Surnoli (Coconut-Rice Pancakes)
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, plus 8 hours to ferment
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups raw white rice (short- or long-grain, jasmine or Basmati)
- 1cup poha or leftover cooked rice
- 1cup (4 ounces) fresh coconut or ½ cup (1 ounce) dried, unsweetened coconut
- 1cup full-fat yogurt
- 3tablespoons jaggery, grated if hard
- ¼teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- Ghee, as needed for cooking the pancakes
- Butter or ghee, to serve
- Honey, to serve
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Preparation
- Step 1
Rinse the rice several times in warm water until the water runs almost clear, and soak for an hour. Drain the rice. In a blender, combine all ingredients except the salt and ghee, butter and honey with 1 cup water, and mix on high speed. If you need to, add a splash more water, just enough to help the ingredients catch the blade and produce a thick, smooth batter. Scrape batter into a bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature to ferment overnight, or about 8 hours.
- Step 2
Add salt, and give the batter a gentle stir. Add a little water, if needed. It should be thicker than pancake batter but somewhat airy from the fermentation. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. When it’s hot, add a half teaspoon of ghee, followed by about 2 ounces surnoli batter. Immediately tilt the pan around to encourage the batter to spread a little, into a small, thick circle. Cover the pan with a lid, and let the surnoli cook gently without flipping it. When the top is pocked all over with holes and cooked through, and the bottom is a golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes, transfer to a plate and serve with some butter or ghee, and honey. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Poha, a cooked, dehydrated rice, can be found at Indian grocery stores or replaced with leftover cooked rice. Jaggery can be found in the same shops or replaced with white sugar.
Private Notes
Comments
The British crumpet bears some resemblance to these in texture and might provide a more useful reference point than the pancake.
Pancakes, so apropos 'cause we're seeing lots of flipping.
Yes, you can, in the same way that yoghurt keeps in the fridge (the sourness is due to fermentation by lactic-acid bacteria). I grew up eating these myself, and once my mom made a batch of the batter, it would last several days.
Cooking 16-20 pancakes individually in a skillet for 3-4 min each would take an hour! Why not divide among a standard 12-well muffin pan (sprayed with cooking oil (or ghee) and bake all at once (I'd suggest 350 F for 15-20 min).
Tejal you are doing tremendous service by introducing folks to these regional cuisines. Especially for those seeking vegetarian options, these recipes are eye opening. Thanks for your continued efforts. Diversifying and expanding people’s palates, for a better and wholesome experience!
I liked these! They a pain to grind in the blender, but by the time I got around to cooking them (the next day) the pain had faded and the frying was easy. They were ever so mildly sour, with a pleasant spongy texture and a gentle flavor. I served with a coconut-milk-based fish curry, and also had one with honey for dessert. I will be trying them in other applications as the week progresses, as I have about half the batter left over. BTW, these did NOT please my 12-year-old.
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