Category: Snacks

I often add chopped candied ginger to this, but skipped it this time, because Kavi doesn’t (yet) like candied ginger. Kavi made the cookie dough for me this time around, so it seemed cruel to have Kavi making dough for cookies she wouldn’t love to eat. She is deeply approving of this recipe; my girl loves the tang.

Recipe here: https://serendibkitchen.com/…/lime-rosewater-and…/

The theme is Wild Grasses, Honey, and the Salt Sea. A little bit of a catch-all theme, but summery.

I had half a cup of pineapple juice, and an open can of mango pulp, so I pretty much had to make pineapple-mango marshmallows…

Did a compare-and-contrast with random store kithul treacle, and high-end single source kithul that was probably three times as expensive. Both good with yogurt, as expected — the random store treacle was much sweeter, and the fancy treacle was somewhat more complex and interesting.

Although honestly, I like them both probably equally.  Maybe my tastes are just more pedestrian.

I first encountered a version of this recipe titled “Ooda Appam” in a Jaffna-based cookbook, but had trouble finding other recipes under that name. With the help of one of my cousins and Sri Lankan friends, I realized this was essentially halapa, which made my search for recipes much easier.

To make halapa, you need pani pol, a mix of sweetener (usually jaggery and/or kithul treacle) and coconut. Sometimes, pani pol serves as a filling to the rice flour steamed bun, but in this version, the pani pol is mixed directly in with the toasted rice flour.

In Sri Lanka, the flattened balls would traditionally be steamed in kenda leaves, but those are hard to find in America; you can use banana leaves or parchment paper. These are best right out of the steamer — be careful not to burn your fingers or tongue when devouring them! Delicious with a cup of tea; also commonly served for breakfast with fresh fruit.

1 t. vegetable oil

1. In a dry pan, toast rice flour, stirring, until aromatic.

2. In a large bowl, combine rice flour, coconut, jaggery, and salt to a smooth paste; add a little hot water as needed to bring together.

3. Briefly run hot water on the banana leaf to soften it, and cut it into pieces (roughly 2×2 inches); alternately, use squares of parchment paper.

4. Use a paper towel dipped in the vegetable oil to grease each piece of banana leaf (parchment paper).

5. Make small balls from the paste, then place each ball on the center of a leaf. Flatten into a circular shape and fold the leaf over.

6. Steam over simmering water in a covered steamer until cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.

(1 1/2 hrs, makes 25-30 pieces)

This simple sweet comes originally from Southeast Asia — it’s popular in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as Goa in India. Here dodol is enhanced with beet to add complexity of flavor; another popular approach is to omit the beets and instead add 1 tsp. of pandan extract, which will give a bright green color and add subtle flavor.

If you can find glutinous rice flour, that will produce a more traditional chewy result; this version with regular rice flour is more on the cake-like side in terms of texture. Both are delicious. Note that ‘glutinous’ refers to the sticky and gluey texture of the cooked flour; glutinous rice flour does not actually contain gluten.

If you can, I recommend having at least two people available to work on this, as it’s much easier to stir the mixture as it thickens, if you can switch off!

chopped pistachio and shredded coconut to garnish

1. In a medium bowl, combine rice flour and 3 c. coconut milk.

2. In a medium saucepan on low heat, combine remaining 1 c. coconut milk with jaggery, stirring to dissolve. Stir rice flour mixture into the pan.

3. Puree beet (add a little water if necessary to help puree), and stir into the pan, along with cardamom and salt.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously until mixture starts to thicken — 30-60 minutes.

5. When the mixtures starts to form a soft, fudge-y ball and pull away from the sides of the pan, it’s ready. You should see a slight sheen of oil starting to appear as you stir.

6. Transfer to a greased dish, and garnish with pistachios and coconut flakes. Cashews are also popular garnishes.

Stir it until you feel like your arm is going to fall off, and eventually it’ll look like this…

And then you swirl a little pureed beet into your coconut milk / rice flour / jaggery mixture…