A fitting follower to Ela Ada, my previous post. The ingredients are the same as ela ada. Just that the proportions are different and they are mixed differently. These are little steamed pouches of a mixture of rice, jaggery, jackfruit jam, and coconut. Steamed and oil-free, one can truly indulge in them without guilt!
In my household this dish is called Enna Pothi, which literally means Oil Pouches, though I cant figure out why it might be called so since no oil is used in this dish. Enna could also mean Numbered. Any of you can crack the name puzzle, please write to me.
It is intriguing to think how our ancestors came up with different recipes using the same ingredients and how different and unique they taste! Ela ada are very sweet while these sweet pouches are only mildly sweet. Different households have different styles of making it. Some use banana leaves to make the pouch, some use cinammon leaves. Since I could not find a suitable leaf, I chose to steam them in the idli mold. It is a regional variant you see!
Ingredients:
Raw rice (Rice flour) – 1 cup
Jaggery – 50 gm
Jackfruit jam – 5 tbsp
Grated coconut/Coconut cut into 1 cm pieces – 2 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Elaichi powder – 1/4 tsp
Water – As needed
The amount of jaggery and jackfruit jam are more of personal choices. You can add as much as you like and it would turn out just fine.
Method: Grind the raw rice into a smooth paste. Add the jackfruit jam and jaggery pieces and blend it in the mixer to make a smooth and evenly mixed paste. You could make jaggery syrup and then add it to the rice flour and jackfruit jam and blend it well using a spoon. But using the mixer to blend these three ingredients ensures a smooth consistency and gives good results. Keep the batter aside.
Heat ghee in a pan and add the grated/cut coconut to the ghee and roast till the coconut turns golden brown. Turn off fire and add the roasted coconut to the batter. Add elaichi powder. Mix well.
Note that if you are using an idli mold, the batter needs to be of idli batter consistency. But if you are using a leaf, you will need a thicker consistency for the batter.
If you are using banana leaf, tear out square or rectangle portions of banana leaf. Pour one ladle full of batter into a piece of banana leaf and close it neatly from all sides and tie with a thread. Cinnamon leaves are small and it is a challenge to stuff the batter in them. Hence if you are using cinnamon leaves, the batter consistency should be thick so that it does not ooze out. You need to be able to stuff the batter in between the leaf and pin the ends of the leaf together.
If you choose to use an idli mold, lightly grease the idli molds with ghee. Pour one ladle full batter into each idli mold. Steam in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes. Turn off fire, take out the idli mold from the pressure cooker, and let it cool.
After they cool down a little bit, the sweet pouches start separating from the edge. Use a spoon to lift the pouches off the mold and place on a serving plate.
Soft and spongy sweet pouches (in this case, idlis) are ready!
Samagni 
there is a similar central kerala delicacy called chakka appam or kumbil appam, which uses jack fruit, jaggery, rice flour and cut coconut pieces. the star attraction of the recipe is edana leaf, a leaf similar to that of cinnamon, but less pungent. the flavour of the leaf provides a unique aroma and taste to the delicacy, making it truly special.
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Chakka appam and kumbil appam fits the title. Edana is the leaf that I meant I guess. I thought it was cinnamon leaf. It is used mainly in South Kerala. I have never seen it in our area. We Malabar-ians use banana leaf. But you are so right, the aroma of the leaf is what makes it so yummy 🙂
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Nibu, Thanks for suggesting those names. Will update the post with these names.
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Yes Manju, In my place this is called ‘Kumbil appam’ because of its shape. We make a ‘kumbil’ with the ‘vazhana ela’ (this is larger than the cinnomon leaf but both are of same family) and then pour the batter into this ‘kumbil’ and then seal it with the other edge of the leaf. Also, in my place we are not making this with the jack fruit jam. We make it with fresh jack fruit juice/pulp and keep the batter for some time. (all other ingredients are same) The taste is different from the one made with jam… I love this very much. You should try this version also.
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Anu, my mother also makes it at times with jackfruit pulp. We also make sweet dosa out of jackfruit pulp. Anything with jackfruit is yummy…
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Reading the recipe set me on a nostalgic trip back to my mother – Oh my my – a few decades ago.
This used to be the all time favourtie after school snack my mom would make for us. She used both banana leaves and edna leaves – ofcourse edna leaves are the favourties because of the fragrance, not to underestimate the banana leaf aroma.
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Nice to know that this recipe took you on a nostalgic trip 🙂 The aroma of food or even describing food can do that people like us, such passionate foodies!
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