Yummy Appey (Puffy Rice Cake)

List of Ingredients:
1 1/2 C rava/ sooji/ semolina
2 T chana dal
1 C plain yogurt (low-fat OK, tangy yogurt works best)
Baking soda
Non-stick oil spray

Flavorings:
2-3 T minced onion
1 heaped t minced ginger
2-3 green chillies, minced (or to taste)
2-3 T minced cilantro
salt to taste

Method:
1. Soak the chana dal in a small bowl of water for 30-60 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix the rava and yogurt, along with enough water to make a thick batter, and cover and leave aside for 30-60 minutes.
3. Make the batter: Add soaked chana dal to yogurt-rava mixture, then add all the flavoring ingredients and salt to taste, and add enough water to make a batter that is a little thicker than pancake batter.
4. Spray the appey molds with non-stick spray, then heat them on the stove.
5. Take a third of the batter into another bowl, add 1 t baking soda to it, mix gently until bubbles form, then ladle the batter into each of the hot molds.
6. Cover the pan for a couple of minutes. Once the underside is done, use the tool to flip each appam over:
7. Once both sides are cooked and crispy, remove the appey from the molds. Make more appey using the same method- adding baking soda at the last minute before cooking.
8. We served the appey with fresh coconut chutney and eggplant sambar for a delicious savory breakfast.