Athirasa / Hendi / Pethi kawum (කැවුම්)
Athirasa Kavum is a deep-fried Sri Lankan sweet made from rice flour and kithul treacle, with a number of variants adding additional ingredients. It is also known as oil cake. Kevum is traditionally given and consumed during celebrations of Sinhala New Year.
Ingredients
- 150 g Rice flour
- 50 g Plain flour
- 50 g Sugar
- 60 ml Palm syrup
- Water
- 1 tsp Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Coconut oil
Method
Heat a pan and add some sugar to caramel. When sugar caramelized, add the remaining sugar and water like around 1/4 cup. Stir it until all the sugar dissolves in water in low heat. Now add the palm syrup and when it lightly bubbles turn off the cooker. Add rice flour and plain flour into a strainer and strain it well. Now pour 2/3 of syrup to a bowl, add some salt and vanilla extract to it. Mix it gradually adding flour. Now add remaining syrup and mix it until it becomes a smooth batter gradually adding water. Close the bowl and leave the batter for around 20 minutes. After 20 minutes you can see the batter becomes thick. Now add some water again and make the batter again to a smooth batter. Heat some coconut oil in a deep pan. Pour a spoonful of batter into the oil and immediately swirl the oil toward the kawum using a spoon. When the underside of the kawum turns into a golden brown color using a thin stick, make a thin hole in the middle of the upper side of the kawum. Now turn around and put the spoon on the kawum to drain it in oil. When that side also turns to brown color take it from the oil. It is ready to serve.
