Kayi holige (coconut obbattu)
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Thin sweet flatbread stuffed with coconut and jaggery, cooked on a griddle and served with ghee or milk, made for Ugadi and other festivals.
Region: KarnatakaOccasion: Ugadi, Varamahalakshmi, Deepavali and weddingsTime: 1 hour 15 minServes: About 10 holigesVegetarian
Ingredients
- For the dough: 1 cup maida or fine wheat flour, a pinch of turmeric, a pinch of salt, ½ cup oil, water as needed
- For the filling: 2 cups freshly grated coconut, 1 cup grated jaggery, ¼ cup water, ½ tsp cardamom powder, 1 tbsp ghee
- Rice flour for dusting
- Ghee to serve
Method
- Make a very soft, sticky dough with flour, turmeric, salt and water. Cover with oil and rest for at least 1 hour.
- Melt the jaggery in the water, add the coconut and cook, stirring, until thick and dry. Add cardamom and ghee and cool.
- Shape the filling into lime-sized balls.
- Take a small ball of dough on an oiled banana leaf or butter paper, flatten it, place the filling inside and close it.
- Pat or roll it out gently into a thin circle, dusting with rice flour.
- Cook on a hot tawa until golden spots appear on both sides. Serve warm with ghee or hot milk.
History
Holige or obbattu is the Kannada name for the stuffed sweet flatbread made across the Deccan. Karnataka homes make both the lentil (bele) and coconut (kayi) versions.
Significance
Holige is the sweet of Ugadi, the Kannada New Year, eaten after tasting bevu-bella, the mix of neem and jaggery that stands for life’s bitter and sweet moments.