Handesh – Bangladeshi rice flour and date molasses cakes
Handesh — Bangladeshi rice-flour cakes sweetened with date molasses — a dessert recipe.
By API | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 30 min | Serves: 4
Tags: Dessert
Ingredients
- 250 g date molasses
- 400 ml warm water
- 250 g rice flour
- 150 g flour
- 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
- 0.25 tsp ground cardomom
Instructions
- Put the molasses into a large mixing bowl, add 300 ml of water to begin with and whisk until incorporated. If your molasses is very thick (similar to golden syrup), use a total of 300–325 ml water.
- Stir in the rice and wheat flours and any spices, then whisk vigorously for 3–5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps. Cover the bowl and leave the batter to rest for 2 hours.
- After the 2-hour rest, whisk the batter thoroughly to reincorporate any rice flour that has settled; it should be thick yet pourable, like a dense pancake batter, and should form ribbons when you lift the whisk.
- Place a cast-iron korai or a wok over high heat and pour in enough oil to come about halfway up the sides of the pan (enough for deep-frying). When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to low–medium.
- Check the oil temperature by dropping in a teaspoon of batter — if it rises slowly to the surface, the oil is at the right heat.
- Using a jug with a spout, pour the batter in a quick, steady stream into the centre of the pan, about 45 ml of batter per cake; each cake should rise in 15–20 seconds. If it rises too fast, lower the heat.
- Fry each cake until the underside turns golden (about 45 seconds), carefully flip and cook the other side for 30–45 seconds until golden. Cook one cake at a time and avoid dripping excess batter into the pan.
- If the batter splits while frying, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour and continue frying. Aim for cakes roughly the size of a digestive biscuit.
- Lift each handesh out with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper with the frilled edge down to keep the shape. Serve hot, or once cooled store in an airtight container overnight and refrigerate for up to a week — reheat in a warm oven for a few minutes or on a tawa over very low heat, turning occasionally.