I know it's been a while, a long wait, but then I was accommodating myself to something new in my life.... That later. Now I want to share my new found love for preparing Bebinca, a Goan dessert.
Preparing bebinca, the traditional way, is no easy task and is very time consuming. Perhaps that is the reason I did not venture into making bebinca. Besides whenever we went to Goa we bought some and satisfied our cravings.
Last year during Christmas I thought of making bebinca. I browsed the net looking for an easy method to making bebinca. And guess what? There is no easy method, at least it doesn't come under the 30 mins meal category. Now get ready for this... It takes 7 to 8 hours. Yes you heard me right 7-8 hours of cooking time. You may think I am referring to the traditional method of cooking bebinca but no. Not the traditional method, as I have not used that method to cook my bebinca, but the modern method using an oven.
Traditionally bebinca is cooked by placing hot burning coal on the lid of the pot, in which it is cooking because it is the top that needs to cook. Oh this sounds confusing.
Okay, so what is bebinca and why is it cooked the way it is cooked?
Bebinca is a layered sweet pudding made from a batter of coconut milk, sugar, egg yolks, flour, grated nutmeg and ghee. A big spoonful or two of the batter is cooked on a slow fire in a greased pan for 20-30 mins, followed by a spoonful of ghee spread on the top and then the process is repeated, allowing each layer to cook for 30 mins. The hot burning coal placed on the lid cooks the layers from the top. To cook the bebinca in the oven you need to actually switch to grill mode. This is something I did not know, and in the process of baking the bebinca I would end up with two layers burnt from under, until I decided to first check out the right way of doing it.
I posted my query on Goan Culinary Network a Facebook group dedicated to Goan Food and Culture, and to my rescue came my very own neighbor. Thanks to Joao Corte and his beautiful wife Cathy who shared the secret of grilling bebinca. Could not wait to try it out, so here we go..
Grab
2 cups of sugar
2 cans of coconut milk/cream
12 egg yolks
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
ghee
Mix the sugar with the coconut milk/cream, then add the egg yolks and mix well. Sift the flour and grated nutmeg over the coconut and egg yolk batter and mix all of it thoroughly. Grease an 8" round pan with ghee. Pour 3 big spoonful of the batter into the pan and let it cook on the stove for 15 -20 mins. In the meantime pre-heat the oven/grill at 150 deg C. When the first layer is cooked, take it off the stove and spread a teaspoon of ghee on the top. Place another 3 big spoonful of batter on the top of the first layer and grill it in the oven for 25-30 mins. Repeat the process by spreading ghee on the cooked layer and then the batter and bake each layer for 25-30 mins. until all the batter is used. You should get 7-8 layers of bebinca after some 6-7 hours of grilling.
Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Turn it out from the pan and enjoy every bite of this most delicious dessert.
Patience is the key... You should be prepared to spend 6-7 hours in the kitchen... and there is no shortcut to making bebinca.. do not increase the oven temperature... do not bake the layers for less than 25 mins.... and you should get a perfect layered dessert called Bebinca.
What is that red layer in there?.... i simply colored one of the layers with a dash of food coloring ;).
If I can make it... you can too. Try it out and let me know.
And if you are wondering what to do with the egg whites, I received a lot of suggestions when asked...i'll keep that for later. Okay let me share one... simple, make omelettes :).
Enjoy!!!
Traditionally bebinca is cooked by placing hot burning coal on the lid of the pot, in which it is cooking because it is the top that needs to cook. Oh this sounds confusing.
Okay, so what is bebinca and why is it cooked the way it is cooked?
Bebinca is a layered sweet pudding made from a batter of coconut milk, sugar, egg yolks, flour, grated nutmeg and ghee. A big spoonful or two of the batter is cooked on a slow fire in a greased pan for 20-30 mins, followed by a spoonful of ghee spread on the top and then the process is repeated, allowing each layer to cook for 30 mins. The hot burning coal placed on the lid cooks the layers from the top. To cook the bebinca in the oven you need to actually switch to grill mode. This is something I did not know, and in the process of baking the bebinca I would end up with two layers burnt from under, until I decided to first check out the right way of doing it.
I posted my query on Goan Culinary Network a Facebook group dedicated to Goan Food and Culture, and to my rescue came my very own neighbor. Thanks to Joao Corte and his beautiful wife Cathy who shared the secret of grilling bebinca. Could not wait to try it out, so here we go..
Grab
2 cups of sugar
2 cans of coconut milk/cream
12 egg yolks
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
ghee
Mix the sugar with the coconut milk/cream, then add the egg yolks and mix well. Sift the flour and grated nutmeg over the coconut and egg yolk batter and mix all of it thoroughly. Grease an 8" round pan with ghee. Pour 3 big spoonful of the batter into the pan and let it cook on the stove for 15 -20 mins. In the meantime pre-heat the oven/grill at 150 deg C. When the first layer is cooked, take it off the stove and spread a teaspoon of ghee on the top. Place another 3 big spoonful of batter on the top of the first layer and grill it in the oven for 25-30 mins. Repeat the process by spreading ghee on the cooked layer and then the batter and bake each layer for 25-30 mins. until all the batter is used. You should get 7-8 layers of bebinca after some 6-7 hours of grilling.
Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Turn it out from the pan and enjoy every bite of this most delicious dessert.
Patience is the key... You should be prepared to spend 6-7 hours in the kitchen... and there is no shortcut to making bebinca.. do not increase the oven temperature... do not bake the layers for less than 25 mins.... and you should get a perfect layered dessert called Bebinca.
What is that red layer in there?.... i simply colored one of the layers with a dash of food coloring ;).
If I can make it... you can too. Try it out and let me know.
And if you are wondering what to do with the egg whites, I received a lot of suggestions when asked...i'll keep that for later. Okay let me share one... simple, make omelettes :).
Enjoy!!!
