Actress Neena Gupta has impressed cinema lovers across the world with her acting prowess. Now, she seems to be taking the Internet by storm with her culinary skills. The actress is awaiting the release of her film 'Sardar Ka Grandson' and has been indulging in quite a bit of cooking in the recent past. After making Instagram users drool over a picture of some yummy Suji appe, Neena is back with the same South Indian delicacy but with a healthy twist. This time around, she had tried her hands at Moong Dal Appe. While Suji Appe is rich in protein and fibre thanks to the semolina, the Moong Dal version too is just as nutritious. "Aaj Moong Dal Appe," wrote the actress in her Instagram story. Take a look:
Neena Gupta made another lovely batch of the South Indian favourite Appe.
Moong Dal Appe is high in protein and fibre content and can be easily rustled up in the kitchen in no time. Is it also a healthier snack option when compared to the deep-fried samosa and kachoris as Moong Dal is rich in vitamins A, B, C and E. In addition to being a good food to indulge in if you want to lose weight, it also helps regulate blood sugar levels.
Made traditionally with left-over idli or dosa batter, appe is the perfect dish to be paired with sambar or chutney. The spongy delicacy is known as paniyaram, paddu, guliappa, gulittu, gundponglu and ponganalu in different parts of South India and is eaten either for breakfast or as an evening snack with tea. Click here for the full recipe of Moong Dal appe.
While we would like to get our hands on Neena Gupta's recipe, we have our own version that should help you rustle up some soft appe in a jiffy. For our version, we have used Moong dal and Urad dal as the primary ingredients. With just a pinch of baking soda and salt, the recipe uses onion, green chilli, coriander leaves and grated coconut to create some authentic south Indian flavours.
We recommend that you pair the hot appe with some green chutney or sambar. You can check out the recipe here.
If you prefer your appe to be made with rice, you can do so as well. To save time, you can replace the fermented rice with rice flour. This can be combined with oats and sooji to impart fibre and crispiness. For this recipe, we have paired the humble appe with some spicy south Indian gun powder. The versatility of appe allows it to be paired well with a range of sides from Indians curries to oriental sauces. Here is the full recipe.
You can also add a touch of street food magic to the dish by trying the appe kachori recipe using ingredients such as boiled potatoes, rice flour, green chilies, ginger, red chilli powder, cumin powder, and ajwain. Take a look at the recipe here.
Or, you can even go with the simple vegetable appe recipe that uses leftover greens to make a wholesome meal. Find the recipe here.
No matter what your tastes are, there is an appe recipe waiting to be tried. Tell us your favourite version in the comments section.