Fried Rice Flour Pastry with Jaggery Coconut

Introduction

The dough for these pastries is cooked on the stove with rice flour, jaggery or raw sugar, cinnamon, and ghee before you shape it, so the wrapper stays tender inside and fries crisp outside. The filling is just coconut, sugar, ghee, and sesame seeds, cooked until golden brown, which gives you a toasted, nutty center that works well for sharing or making ahead.

Recipe Details

• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Servings: 16

Ingredients

Dough

2 L (8.5 cups) water

0.5 kg jaggery or raw sugar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp powdered cinnamon

1 Tbsp ghee

1 kg rice flour

Filling

Ghee

Shredded fresh coconut flesh

Sugar

Additional ingredients

200 g vegetable oil or ghee

Sesame seeds

200 g vegetable oil or ghee

Sesame seeds

Instructions

Dough: Boil water in a wide-mouth pan. Stir in sugar, salt, cinnamon, and ghee. Slowly and continuously stir in the rice flour. Cover the pan, and cook over low heat until the water is absorbed. The dough should be the consistency of chapati dough. Let cool.

Filling: Melt the ghee in a pan over medium heat. Add coconut and sugar. Cook, stirring, until the coconut turns golden brown.

Assembly: Knead the cooled rice mixture to make a smooth dough. Make small balls of dough, roll them, and stuff with the fried coconut mixture and sesame seeds.

Deep fry the filled pastries in the oil or ghee until golden brown all over.

Variations

• Use raw sugar instead of jaggery in the dough if you want a lighter color and a cleaner, less earthy sweetness.
• Use vegetable oil instead of ghee for frying if you want a more neutral finish that puts the coconut and cinnamon forward.
• Use unsweetened frozen grated coconut in the filling if fresh coconut is hard to find; the flavor stays close, but the texture is usually a little softer.
• Make smaller balls of dough during assembly for bite-size pastries; you will get more pieces and each one will fry a little faster.
• Increase or reduce the sesame seeds in the filling to adjust how much crunch and nutty flavor comes through in each pastry.

Tips for Success

• Add the rice flour slowly while stirring continuously so the dough stays smooth instead of turning lumpy.
• Cook the dough over low heat only until the water is absorbed and it feels like chapati dough; if it dries out too much, shaping gets harder.
• Let the rice mixture cool until it is comfortable to handle, then knead it while it still has a little warmth for the smoothest dough.
• Stop cooking the coconut filling when it is golden brown, not dark brown, or the sugar can start tasting bitter.
• Seal the dough well around the coconut mixture and sesame seeds before frying so the filling does not leak into the oil.

Storage and Reheating

Store cooled pastries in an airtight container with parchment between layers in the fridge for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze them in a single layer until firm, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 1 month.

Reheat in a 350°F / 175°C oven for 8 to 12 minutes from the fridge, or 15 to 18 minutes from frozen, until hot and crisp again. A microwave will warm them through, but the crust will soften.

FAQ

Can you use raw sugar instead of jaggery?

Yes. The pastries will be a little lighter in color and the sweetness will taste cleaner and less caramel-like.

Why is the rice flour dough cracking when you roll it?

That usually means it has dried out too much as it cooled. Knead it again with lightly damp hands until it turns smooth and pliable.

Can you use frozen coconut instead of fresh coconut flesh?

Yes. Thaw it first and squeeze out excess moisture so the filling cooks down properly and does not make the pastry soggy.

Can you shape the pastries ahead and fry them later?

Yes. Keep the shaped pastries covered in the fridge for up to 1 day, or freeze them on a tray before bagging; fry straight from cold or frozen, adding a little extra time as needed.