Easy, Eggless Kormola Recipe for Christmas

Crunchy Goan Kormolas Recipe

Now let’s make another Goan favourite, another mildly sweet Christmas time delight – crunchy kormolas. Like my last recipe, this one too can be used for making both kormolas as well as kulkuls. Only, this recipe is an eggless one. But still, it will give you deliciously light and crunchy kormolas and kulkuls.

The name ‘kormola’ is the contracted form of this Christmas sweet’s real name – carambola – which is the Portuguese word for star fruit. The sweet was given this name because it’s shape roughly resembles that of star fruit which has deep and prominent ridges.

The dough for Goan kormolas can be prepared with or without egg. (Please check out my other recipe with egg for kulkuls and kormolas.) These sweet nibbles require a good amount of time to make, but with the whole family, and sometimes even neighbours helping out, making these becomes a breeze. Do check out this video for step-by-step instructions on how to make kormolas. And do check out my other Goan Christmas recipes too: Super-tasty Goan bath cake, delicious bolinhas, healthy Christmas box cookies, yummy Goan milk toffee, and my original recipe for decorative, baked neoreo (karanjis).

Ingredients

1 ½ cup (190g) maida (all-purpose flour)

1 ½ tbsp melted pure ghee

2 tbsp fine semolina

5 tbsp granulated sugar (¼ cup +1 tbsp), (65 g), powdered

Coconut milk, as needed (approx. 5 tbsp)

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cardamom

Procedure

1. In a mixing bowl, mix the maida, semolina, and salt.
2. Add the melted ghee and rub it into the flour mix.
3. Mix in the sugar and ground cardamom.
4. Now add in the coconut milk, a little at a time, and make a pliable dough that’s not too hard, and not too soft. Cover the dough and set it aside for around 40 minutes so that the rava gets enough time to absorb some moisture and soften.
5. Then, knead the dough lightly for a minute and divide it into four portions.
6. Roll out each one as finely as possible and then cut it into small square shapes of around 3cm x 3cm or slightly larger.
7. Next, fold each square diagonally to form a conch-shell-like shape with two pointed ends. (Watch the video to see how this is done.) When you bring the opposite corners of the square together, see that you press them well before you gently twist the pointed ends so that the joined ends don’t open out while frying the kormolas. To make doubly sure they don’t, moisten the corners of the dough square with a little water before pressing the opposite corners together.
8. Cover the shaped kormolas with a napkin to prevent them from drying out as you continue working with the rest of the dough to make the remaining kormolas.
9. Deep fry the kormolas for around 5 – 7 minutes on medium low / low heat till they turn golden brown in colour. They will continue to get fried even after you take them out of the hot oil due to the residual heat inside them and become a darker shade of brown as they cool. So don’t fry them till they’re dark brown in colour. Also, the kormolas will puff up in the oil while frying them, but will shrink a little in size on cooling down.
10. Then, once the kormolas cool to room temperature, store them in an airtight container. They’ll stay good for several weeks.
11. Enjoy!

This same recipe can also be used to make Goan kulkuls, another traditional Christmas sweet.