Appam is one of Kerala’s most beloved breakfast classics — light, spongy in the centre with delicate lace-like edges and a subtle coconut aroma that instantly evokes South Indian mornings.

A bowl of piping hot chicken stew served with lacy appams or steamed slices of bread is the stuff of nostalgia for the Malayali, that subtle flavour of the light, spice-tinged gravy carries many ...