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sannas

  • Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cups/300 g rice flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups/360 ml water (I used filtered)

1 cup/240 ml full-fat coconut milk

fine sea salt

a little melted butter, ghee, coconut oil, or neutral-tasting oil to grease the bowls

Instructions

  1. Dry whisk the rice flour, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl or food-safe container. Whisk in the water and coconut milk until there are no visible lumps or flecks of dry flour. Cover the bowl loosely with a lid. Place the container in a warm spot or ideally at 86F/30C for at least 4 hours to ferment and double in volume. The mixture will be ready when it looks foamy, like a volcano.
  2. When ready to cook, grease the about eight stainless-steel or small ramekin bowls well with the melted ghee or oil. Set a wire rack inside a large wide pot with a lid. You can also make a thick ring of aluminum foil and sit a plate wide enough for the pot. Fill the pot with enough water to the height of the rack.
  3. Stir the batter in the container with a ladle and mix in 2 tsp of fine sea salt. (You can taste to ensure the salt and sugar are right, add more salt or sugar as needed). Using the ladle, pour enough batter into each greased bowl to a height of about 1 in/2.5 cm or less. Depending on the width of your pot, you will need to work in batches. Carefully place the bowls on the wire rack in the pot, cover loosely with a lid, and bring the water to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and let cook for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, till the sannas are completely cooked, they should be firm and springy when pressed in the center, and a knife or skewer comes out clean when inserted through the middle. Carefully remove the bowls with a pair of kitchen tongs and leave them to cool until they are warm enough to be handled. If you attempt to release them while they’re hot, not only do you risk getting burned, but the starch hasn’t yet been set properly, and the sannas will break. If the water levels drop while cooking, add a bit more water from the sides of the pot, it is important to watch the water level and not let the pot dry out. If water condenses on the surface of your sannas while they cook, open the lid a bit to let the water evaporate but make sure the pot doesn’t dry out during cooking. Cook the remaining sannas in the same manner
  4. To release the sannas, run a small knife along the edges of each bowl, flip the bowl over a plate or the palms of your hands and tap the bowl to release. Serve warm. You can also refrigerate the sannas in air-tight bags for uptown 3 to 4 days.

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