the bananas very well, with a fork or masher.

mashing chopped bananas with a masher.

11. There should be no chunks in the bananas. You can even puree the bananas in a mixie or blender.

well mashed bananas without any chunks.

12. Now, add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder, ½ teaspoon ginger powder and ¼ teaspoon cumin powder.

Ginger powder and cumin powder are optional and can be skipped.

cardamom powder, ginger powder and cumin powder added to mashed bananas.

13. Mix very well.

spice powders mixed well in the mashed bananas.

Make Batter

14. To the bowl containing the jaggery solution, add 1.5 cups rice flour.

rice flour added to jaggery solution for banana appam.

15. Add 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds. You can also use white sesame seeds.

black sesame seeds added to the rice flour.

16. Begin to mix very well.

mixing sesame seeds and rice flour well into the sugar solution for banana appam.

17. Make to a smooth batter without any lumps.

smooth and lump-free sweet appam batter.

18. Add the spiced mashed bananas to the batter.

spiced mashed bananas added to the batter.

19. Add the fried coconut and mix well.

fried coconut added to batter.

20. Add ½ teaspoon baking soda. Baking soda makes the texture more porous and soft. If you want, you can skip too.

baking soda added to the batter.

21. Mix very well.

baking soda mixed well into the sweet appam batter.

Make Sweet Appam

22. Heat an appe pan and add ½ to 1 teaspoon ghee in each mould. Instead of ghee, you can use coconut oil too.

heating ghee in each mould of appe pan.

23. With a spoon, pour the batter till ¾ᵗʰ or more than ¾ᵗʰ in each mould.

adding prepared sweet appam batter in each mould.

24. Keep the heat to low or medium and cook the Banana Appams.

cooking banana appam on low heat.

25. With a wooden/bamboo stick or skewer, turn over the appams which have become golden.

golden banana appam turned over.

26. When the rest of the appams are golden, turn them over too and cook all of them till crisp and golden.

cooking sweet appam till golden and crisp.

27. Once done, remove and place them in a casserole. In the casserole, they stay warm for some time. Same way prepare the remaining appams.

The recipe makes for 42 appams. You can store them in an air-tight box or container in the refrigerator.

cooked banana appam in a casserole.

28. Serve Sweet Appam hot, warm or at room temperature.

sweet appam served in a casserole with text layovers.

Expert Tips

  1. You can substitute the ghee with coconut oil or sunflower oil.
  2. If you don’t have the ginger powder and cumin powder, skip them. These are optional.
  3. For the coconut as well, you can use grated coconut too or even skip it. White sesame seeds can be used in place of black sesame seeds.
  4. Instead of chopped jaggery, you can use jaggery powder. You can also use sugar instead of jaggery.
  5. I have added baking soda in this recipe as it results in softer and more porous sweet appam. If you want, you can skip it too.
  6. Once the appams are cooked, you can put them in a casserole. This way, they will stay warm for some time. This recipe yields about 42 appams. To store, you can refrigerate them in airtight boxes.

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banana appam recipe, banana paniyaram recipe

Sweet Appam | Banana Appam

Sweet appam recipe made with ripe bananas, rice flour and jaggery. Also known as the Banana Appam or Banana Paniyaram these are an easy to make South Indian sweet snack.
5 from 16 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Cuisine South Indian
Course Snacks, Sweets
Diet Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Difficulty Level Moderate
Servings 42 sweet appam
Units

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups Rice Flour – 240 grams
  • ½ cup chopped jaggery – 100 to 105 grams
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 3 bananas (small to medium-sized), 250 grams bananas – mashed very well or pureed
  • ¼ cup chopped coconut – optional
  • 2 teaspoons Ghee – for frying the coconut, can also use coconut oil or sunflower oil
  • 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds – can also add white sesame seeds
  • ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder
  • ½ teaspoon ginger powder (ground ginger) – optional
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin) – optional
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda – optional
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon Ghee – to add in each mould or add as required

Instructions
 

Preparation

  • First chop the jaggery. You should be able to get ½ cup chopped jaggery. You can also use jaggery powder, instead of chopped jaggery.
  • Then add the jaggery in a bowl or pan containing 1.5 cups water.
  • Keep the bowl or pan on low to medium flame and let the solution heat through. Stir so that the jaggery melts.
  • You just need to melt the jaggery. When the jaggery melts, then filter the syrup and keep aside.
  • Now chop a small piece of coconut in small bits. You will need about ¼ cup chopped coconut. You can even use grated coconut or you can skip coconut altogether.

