A simple eggy flour-and-coconut-milk batter is whisked together with turmeric for colour and left to rest. A separate filling of palm jaggery is melted with grated coconut, cardamom, nutmeg and a pinch of salt until thick and glossy. Pancakes are cooked in a hot pan with a thin film of ghee, the filling spooned along one edge and rolled into a long log. Served warm, with a dusting of fresh coconut on top.
A single batter is made from coconut milk, egg yolks, plain flour, sugar and nutmeg. The bebinca is built in a small round dish layer by layer: a ladle of batter, ghee brushed on top, grilled until the surface is dark brown, then another ladle of batter, ghee, grill, repeat. Each layer is paper-thin; the finished cake has 16-20 visible layers when sliced. Patient work but the technique is simple. Tastes of coconut, nutmeg and gentle caramel.
A wet dough is made from fresh grated coconut, sugar and water cooked together into a thick paste, then enriched with butter, semolina and egg yolks. The dough rests for several hours so the semolina can hydrate and the dough firms up. Small balls are shaped, pressed gently and baked low and slow until the bottoms turn golden and the tops set into pale-gold domes.
Chickpeas are soaked overnight, simmered until completely tender, then drained and pureed into a smooth paste. The paste is cooked over low heat with sugar, fresh coconut milk and grated coconut, stirred constantly as the mixture thickens. Ghee is added in stages; the fudge is ready when it pulls away from the sides of the pan and the ghee separates at the edges. Cardamom and a touch of rose water lift the chickpea flavour into something dessert-like. Tastes nothing like chickpeas.
A batter is made from rice flour, coconut milk and palm jaggery and stirred slowly over a low heat for over an hour. The mixture darkens and thickens through three distinct stages: pale and thin, golden and porridge-like, then deep mahogany and glossy with ghee separating at the edges. Knowing when to pull the pot is the only difficulty. Poured into a tray, cooled, and cut into squares; the texture sits between fudge and a firm jelly.