Appe - Amchi breakfast

Appe is one of my favorite Amchi breakfast. When I say Amchi it means from my community - Saraswat Brahmins. We have a huge collection of breakfast items to boast about. Growing up my mom would make a variety of amchi breakfast items.I haven't even tried my hand at quarter of them.
These are like little UFO's and you can make them plain or add mustard seeds while making it or some people layer some jaggery and coconut mixture in between the batter to make them sweet.
We like ours plain with some fresh coconut chutney. The batter used is the same as dosa batter you just don't dilute the batter. There is a special tawa you use for this.

So here goes the recipe:

1 cup urad dal (split black lentils)
2 cups rice
handful poha (optional but helps make them soft)
1tsp methi seeds/fenugreek seeds (optional - I add this just for the health benefits of methi)
Salt
Oil

Method:
Soak urad dal and rice in water for about 6 hours or more. Grind with poha (washed in water to make it soft or you can soak it with the rice). Now grind this with very little water. Keep overnight for fermentation in a warm place.
Mix salt in the morning as sometimes adding salt before makes the batter ferment more and sour. It also depends on the weather. During summers its easier to ferment the batter but during winters you can add a little salt and close the vessel the batter is in and keep in a warm dark place like in the oven (the oven should be switched off)
Mix the batter well after adding salt.
Heat the appe tava & spray little oil or use less than a drop in each appe space. Pour the batter in the appe tava. Cover and cook. When it is fried from one side, turn & cook on other side. Serve hot with chutney.

Chutney Ingredients:
1 cup fresh grated coconut ( if using frozen defrost it before use)
3/4th cup Cilantro/coriander leaves or more as per taste
1 small piece of ginger
3 cloves of garlic
3 green chillies
Salt

Grind the above ingredients for cilantro chutney OR

1 cup fresh grated coconut ( if using frozen defrost it before use)
1 small piece of ginger
1/4 tspn tamarind extract
2  green chilies
Salt
Grind the above ingredients for ginger chutney
 
For tadka/seasoning:
Oil
1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
1 red chili broken into 2 pieces

Heat oil in a small pan add the mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, add curry leaves, broken red chilies. Fry for few minutes and add this tadka over the ground chutney.

You can also make garlic chutney with 1 cup coconut, 3-4 cloves garlic, 2-3 Kashmiri red chillies grind this together and add tadka. You can also add me tamarind extract while grinding the chutney.