Handesh (Bangladeshi Rice Flour and Date Molasses Cakes)
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6 Ingredients
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150 min total
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Serves Makes about 12
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Medium
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Bangladeshi
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Dessert
Recipe byThe ZestyPlate Kitchen
Bangladeshi rice flour cakes sweetened with date molasses and warm spice, deep-fried until puffed with frilly golden edges. A much-loved teatime treat.
Handesh are the fried cakes you'll find at Bangladeshi teatimes and festivals: a rice-flour batter sweetened with dark, treacly date molasses and warmed with cinnamon and cardamom. Dropped into hot oil, they puff up with frilly edges, crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. Eat them straight from the pan while they're still hot and you'll understand the appeal.
Jump to recipe
Prep 130 min
Cook 20 min
Total 150 min
Medium
Scale:
- 250g Date Molasses
- 400ml Warm Water
- 250g Rice Flour
- 150g Flour
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cardomom
Preparation
- Tip the molasses into a large mixing bowl, pour in 300ml of the water to begin with, and whisk together. Bangladeshi molasses ranges from a thick syrup to slightly set, so very syrupy molasses needs only 300 to 325ml of water.
- Add the flours and spices and whisk for 3 to 5 minutes until smooth, checking carefully for lumps, which will stop the handesh rising. Cover and rest for 2 hours.
- After resting, whisk the batter thoroughly again, as the rice flour will have sunk to the bottom. It should be fairly thick but loose enough to pour, like thick pancake batter, falling in ribbons as you lift the whisk.
- Half-fill a cast-iron korai or wok with enough oil to deep-fry and heat it on high, then drop it back to low-medium. Test with a teaspoon of batter: if it rises slowly to the surface, the oil is ready.
- Pour about 45ml of batter in a quick, steady stream into the centre of the pan; a jug with a spout makes this easier. It should rise within 15 to 20 seconds and slowly puff up. Turn the heat down a touch if it rises too quickly. Cook for 45 seconds until the underside is golden, then carefully turn and cook for another 30 to 45 seconds, frying one at a time.
- If the batter splits, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour and try again. Aim for handesh about the size of a digestive biscuit.
- Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen towel, frilled edge down, while you fry the rest.
- Eat them hot and fresh. Once cool, store in an airtight container, overnight or in the fridge for up to a week, reheating in a low oven or on a tawa over a very low heat.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Whisk the batter until it's properly smooth. Any lumps and the handesh won't rise the way they should.
- Give the batter its full rest so the rice flour can hydrate, then whisk it through again once it has settled.
- Drop a little batter into the oil to test it; you want it to rise slowly. Oil that's too hot browns the outside before the inside has a chance to puff.
- Fry them one at a time, pouring the batter in a steady stream into the centre of the pan so each one sets into a neat round.
Frequently Asked Questions
Called khejur gur, it's a thick, dark syrup boiled down from date palm sap, with a deep caramel flavour. It's what gives handesh their distinctive taste, so it's worth tracking down.
Usually the batter is lumpy or too thin, or the oil isn't the right heat. Whisk it smooth, get the consistency like thick pancake batter, and keep the oil at a moderate temperature.
They're at their best hot and fresh, but they'll keep for a few days in an airtight container. Warm them through in a low oven or on a tawa over a gentle heat.
Whisk a couple of tablespoons of plain flour into the batter to firm it up slightly, then try frying again.
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