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Saandan
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5 from 2 votes

Saandan

steamed rice, coconut milk cake from the Konkan region of Maharashtra.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword rice coconut milk steamed cake, Saandan
Prep Time 8 hours
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 25 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rice (preferably Kolam or Ambemohar)
  • 1 fresh coconut / 3 cups of scraped coconut
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • Wash and drain the rice.
  • Spread the washed rice on a plate or a cloth and dry it in sun or under the fan for 3 to 4 hours.
  • Once the rice is dry, transfer it to a mixer jar ad grind it to a coarse powder.
  • Sieve the rice powder to get two different textures of rice powder Keep aside. - the sieve will contain the coarse powder and the finer rice powder will collect under it.
  • Grind freshly scraped coconut with ¾ cup of hot water to a smooth paste.
  • Strain this using a muslin cloth or a strainer to get the first, thick extract of coconut milk.
  • Keep the first extract of coconut milk aside.
  • Blend the coconut remains again alongwith ¾cup of hot water.
  • Strain and get the second extract of coconut milk (thin coconut milk).
  • Transfer thin coconut milk to a pan.
  • Bring this to a gentle boil.
  • Now, add the coarse rice powder.
  • Mix well and cook on low flame until the coconut milk is fully absorbed. 
  • Take the pan off the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely.
  • In a separate vessel/mixing bowl, add the fine rice powder, powdered sugar, salt and thick coconut milk. Mix well.
  • Add the cooked, cooled rice mixture into this and mix well.
  • The batter should be thick like idli batter. You can add water to adjust the consistency of the batter.
  • Cover and keep aside to ferment for 7 to 8 hours
  • Once the batter is fermented, grease idli moulds, or small steel bowls or shallow plates with little oil.  
  • Pour the batter and steam for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Remove from the steamer and let it cool for some time.
  • Unmould the saandan and serve with meat curry or Malvani Kaala vatana usal

Notes

Some people use yeast or baking soda for fermenting the batter. But I have not used any fermenting agent. The batter has fermented well naturally. The coarse rice powder cooked with coconut milk which is added to the batter helps in fermentation.