Thanks to Aaron Jay Dason and his wife Narmatha Shanmugam, those who live in SS17 Subang Jaya don’t have to travel far to experience these fluffy Indian delicacies.
Aaron, a former accountant, and Narmatha, a physiotherapist, were high-school sweethearts. Now 33, their romantic journey has led them to open a family business.
Amachi’s Palagaram was founded by Narmatha’s grandmother nearly 50 years ago. What began with an ambitious woman in the kitchen has transformed into a residential favourite, operating right out of their ancestral home.
Speaking with FMT Lifestyle, Narmatha said Amachi, her grandmother, started the business in the 1970s. A friend had asked her to cook for a family function and the guests were wowed by the fare. Among her star delicacies were her appam.
Word spread about the housewife’s impressive treats and she decided to become an entrepreneur. Soon, she expanded into various catering ventures, including the now-famous palagaram, or Indian delicacies, such as murukku.
Following her death in 2009, Amachi’s children carried on her legacy. Her eldest, Yogeswary, is Narmatha’s mother.
“Ironically, I was always the one telling my mother to put an end to this, since we were all working and there was no need to tire herself. I never imagined that I would be taking over,” Narmatha said.
But when she lost her job during the pandemic in 2020, Narmatha saw the true value and potential of Amachi’s Palagaram. Soon enough, hubby Aaron found himself drawn into the business, too.
“We did two of the most difficult things you could do at the same time: get married and start a business,” he recalled with a laugh.
In February last year, as a strategic move to reel in customers, they opened up Aaron’s grandfather’s home in SS17 and began serving appam there.
Initially, the aim was to entice people to explore their main menu items, the palagaram. “But people would come from far just for the appam,” Aaron observed.
“We even had one customer post on social media saying, ‘best appam in Malaysia’ – and we quickly realised that this could stand on its own.”
Today, the menu boasts four variations of appam, each with a unique taste. FMT Lifestyle sampled one of each and found them all to be delicious.
The original paal appam, made the Sri Lankan way, is cooked with milk poured into the batter instead of being served on the side. “That’s our specialty,” Narmatha noted. “This is the version my mum made for years.”
Aaron added: “We received comments from elderly customers saying they could remember eating appam like these when they were younger.”
Shedding further light on the delicate art of appam-making, Narmatha revealed: “The heat and fermentation of the flour are most tricky. If these two things are right, the appam comes out well.”
To cater to diverse tastes, they introduced three more versions: plain appam with coconut sambal, egg appam with coconut sambal, and paal appam with jaggery.
The sambal may well be the actual showstopper here, as the light spice and smoky flavours of coconut pair incredibly well with the light and tasty appam.
Still, it’s not just the flavours that have people coming back – it’s also the cosy ambience.
“We get many families visiting us early in the morning,” Aaron shared. “Children love our appam and they’d all sit here, chatting, playing board games, while watching them being made.”
“We both really love the vibe here, and so do our customers,” Narmatha chimed in. “We feed off that energy. And the house has life again, too.”
Ultimately, Narmatha and Aaron see Amachi’s Palagaram as much more than just a business.
“We’re on a mission to produce a fulfilling nostalgic experience that takes people back to cherished moments with their loved ones, and also gives them new moments to cherish for many years to come,” Aaron concluded.
Follow Amachi’s Palagaram on Instagram.
Amachi’s Palagaram
35, Jln SS17/1,
SS17, 47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor
Business hours: 8:30am-6.30pm (Saturdays & Sundays)