60g shredded fresh or desiccated coconut, or coconut milk
1tsp easy bake/instant yeast
2 round shallots, peeled
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2tbsp caster sugar
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp salt
1tsp coconut oil per pancake
Method
Put 50g of the rice flour in a medium pan and add 300ml water. Use a spatula to mix them together over a medium heat for around 5 minutes until a thick paste, called kurukku, forms. Turn off the heat and set aside.
In a blender, blitz the remaining 250g rice flour, the coconut or coconut milk and the yeast to a thick paste. Add the kurukku paste along with the shallots, garlic cloves, sugar, cumin seeds and salt. Add 200ml water and blitz to form a smooth batter.
Turn the oven on for a couple of minutes and then turn it off completely but leave the light on. Pour the batter into a large bowl, cover and put in the oven for 5 hours or overnight to ferment. (In hot weather, you can simply leave the bowl, uncovered, on the side).
Once fermented, the batter should be frothy. Give it a good stir and heat a frying pan, tawa or flat griddle pan.
Add 1tsp coconut oil to the pan or tawa and ladle a little batter into the pan to create a pancake roughly the size of a saucer. When small holes begin to form on the surface of the pancake, use a spatula to turn it over carefully. Let it bronze lightly on both sides, then transfer to a warm plate.
Repeat with more coconut oil and the rest of the batter and serve warm. Any unused batter will keep covered, in the fridge, for a few days.
Recipes and photographs taken from Seven Kitchens: A Journey Through India's Culinary Heritage by Torie True. Photography by Tim Green. (Meze Publishing, £25)
