Paniyaram Recipe – One of the everyday breakfast from the South Indian Cuisine. In most homes these are usually made with left over or over fermented Idli dosa batter. These are known by different names paddu, gundu pongala, gunta ponganalu and masala paniyaram. I am sharing the savory version here, you can find the sweet paniyaram here and Instant sweet paniyaram here. These are made using a special pan called as paniyaram pan also known as or Aebleskiver pan.
Paniyaram turn out crispy on the outside and soft inside. The batter is usually seasoned with basic ingredients and onions which adds a good flavor and a bit of nutrition.
I also have a paniyaram recipe from Chef Jayalakshmi Rajkumar, who works in Taj Savoy, Ooty. When I tasted these soft, fluffy and delicious paniyaram made by her, I had to ask for the recipe. She was generous enough to share her recipe. If you prefer to make the batter from scratch then this may be useful.
Ingredients
1/4 cup urad dal
1 cup rice
1 cup beaten rice or poha
pinch of methi seeds.
Method
1. Wash and soak dal, methi and rice separately for 6 hours. Soak beaten rice 15 mins before blending. Drain and blend poha along with little water dal,methi and salt until frothy. Blend rice with little water until smooth. Mix all together and set aside for fermentation for at least 6 to 8 hours. Use the batter as mentioned below.
Kuzhi paniyaram recipe
Paniyaram Recipe | Kuzhi paniyaram recipe | Gunta ponganalu
Ingredients (240 ml cup used)
- 1. 5 cups idli batter thick or dosa batter
- 1 onion medium, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp carrot grated
- 2 green chilies chopped
- 6 curry leaves torn
- coriander leaves few chopped
- 3/4 to 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tbsp oil for seasoning
- 1 pinch hing
- oil as needed for the frying
- salt if needed
How to make the recipe
Prepration
- Heat a pan with oil and add mustard. When they crackle, add curry leaves. Saute for a min. Add onions, chilies and carrots. Saute until the onions turn pink or raw smell disappears. Switch off.
- Then add coriander leaves and hing.
- Cool this and add to the batter. Adjust salt if needed. Batter must be of medium consistency not very thin or thick. If needed sprinkle some water.
Making kuzhi paniyaram
- Grease the paniyaram pan and heat it. Pour batter up to 3/4 each mold. Lower the heat and cook for 2 mins. If desired you can cover and cook.
- When the base is golden fried, Flip them and cook until done.
- Serve masala paniyaram with chutney or sambar.
How to make paniyaram recipe or gunta ponganalu
1. Seasoning adds flavor to the paniyaram and they keep fresh for few hours. If you are not going to eat them right away I suggest this step. You can skip this and the next step if it is for immediate consumption. Add 1 tbsp oil to a hot pan. Allow mustard to crackle and add chopped curry leaves.
2. Saute onion, green chilies and carrot (optional) until the raw smell of onions has gone or till they turn pink. Switch off. Add hing and coriander leaves. Allow this to cool.
3. Take idli / dosa batter in a bowl. I used this sada dosa batter. If you are following 1:2 idli recipe from this blog, you can add 1 to 2 tbsp rice flour per cup of fermented batter. Mix well.
4. Add the cooled seasoning along with very little salt if needed. Stir it well. The consistency must be thick batter, not very thick or runny. If needed you may sprinkle little water and stir.
5. Heat the paniyaram pan with few drops of oil in each mold. If using a cast iron pan, you will have to season it either the previous night or in the morning. If using non stick pan, just grease it and then use.
6. When the pan is hot enough, fill each mold to 3/4. They will puff and raise.
7. Lower the heat. Partially cover and cook for 1 to 2 mins. I do this to ensure they cook well inside. You can also skip this. I also make sure to cook for a while after the lid is open to get a crust.
8. When they are fried to golden, flip them to the other side using a wooden spoon or a chop stick.
9. Cook on the other side until done.
Serve paniyaram with chutney. The color of the paniyaram may vary based on the proportions of rice and dal used for making the batter.
Naseembanu says
Thank you.. came out well
Penelope Angela Mohan (Penny) says
Hello Swasthi, thank you for this posting on Paniyaram. You mentioned recipe is from Chef Jayalakshmi Rajkumar of TAJ Savoy. And you have given basic recipe and then Kuzhi Paniyaram recipe in detail. Is it the Kuzhi Paniyaram recipe that is from Chef Jayalakshmi, please. thank you.
swasthi says
Hi Penny
You are welcome. The recipe in the recipe card is mine. The ingredients mentioned above the card are from Chef Jayalakshmi. To make her recipe all you need to do is follow her measurements for the batter. The tempering and preparation is the same as I wrote in the recipe card.
Nehla says
Hi swasthi mam.im a big fan of u..i follow ur recipies very often..all of dem hav turned out really good..i wanted to know hw much is the estimation of ingredients i mean quantity required to make kuzhi paniyaram for 40 people.im waitin for ur reply
Haritha says
Can you please suggest me whether I should buy 7 cavity one or 12 cavity one to cook on gas stove as I doubt whether the far away ones can be cooked in 12 cavity one without burning the middle ones
swasthi says
Haritha
Years ago i used to cook on gas, I had the prestige small one probably 7 or 8 cavity. I remember someone telling me the flame cannot reach the entire pan if it is too big. If you have a large burner then i guess it will cook evenly without burning the center ones.