Kuzhi Paniyaram is a popular South Indian snack/breakfast recipe. Kara Paniyaram is made in an Appe Pan using leftover idli/dosa batter. It's vegan and gluten-free.
Transfer the idli or dosa batter to a mixing bowl.
Heat oil in a pan, temper mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add torn curry leaves, urad dal, and minced green chillies. Fry this for 2 minutes on medium flame. Pour this tadka over the batter and give it a mix.
Add chopped onions to the bowl.
Followed by chopped beets.
Then add chopped cilantro along with salt. If your idli/dosa batter already has salt, then add more only if needed.
Mix it all together.
Heat the appe pan, add a few drops of oil in each mold. Pour a spoonful of the batter or until ¾ of the paniyaram mold.
Cover the pan and allow the batter to cook for 2-3 minutes on a low or medium flame.
Once the edges turn golden, turn each paniyaram with a wooden skewer or spoon and cook the other side as well until crisp.
Repeat same for rest of batter. Fill each cavity with oil, let it heat up a bit and then pour the batter.
Notes
Feel free to add more veggies of your choice to the batter like carrots, spinach, potatoes, cabbage, etc. If your batter already has salt, add more only if needed. You can also add grated or shredded cheese to the batter. If you love the flavor, add coconut pieces to the batter. First add oil in each cavity and heat the appe pan. Fill each cavity only ¾th as it will puff up. Ensure the pan is hot when you pour the batter. Cook them covered on a low-medium flame. When cooking in the appe pan, use skewers to turn them. Keep the flame on low to medium. Keep an eye as they can get burnt. They just need to turn golden brown.