Quick, Delicious Goan Koiloreo

Tasty Koiloreo, Goan Rice and Coconut Pancakes

Goan Koiloreo are tasty, easy-to-prepare rice and coconut pancakes. They’re thicker than polle, the Goan rice crepes. They’re also sweeter, and have a distinct taste of coconut. In fact, you can feel the grated or finely chopped coconut when you bite into them. Traditionally, Goan Koiloreo are enjoyed at breakfast time. But they can also be had with meat curries just like Goan polle. Except for the time involved in pre-soaking the rice, these delicious pancakes can be made in no time, and with the minimum of ingredients.

Goan Koiloreo can be enjoyed plain, just by themselves, or with a quick-to-prepare coconut-jaggery syrup.

Ingredients

¾ cup raw rice

½ cup grated coconut

2 tbsp finely sliced coconut pieces (optional)

¾ tsp salt

2 or 3 tbsp sugar

½ cup + 2 tbsp water

For coconut-jaggery syrup

¼ cup grated jaggery (palm or cane jaggery)

2 tbsp water

½ cup coconut milk

¼ tsp salt

Procedure

1. Wash the rice well with water at least twice and drain it. Add some water to it. The water should be about ½” above the level of the rice. Let the rice soak in the water overnight or at least for 3 hours.
2. Drain the water from the rice and transfer it to the grinding jar of your mixer-blender.
3. Add the grated coconut, sugar, salt, and ½ a cup of water to the rice. (If you’re going to have the koiloreo with the syrup, you could add only 2 tbsp of sugar.) Grind everything for around 1 ½ to 2 minutes till the batter is slightly coarse. That is, you should be able to feel small semolina-size particles of rice in it. You shouldn’t grind the rice and coconut till you get a smooth batter as in the case of polle. But the batter shouldn’t be too coarse either. Cover it and let it rest for an hour.
4. Heat a non-stick pan and when it’s hot enough, drizzle a few drops of oil on it. Spread the oil around with a paper napkin. Pour around 3 ladles of batter in the centre of the pan and spread it slightly to a diameter of around 6 inches with the back of the ladle. Scatter some of the finely chopped coconut pieces on the koilori or pancake. After 30 seconds, cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and let the pancake cook for around 1 ½ minutes or till its top surface is dry. Take off the lid and let the pancake cook for 30 seconds more. Loosen the edges all around, and remove the pancake to a plate.
5. Similarly make all the koiloreo. Let each one cool for around a minute before stacking it on top of the earlier one. The koiloreo will be soft but slightly thicker than polle.
6. You can enjoy them by themselves or with the flavourful coconut-jaggery syrup.

Enjoy!

Syrup:

1. Add the water to the jaggery and heat the mix till the jaggery syrup comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and boil it for a couple of minutes more.
2. Add the coconut milk and salt to it. Give it a stir and bring the syrup to a boil. Transfer it to a bowl. If you use palm jaggery, the syrup will be darker brown in colour.