Happy 2022! I decided to start the New Year off with one of my favorite breakfasts, palappam. Palappam is a Kerala delight! It’s like a pancake, but it’s made from ground rice, coconut, and coconut milk which is then fermented overnight before cooking. The whole process of making the batter takes about 24 hours. Then the process of cooking it in its special pan requires some practice and patience. All in all, it is a major labor of love.

I have only made this dish once before, and that was when I posted a recipe here a few years ago. Since then, I have looked into a few other recipes online and combined methods to try this time around. I found that Ann’s recipe from The Familiar Kitchen worked beautifully, and her tips were so helpful! I also used my newly purchased Vitamix blender (since my other blender started to break down after seven years of heavy use) to make the batter. It worked wonders to obtain the mostly smooth, and only slightly gritty, consistency (gritty from grinding raw rice). Just note that it takes a good 5-10 minutes of continuous blending to achieve the right consistency!

To go along with the palappam, I made both a super simple coconut egg curry and a traditional kadala curry (dark chickpea curry, or “kala chana”). If the idea of eating curry for breakfast unnerves you, it is very typical for South Indian culture (and other cultures around the world) to eat savory and spicy foods for breakfast. My kids surprisingly liked them both, and nothing makes my heart glow more than when my kids enjoy something I have cooked. I just love the combination of flavors from the coconut based curries over the slightly tangy/slightly sweet palappam!

I am hoping to make this a new tradition now that my kids are a little older and able to eat these spicier foods and remember traditions! Do you have any New Year’s Day meal traditions?