Sri Lankan recipes, like the country itself, are not widely known or recognized outside of Asia for the most part. Which is a shame because Sri Lankan cuisine is staggeringly rich and diverse and is a veritable treasure trove of flavors. From potently flavorful curries like this chicken curry, dhal curry, lamb curry (mutton curry), fish curry, mushroom curry, jackfruit curry etc. to butter cake, breudher cake, pani pol (sweet coconut stuffed crepes), falooda milkshake, chocolate biscuit pudding etc. there is so much flavor to go around! Its close proximity to India means that they do share a few traits in their food cultures but there’s so much more that’s wholly unique and mouth-wateringly delicious about Sri Lankan food as well. Thanks to a host of reasons like its very long history, its strategic location that made it a crucial pit-stop in long trade routes that connected regional commercial powerhouses centuries ago, and its diverse ethnic and multicultural society, Sri lankan desserts often employ a unique combination of refined and unrefined sugars and distinct spices. This trait gives them a sweetness and a warmth that’s truly incomparable. And one such example is this Sri Lankan Watalappan (Cardamom Spiced Coconut Custard)! There are literally dozens of stories I could tell you about some amazing memories that I have that are related to this dessert. And as nostalgic as those memories make me feel I will instead try to explain to you here why this custard is different from other custard desserts in the world. And yet why I think it should rank right up there with creme caramel, creme brulee and other types of egg-based custard dessert. First off, how do you pronounce Watalappan? Phonetically it’s written wɒtə-lʌp-pʌn (or what-a-lup-pun). My dad sometimes calls it (in typical roll-your-eyes-dad-humour) “what’ll-happen.” You get the idea right? Sri Lankan watalappan is a delicious, creamy coconut custard sweetened with traditional “Kitul Jaggery,” and with warming spices like cardamom and nutmeg. Jaggery (also used in this classic Sri Lankan pani pol recipe) is basically a hardened block of sugar, and almost everywhere else in the world it is made with cane sugar. In Sri Lanka however, jaggery does NOT come from cane sugar. Instead it uses the sap extracted from a type of palm tree called “Kitul”. Kitul treacle or kitul jaggery can be found in Sri Lanka and parts of India as well and 100% kitul jaggery is just phenomenal! It’s a dark brown, molassy block of sugar that is softer than its cane sugar counterpart and when grated has a slightly powder-like quality. When I used to live in Sri Lanka, our desserts would sometimes be a piece of kitul jaggery with a banana or jaggery syrup (“kitul pani”) with yoghurt! Uhmaaazing! Where I live now in the US, it’s very difficult to find kitul jaggery. But fear not! There is a way you can almost replicate that flavor. All you need is a good quality unrefined brown sugar with a high molasses content such as dark brown molasses sugar (see my comprehensive guide to types of sugar for more information!). The higher the molasses content, the better! However, if you’d like to try this with kitul, here’s a link for kitul jaggery.
Steamed vs baked watalappan
Also, watalappan is traditionally made by steaming it, but here I use the more uncomplicated technique of baking it in the oven in a water-bath instead. Works just as well! Muslim families in Sri Lanka always celebrate the end of Ramadan with this amazing dessert! I remember when I was little, some of our Muslim family friends would come over and share with us a platter of their celebratory feast which included (amongst other fantastic dishes) biryani rice and watalappan! It was so darn good it would make you cry. Living in Australia and New Zealand never stopped us from enjoying this quintessential Sri Lankan dessert, as my mum made a wicked watalappan. So here I’m sharing with you my version of her recipe which I have tweaked slightly to make the custard a little richer and sweeter (but certainly not too rich/sweet by any reasonable reckoning). I hope you try it. Because it’s easy to make, and because you should. 🙂 I have now also made an ice cream version of this fantastic recipe – eggless and vegan watalappan ice cream (cardamom spiced coconut ice cream!). Tastes absolutely amazing and SO easy to make with or without an ice cream churner. I absolutely love the creaminess of this dessert. The coconut milk gives it that creaminess which pairs brilliantly with the warm spicy bite you get from cardamom. The molassy flavor of sugar makes this dessert almost festive, especially when paired with nutmeg. So every creamy bite has an earthy sweetness and a hint of spicy warmth. Think Christmas dessert flavors (of molasses and nutmeg) with an eastern spice twist. Who would say no to that? So all I have left to say is, you have got to try this! It’s easy to put together, plus it’s dairy-free and made with unrefined sugars. You can make this a day ahead and keep it in the fridge until you eat it, or if you’re like me keep some hidden in the deep dark recesses of your fridge so that you won’t finish it all in one go, because trust me, this is one addictive dessert! UPDATE – I have added another exciting version of the classic Watalappan… in the form of a Vegan Ice Cream! So that’s no eggs, and no dairy and creamy just like an Ice Cream. And don’t forget to subscribefor new recipes and updates by entering your email address below to get all these delicious recipes delivered straight to your inbox. You can also find me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and GOOGLE-PLUS too. I frequently share pictures of recipes to come on the blog plus other awesome recipes I find out there that I want to try. So I hope you do stop by and say hi! 🙂
