Gundpangala/Appe/Mountain

'Gundpangla', 'appe' or mountain as it is known in my family is a much-loved. The reason it has the name mountain is that my elder daughter, who at the age of 4 or 5 was a fussy eater. My mother had made gundpangla, as we call them in Kannada, decorated my plate with them along with chutney and sambhar. She told me to eat the mountains. this got the kid interested enough to eat them. She loves them and they are still called mountains.

Of course you can make it sweet as well as savoury.

Your basic flour for savoury ones is as below.

Ingredients:

1 cup urid dal

3 cups rice

1 tblspn methi

1 ½ cups puffed rice/churmuri (Kannada) / churmure (Marathi)

v Wash urid dal and rice and soak them with methi for 12 hours.

v Grind with the puffed rice with a little water.

v Mix well and let it ferment for 12 hours again or till it becomes nice and light, bubbly.

v Mix well then add salt.

v Use this flour to make your 'Gundpangla', 'appe' or mountain.

To make 'Gundpangla', 'appe' or mountain you need a special tava or griddle, it like a muffin tray with holes in it. In the good old days it used to be made of some metal that my mother used call as 'Beed' now you get non-stick ones. The advantages are obvious less oil and food does not stick. (I remember trying to scrape off the older version in vain).

v Take the tava or griddle oil it a little and spoon the flour in the holes in the griddle.

v Cover. Cook for 5 minutes for the first round or till the top of dries a little. Turn them over.

v Serve them hot. I have served them chutney but you can serve them with sambhar also.

Variations:

v Use finely chopped onions, chillies and coriander.

v You can also add finely chopped coconut pieces, ginger along with chopped onions, chillies and coriander.

v A variety of chopped vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, baby corn.