This classic Keralan bread was introduced by the Portuguese from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). It's a typical Syrian Christian food that is still served for family breakfast. This recipe from Nimmy Paul, is versatile: it can be served with a vegetable or meat stew or topped with coconut cream and sugar for dessert.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon fine semolina
• 1 cup rice flour
• ¼ teaspoon dried yeast
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method

1. Put the semolina and ½ cup (125ml) water into a saucepan. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches porridge consistency. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Add the rice flour, yeast, coconut milk and sugar and stir thoroughly to make a thick batter. Cover with a cloth and set aside until the mixture doubles in volume. It can be refrigerated if the weather is hot.
2. When ready to cook, add the salt to the batter. Heat a non-stick frying pan and brush lightly with sesame oil. Ladle a little batter into the centre of the pan and twirl the pan to spread the batter so it forms a fine, lacy layer. Cover and cook over a gentle heat for 2 minutes, being careful not to overheat the pan. Gently remove the pallappam from the pan, being careful not to break it. Set aside, covered with a dry cloth, and continue until all the batter has been used. Stack the pallappams on top of each other as you go.