Start the day before. The fermenting alone is 8 hr, against 45 min of actual work.
Allergens in Sanna: none of the ten listed below.
Ingredients
Quantities for 6.
- 2 cups, par-boiled, soaked 5 hours, plus 1/2 cup cooked Riceidli rice is the right kind; the cooked rice helps the batter ferment and stay soft
- 1 cup fresh grated Coconut
- 3 tbsp Sugarfeeds the ferment as well as sweetening
- 1 tsp, at the very end Enoinsurance if the batter has not risen enough overnightoptional
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- about 200ml, for grinding Water
Cookware
blender, steamer, stovetop
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Sanna are traditionally leavened with fresh toddy. Without it, an overnight ferment of the coconut-rice batter in a warm place does the same job. Start this the night before.
- Soak the par-boiled rice at least 5 hours; it should crush easily between your fingernails.
- Keep the batter somewhere genuinely warm, around 28-30C. In a cold kitchen, an oven with only the light on works.
Method
- Drain the soaked rice and grind it with the grated coconut, cooked rice and just enough water to a thick, smooth batter. Thicker than pancake batter, like idli batter.Add water a splash at a time. A thin batter gives flat, rubbery sanna and cannot be rescued.
- Stir in the sugar, cover loosely, and leave in a warm place for 8-10 hours, or overnight.
- By morning it should have risen by half, smell yeasty and sweet, and be full of small bubbles.If it smells sharply sour rather than sweet it has gone too far. Use it now and expect a tangier cake.
- Stir in the salt gently, from the edges inwards, keeping as much air in as you can.
- If the batter never rose, fold in the eno now and steam immediately.
- Grease small steel bowls or idli moulds and fill each two-thirds full.
- Steam over rolling water for 12-15 minutes, with the lid wrapped in a cloth to stop condensation dripping back.Drips make craters and soggy tops. The cloth is worth the trouble.
- Test with a skewer at the centre. It should come out clean and the surface should spring back.
- Rest 5 minutes, then run a knife around each and turn them out. Serve warm with sorpotel or a pork curry.
Storage
Best warm from the steamer. Keep 2 days refrigerated in a closed box and re-steam 5 minutes to bring back the softness; they go dense and dry in the fridge otherwise.
Nutrition Good estimate
One serving of Sanna (77 g) is about 154 calories, or 202 calories per 100 g.
Low protein: 2 g a serving, 5% of the calories
| Per serving77 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 154 kcal | 202 kcal |
| Protein | 1.9 g | 2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 26.7 g | 35 g |
| of which sugars | 8.3 g | 11 g |
| Fibre | 1.2 g | 2 g |
| Fat | 4.6 g | 6 g |
| of which saturated | 4.0 g | 5 g |
| of which unsaturated | 0.3 g | 0 g |
Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
More like this: Vegan Indian recipes · Vegetarian Indian recipes · Gluten-free Indian recipes · Dairy-free Indian recipes · No onion no garlic recipes · Goan recipes
Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.