Godda Appo | Sweet mini Rice Pancakes | Konkani Dessert

Jaggery is said to be way healthier than sugar and is a popular substitute used to make several sweet delicacies all over India. Come festive season, and you would find every home smelling of the aromatic sweetness of jaggery. My home was no exception, godda as jaggery is known as in Konkani is commonly used in Konkani cuisine... be it Godda Payasu to Godda Phovu to this popular delicacy called the Godda Appo. As it needs not much cooking, jaggery is an easy ingredient to work with. 

Frankly, the flavour of jaggery is not one of my personal favorites, but do not mind occasional indulgence in desserts made out of jaggery. As part of the Magic Mingle challenge given my Sizzling Tastebuds this month, I was forced to create a dish out of jaggery and sesame seeds and chose to make these sweet mini pan-cakes and gave them a little makeover by adding in sesame seeds and some cashew nuts for decoration :) I am actually glad the way they turned out, not bad for a first attempt huh!? :) 

A similar dessert, called the Sweet Paniyaram is a similar dish popular in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. 

Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1 cup

Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup

Jaggery - 1cup

Sesame/Til Seeds - 1 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Water - a little

Method

• Soak rice in water for around 2 hrs and then drain out the water and keep rice aside.
• Grate jaggery or slice into thin pieces.
• Heat a little ghee in a pan and roast the sesame seeds till they turn slightly golden brown.

• In a blender, add the grated coconut, grated jaggery, soaked rice and a little bit of water and blend it into a thick batter.
• Add half the roasted sesame seeds in the batter and mix well.
• Split the cashew nuts length wise.

•  Keep the appo/paniyaram tawa over the stove and pour 1/4 tsp of ghee in each of the holes.
• Place a split cashew nut and some roasted sesame seeds in each of the holes.
• Pour in a little batter into each of the holes, cover the vessel and allow to cook for 5 minutes. 
• Once the top of the little pancakes turn a little darker shade of brown, turn them over and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.

• Take them off the stove and serve warm!

• You can also add roasted coconut cubed pieces to this if you like a crunchy bite between the pancake softness.

• If refrigerating for later, make sure to heat them a bit before serving. As they could go hard if chilled.

Sending it to Sizzling Tastebuds Magic Mingle