Bebinca
Bebinca is traditionally made for Christmas in Goa, a small but very popular state in India. Now there are many different versions of this not only within Goa but in other countries too. Most of Goa's cuisine has been shaped by the Portugese during their 450 years in Goa, but I was amazed to discover that Filipinos make it too. My mother-in-law gave me her old cookbooks and I found a recipe for bebinca and decided try it this Christmas.
Ingredients:
2 cups of coconut milk (or a can of coconut cream)
1 1/2 cup of flour
5 egg yolks
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
1/4 cup clarified butter (ghee)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (optional)
Take some of the coconut milk, about 1/2-1 cup, in a saucepan and add sugar, heat till all the sugar has dissolved. This is purely done to dissolve the sugar. Keep it aside to cool because if you add it to the yolks now then you will end up with scrambled eggs.
In a bowl, (I used my Pyrex measuring glass with a spout), whisk in the egg yolks with the rest of the coconut milk and add the nutmeg and the flour making sure the batter is lump free. Add the sugar -coconut milk mixture and the batter is ready.
Take a 8 inch baking pan, I used a round one but any kind will do. Smear a teaspoon of ghee and coconut oil to the bottom. And set the oven on broil. Position the rack to the highest level, making sure the pan is as close to the coils as possible but not actually touching them. Add about about 1-3/4 cup of the batter into the pan and put it in the oven. Let it cook for 2-3 mins then pull it out and add a generous teaspoon if coconut oil and 2-3 tsp of ghee and broil for 3-4 mins. This will give each layer a nice caramelised surface which is very distinctive to the dish.
Pull it out and repeat the process of batter-broil, ghee/oil- broil. Till all the batter is used up.
I ended p with 6 layers, but I think it depends on how much batter you pour each time.
Traditionally it can be made upto 16 layers or more, but I don't think I would ever do that.
What I learnt while making this:
Ingredients:
2 cups of coconut milk (or a can of coconut cream)
1 1/2 cup of flour
5 egg yolks
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
1/4 cup clarified butter (ghee)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (optional)
Take some of the coconut milk, about 1/2-1 cup, in a saucepan and add sugar, heat till all the sugar has dissolved. This is purely done to dissolve the sugar. Keep it aside to cool because if you add it to the yolks now then you will end up with scrambled eggs.
In a bowl, (I used my Pyrex measuring glass with a spout), whisk in the egg yolks with the rest of the coconut milk and add the nutmeg and the flour making sure the batter is lump free. Add the sugar -coconut milk mixture and the batter is ready.
Take a 8 inch baking pan, I used a round one but any kind will do. Smear a teaspoon of ghee and coconut oil to the bottom. And set the oven on broil. Position the rack to the highest level, making sure the pan is as close to the coils as possible but not actually touching them. Add about about 1-3/4 cup of the batter into the pan and put it in the oven. Let it cook for 2-3 mins then pull it out and add a generous teaspoon if coconut oil and 2-3 tsp of ghee and broil for 3-4 mins. This will give each layer a nice caramelised surface which is very distinctive to the dish.
Pull it out and repeat the process of batter-broil, ghee/oil- broil. Till all the batter is used up.
I ended p with 6 layers, but I think it depends on how much batter you pour each time.
Traditionally it can be made upto 16 layers or more, but I don't think I would ever do that.
What I learnt while making this:
So I was pleased with the end result, it looked and tasted like Bebinca but I would certainly add more nutmeg next time and add little more sugar and adding the coconut oil just helps intensify the coconut taste.
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