1. Grind together cilantro, chickpeas, green chilies into a thick paste adding very little water.
2. Do not worry if it gets too watery.
3. Add little rice flour to the batter to make it thick. Adjust salt.
4. Heat the appam pan and pour 1 tsp of oil in each groove. When the oil is hot, carefully drop spoonful of the batter (or just shape batches of batter into small patties and drop by hand) in each groove. Keep the flame on medium-low.
5. After some time, when they turn golden brown on one side, carefully flip them to fry on the other side. Use a skewer (I used bamboo skewer) or a fork to flip the fritters.
6. When both sides turn golden brown, transfer them to a paper towel to remove any excess oil.
7. Enjoy these delicious, crunchy fritters with ketchup or any other desired chutney.
8. Shallow-fried kottimeera vadalu makes a healthy snack

Note: Chickpeas can be replaced with chana dal (Bengal Gram, Pachi Senaga pappu) soaked for at least 6 hours.

Recipe courtesy: Trendy Relish
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