Kinnatappam

I had earlier posted a recipe of Kinnatappam where I had followed the recipe from one of mother’s friends. That was a simpler recipe, less time consuming and yet quite tasty. This recipe is something I had stashed for years thinking I would make it someday, as it is a little time consuming. Finally I made it a while ago. It has a lovely rich gooey taste. It tastes best when it is a little warm. I didn’t get it quite right as there are lumps in the middle…but the taste was superb and I think I know how to avoid it the next time around.

Here goes the recipe…

Ingredients

2 ½ cups of rice flour (it is better if it is not too fine),

¾ kilogram jaggery,

75 grams channa dal,

1 coconut,

A few cashews,

150 grams coconut oil,

1 tsp cardamom powder,

2 tsp ghee

Method

Wash the channa dal and soak if for about 4 hours. Cook it till it is soft but not mashed.

Take the jaggery in a pan and add about ¾ cup of water to it. Heat it on a low flame till the jaggery has melted. Strain this liquid and keep it aside.

Grate the coconut and extract milk out of it. Extract 1^st and 2^nd milk. The process to extract the milk is easily available on the internet. Alternatively if you want to use readymade coconut milk available in the market, you will need about one cup of thick milk and 3.5 cups of thin milk.

Add the rice flour to the thin milk. The batter should be that of dosa-batter consistency.

Place this batter in a heavy-bottomed dish and heat it through. Ensure you stir continuously as it can form lumps as it thickens. This is a time-consuming process and requires some patience.

As the batter turns thick add in the cooked channa dal, strained jaggery liquid and thick coconut milk. Keep stirring till it becomes very thick.

At this stage gradually start adding the coconut oil. When it starts leaving the sides of the pan, add the ghee and cardamom powder. Mix well.

Grease a flat thali with some ghee and spread this mixture on it. Level it using the back of a small bowl. Garnish with cashews. Let it stand for about 8-9 hours. Cut it into pieces and serve.