Making banana appam batter

  • Heat 2 teaspoons ghee in a pan. Then add the chopped coconut.
  • Stir often and saute them till they are light golden. Keep aside.
  • In a pan, peel and chop the bananas. Mash the bananas with a fork or masher very well.
  • There should be no chunks in the bananas. You can even puree the bananas in a blender.
  • Add green cardamom powder, ginger powder and cumin powder.
  • Mix very well. To the bowl containing the jaggery solution, add the rice flour.
  • Add black sesame seeds. You can also use white sesame seeds.
  • Begin to mix very well. Make a smooth batter without any lumps.
  • Add the pureed bananas to the rice flour mixture along with the coconut.
  • Add the baking soda. Baking soda makes the texture more porous and soft. If you want you can skip too.
  • Mix thoroughly.

Making sweet appam

  • Heat the appe pan and add ½ to 1 teaspoon ghee in each mould. Instead of ghee you can use coconut oil too.
  • With a spoon, pour the batter till ¾ᵗʰ or more than ¾ᵗʰ of the volume in each mould.
  • Keep the heat to low or medium and cook the sweet appams.
  • With a wooden/bamboo stick or skewer, turn over the banana appam which have become golden.
  • When the rest of the sweet appam are golden, turn them over too and cook all of them till crisp and golden.
  • Once done remove and place them in a casserole. In the casserole they stay warm for some time.
    Same way prepare the remaining ones. You can store them in an air tight box or container in the fridge.
  • Serve Sweet Appam hot or warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  • You can substitute coconut oil or sunflower oil instead of ghee.
  • Ginger powder and cumin powder are optional and can be skipped, if you do not have them.
  • The approximate nutrition info is for 1 sweet appam made from this recipe.

Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)

Nutrition Facts
Sweet Appam | Banana Appam
Amount Per Serving
Calories 44 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 0.4g3%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.1g
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 14mg1%
Potassium 37mg1%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Fiber 0.4g2%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 0.5g1%
Vitamin A 6IU0%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 0.01mg1%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.01mg1%
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 0.2mg1%
Vitamin B6 0.1mg5%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Vitamin E 0.02mg0%
Vitamin K 0.04µg0%
Calcium 3mg0%
Vitamin B9 (Folate) 2µg1%
Iron 0.1mg1%
Magnesium 5mg1%
Phosphorus 9mg1%
Zinc 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This Sweet Appam recipe post from the archives, first published on July 2016 has been republished and updated on November 2022.

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Welcome to Dassana's Veg Recipes. I share vegetarian recipes from India & around the World. Having been cooking for decades and with a professional background in cooking & baking, I help you to make your cooking journey easier with my tried and tested recipes showcased with step by step photos & plenty of tips & suggestions.

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31 Comments

  1. Hello, I tried two of your recipes and it turned out well. Looking forward to preparing more of your recipes. Thank you????5 stars

  2. Hi Dassana, I have made many recipes from your blog and I loved them. Thank you for sharing such awesome recipes in the most simplest manner as possible. Keep up the great work.????????

  3. Was worried with 3 ripe bananas, got your recipe and Viola…my 15 months old baby boy and hubby just loved it…all 40 are just gone…thanx a lot…definitely sharing it with my sisters

    1. you can bake them. just add 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut oil in the batter and mix very well. then bake them at 180 degrees celsius till the tops are golden.

  4. Hello mam,

    I love all your recipes. Kudos to you! Il try this recipe in Otg and will let you know ,how it turned out.

    1. thanks amruta for positive views, surely try and let u know how the banana appams were?

  5. Your recipes are easy to follow. Really good work and nicely presented. Thanks for sharing.5 stars

  6. Hello Dasanna,

    Just tried the appams. They tasted awesome. Thank you again

      1. You are an absolute fantastic cook. I love your recipes. Could you please let me know the quantity of ingredients to make half of the appes

        1. thanks shailesh. just decrease all the ingredients by half, proportionately, except ghee. ghee can be 1/2 or 1 teaspoon for each appam mould.

  7. very nice. I just tried d and it came good. how long batter ll be good if refrigerated?

  8. Hi I finally tried it my 11month son had it but the prb s my appa got stick to pan cnt turn it over y it s so

    1. the pan is either not seasoned well or of not a good quality. i had such a pan and every time i would struggle making appe in it, even after seasoning it. for seasoning, heat the pan and spread oil in each mould. switch off the flame and keep the pan with the oil coated in the moulds for a day or two. then before making appams, wipe the oil. place the pan on flame and spread oil again. wipe again and you can do this once more if you want. then make appams in it.

  9. Hi Dassana, thank you for the recipe. I have made many recipes from your collection and love them. please advise if these can be made in the oven using muffin tins? thank you!

    1. welcome vini. you can make these in the ovens. just a suggestion would be to add 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in the batter, so that the appams become slightly crisp. also add baking soda as it will help the appams to rise while baking. use muffin liners or grease the muffin tins very well.

  10. Thanks a bunch for sharing the same Dasanna. Kindly let me know if you have used robusta banana or any other one?

  11. Hi Dassana

    Is it possible to make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate it???

    Regards
    Meena

    1. yes meena you could make the batter ahead. just don’t add baking soda to the batter when you will refrigerate the batter. hope this information helps you 🙂