THE FLUFFY SANNA's
The sannas are Goan version of idlis, i.e. spongy steamed rice cakes ,made from a batter consisting of ground red rice and freshly grated coconut.
No festive meal in Goa is complete without soft and tasty sannas. The sweetness of regular sannas goes well with spicy gravies and so these spongy delicacies are usually relished along with any meat curries. Sweet sannas, that have a delicious coconut-jaggery filling, can be had at teatime or as a dessert.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup parboiled rice (200g)
½ cup regular rice (100g)
½ cup grated fresh coconut
¼ cup + 1 tbsp pohe (flattened rice)
¼ cup + 1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp instant yeast (or 1 tsp active dry yeast)
To activate the yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 -3 tbsp lukewarm water
For the sweet filling
½ cup grated coconut
¼ cup grated jaggery
Sannas have a few variations in the recipe. Keeping rice as a constant ingredient, some ferment it with urad dal, coconut milk and coconut, while others use toddy for fermentation. For the unversed, toddy is a wine-like beverage, made with fermented sap of palm tree. Sanna are fermented traditionally using Toddy and in current times with yeast..
PROCEDURE
-Rinse both varieties of rice separately thrice with plenty of water, and then soak them in water overnight or for at least 5 to 6 hours.
Add both the kinds of drained rice to a mixer jar along with the drained pohe, grated coconut, sugar and salt. Grind well with around ½ a cup of water first and then after adding an additional ½ cup of water to the mix. Grind it till it is only slightly grainy and almost smooth.
-Activate the yeast by mixing it with the sugar and luke warm water and setting it aside for 10-15 minutes.
-stir the bloomed yeast into the sanna batter. Mix it well, and then cover and let it ferment for around 2 to 3 hours..
-Prepare the filling for the sweet sannas by mixing the grated coconut and the grated jaggery.
Pour a little of the batter to a depth of around ½ inch into an oiled 6″ round cake pan. Sprinkle the sweet filling all over this layer. Then pour an equal quantity of batter as before over the first layer.
-Steam the sanna cake for around 20 minutes
-Finally, run a knife around the edges of each and unmould the Goan sannas and the sweet sanna cake.
I recall so vividly, tasting sanna for the first time on one of the occasions at my neighbours place first when I saw it I thought they were idlis but was little confused because I had seen idlis which were flat like but this were not flat but fluffy and when I actually tasted I found one more interesting thing about this similiar looking idlis like sannas that this were sweet to taste and I found it very delicious. From then for every occasion at my neighbours place I use to run first to have them and she use to love making for us too.. Once I asked her how to make the sanna so she said Making sannas is not difficult ,to make sanna you start off by soaking rice for a couple of hours. The rice is then ground with toddy, so grated coconut paste, salt, and sugar are added. The batter is left to ferment for a few hours, but it was not as easy as it sound to be when I tried them at my home for the first time my sannas were not fluffy as my neighbours and it was because i didn't ferment the better for 2/3 hours.
What I liked most about the sanna is their soft , fluffy texture it just melt in the mouth like the cotton candy. There are two types of sanna one is the plain one and the other with the jaggery filling in which I like the jaggery filling one more . talking about the sanna i like everything about it ,the simple yet significant look, the aroma of fermented rice better, the fluffy feel of the sanna, and the taste and I found Pairing sanna with Chicken Roce Curry is a heavenly feeling.
MUSKAN SHAIKH
2203230
