Sippi Sohi

Today’s Jaffna specialty snack recipe is that of “sippi sohi” (sea-shells). The snack actually resembles sea-shells if made in the traditional way. However, my mother generally makes her own colourful version of the sweet.

Sippi Sohi

Time taken: 45 mins

Serves 6 – 8 persons

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 1 cup, roasted
Urad dhal/ black gram flour – ¼ cup, roasted
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Sugar – ¼ cup
Water – 4 tbsp
Food colouring – optional
Oil, for deep-frying

Method:

Combine the roasted rice flour and the roasted urad dhal flour and keep aside.
Heat 1 cup of coconut milk, with a little salt, over medium heat. Once cooked, remove from stove and cool.
When the milk has cooled slightly but is still warm, stir in the rice flour to make the dough.
Roll out the dough and cut into little pieces. Alternatively, the traditional way of squeezing the dough through the mold can be used.
Heat the oil and deep-fry the little pieces “sippi sohi” and transfer the fried pieces to a tray lined with grease absorbing paper.
Prepare the sugar syrup by heating the sugar with water in a saucepan over medium heat.
Food colouring can be added to the syrup, while heating in the saucepan. My mother used red food colouring here to have a colourful twist on the traditional plain syrup.
Soak the fried “sippi sohi” into the sugar syrup till they are well coated and dry up.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Paruthithurai Vadai

Theepawali Nalvaalthukkal! (Theepawali greetings)

For today’s specialty food, I would like to share a delicacy from my birthplace – the “Paruthithurai Vadai”. This vadai is generally prepared in Jaffna during festival seasons. While I have had the privilege of trying out this vadai in different places across Jaffna as well as at the homes of friends and relatives, the best, crunchiest “Paruthithurai/Thattai Vadai” that I have eaten to date has been that made by my mother. So, here’s the recipe for it.

Paruthithurai/ Thattai Vadai

Time taken: 1 ½ hours + 6 hours (soaking time)

Makes 50 – 60

Ingredients:

Split urad dhal – 1 cup
Wheat flour – 1 cup, steamed
Wheat flour – 1 cup, regular not steamed
Crushed chillies – 1 or 2 tbsp
Onion – 1, ground
Curry leaves – chopped
Fennel seeds – 1 tbsp
Salt, to taste
Water, as required
Oil, for deep-frying

Method:

Soak the split urad dhal for around 6 hours. Drain and peel the skin.
In a mixing bowl, add the drained and peeled split urad dhal, wheat flour both steamed and regular, crushed chillies, ground onion, chopped curry leaves, fennel seeds, salt, bringing them together using a little water to make the ‘vadai’ dough.
Divide the dough into 50 – 60 balls. Flatten each ball on a flat surface that will not stick. Alternatively, the dough can be rolled out and cut into thin circles using a cutter;
Heat the oil for deep-frying. Do not let the ‘vadai’ dough sit out too long and transfer to the frying pan as soon as the dough has been made and the balls have been flattened into the thin ‘vadai’ shape.
Deep-fry the vadai in batches until they are golden brown.
Transfer the vadai to a tray lined with grease absorbing paper. The vadai can be stored, for many days, in an air-tight jar.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Payatham Paniyaram

With Theepawali coming up this weekend, it’s time for some traditional snacks at home. My mother made a few quintessential Jaffna festival snacks so I will be sharing their recipes here.

Today’s recipe is my great grandmother’s recipe for ‘payatham paniyaram’ (a spiced green gram snack) which is a traditional Jaffna specialty made at all the festivals and celebrations in the peninsula. Plus, people tend to make this and send out to relatives in other cities or abroad as it keeps for a relatively long time.

Payatham Paniyaram

Time taken: 35 mins

Makes 20

Ingredients:

Green gram – 1 cup, roasted flour
Red rice flour – 2 tbsp, roasted
Sugar – ½ cup
Cardamom – 6, crushed
White raw rice flour or wheat flour – ½ cup
Salt, to taste
Cumin powder, pepper powder, toasted coconut flakes – optional

Method:

Combine the roasted green gram flour and the roasted red rice flour and keep aside.
Melt ½ cup sugar in ¼ cup of water in a saucepan over low heat.
When the syrup starts bubbling in a couple of mins, add the crushed cardamoms. The optional cumin, pepper and toasted coconut flakes can be added now, if required. I prefer not to have the cumin or pepper added.
Quickly add in the roasted green gram and red rice flour mix into the sauce pan, continuously stirring for a few mins, until the mixture is well-combined and easy to form into balls.
Remove from stove and make about 20 balls of the spiced mixture.
Make the dipping batter by combining the white raw rice flour (the preferred flour) or wheat flour with a little salt and water. Coat the balls in the batter.
Heat the oil for deep-frying. Fry the balls until golden-brown on all sides. Transfer the ‘payitram paniyaram’ to a tray lined with grease absorbing paper.
Serve when cooled. If coconut flakes are not added, the ‘paniyaram’ can be stored for many days.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.