Anko Karupatti Paniyaram

This is a delicious kuzhipaniyaram that is mildly sweet and stuffed with Anko/red bean paste. This can be served for breakfast, as a sweet, or as a light snack! This recipe is vegan. 

Kuzhipaniyaram ( a gluten-free pancake puffs made with rice) is a favorite one for us and is often made in our home both in traditional ways as well as with fun twists. We love the traditional Kuzhipaniyaram as well as any other modified version like this Sprouted Horsegram and Kale Kuzhipaniyaram. If you are a tomato lover, then this Tomato Kuzhipaniyaram is a must to try and devour.

One such twist is filling with anko. Karupatti paniyaram is a popular dish in Chettinad cuisine. This recipe is the fusion of these two, giving you a comforting and lip-smacking paniyaram. Anko is a Japanese style red bean paste. This red bean filling is simply amazing.  I make this paste by soaking the beans, simmering it until completely cooked, mashing, and then cooking with sugar till it thickens. The paste is available in many stores too. This can be chunky or smooth. I prefer a little chunky. We love Dorayaki which is Japanese style anko stuffed pancakes. 

This is very much similar to the pooran or poornam (filling) we make traditionally with dal. Except that this filling is made in Japanese style with adzuki beans. The filling also tastes very much similar to the dal version. 

This sweet filling coupled with the karupatti in kuzhipaniyaram batter, and with a little ginger powder and cardamom, makes this stuffed paniyaram one of the best foods! This can be used for Neivedhyam (for religious offerings) too!

When making this, it is important to make the batter (check here for the batter recipe) a little thick before fermenting. Karupaati is dissolved in a couple of tablespoons of water and is added to the batter. So it is a better idea to make the batter slightly thick to prevent a very runny batter. Karupatti is palm jaggery and is rich in vitamin B, iron, and calcium. If you do not have this, regular jaggery can be used.

Also, fill the batter to two-third in the cavity of the kuzhipaniyaram/appe/ebelskiever pan, place and push the anko paste ball, cover with a little more batter and cook. Then proceed to the next cavity. In this way, the filling will go to the center of the paniyaram. Else, the filling will be towards one side, as the batter will start to cook as soon as it is added. 

These paniyarams with the sweet filling, mildly sweet, a little sour batter flavored with ginger and cardamom makes an amazing treat to the taste buds. I have used oil to make these and hence this recipe is vegan. Any oil can be used, coconut oil enhances the flavor. If ghee is ok, then this would be equally amazing and tasty when made with it.

This is a stuffed kuzhipaniyaram and I am sharing this for this week's Blogging Marathon. I am sharing stuffed recipes and Broccoli Carrot and Cheddar Stuffed Paratha was my first share. Check the blog again for yet another delicious stuffed recipe!

I am also linking this to Happiness is Homemade, Full Plate Thursday, What's For Dinner, and Sundays on Silverado.

Ingredients

Makes 28

Kuzhipaniyaram batter - 2 cups (Recipe here)

Karupatti - 1/3 cup

Water - 3 tbsp

Ginger powder - 1/8 tsp

Cardamom powder - 1/8 tsp

Oil/ghee - 8-10 tsp

Anko/red bean paste - 1 and 3/4 cup

Method

Add the karupatti powder and water to a sauce pot. Bring it to boil and in a couple of minutes, the karupatti will dissolve.

Cool for a couple of minutes. Strain and add it to the kuzhipaniyaram batter, followed by ginger powder, and cardamom powder. Mix thoroughly.

Take teaspoon sized portions of the anko paste and roll into a ball. Set aside.

Heat the kuzhipaniyaram/ebelskiever pan. Add a drop of oil to the cavities. Add batter to fill about two-thirds of the cavity. Place the anko filling and gently push inside. add a little more batter, to cover the entire cavity. Continue in the similar way to add fill each cavity. Drizzle with oil and cook for 3 minutes. Gently flip around and cook for another 2 minutes. Carefully remove from the pan and set aside. Repeat with the remaining batter and anko paste.

Serve as a breakfast, sweet, or as a snack.