Goan Coconut Pancakes – Alle Belle

If you follow my blog then by now you have seen a couple of recipes that sound familiar but have a very varied twist. I wish I could take the full credit for this but it is my heritage that I grew up with. So If you are a professional chef or a food expert then my recipes will not make a lot of sense but one thing I can guarantee is that it will taste great. I have a very sensitive tongue ( if I can use that noun) that can tell me if the food is salty, too sweet, under flavored or just right. I can not say overcooked, as most Indian food’s are overcooked 🙂 One great benefit of overcooking is that all the food borne disease seem to disappear. The only time I had ever heard of e-coli was only after coming to the US.

In recent times there has been such a big hype of coconut products that I feel a sense of pride to be a Goan since coconut has been a staple in our food culture. Coconut as a fruit is used to make alcohol called Feni, vinegar, oil, in savory and sweet dishes. Coconut tree has many uses. It is used to make roofing, coconut shells are used for fire the fibers inside the shells are used to make kitchen scrubbers.

Everyone knows crepes but I can assure you that if you did not grow in the southern parts of Indian then the Goan Coconut Pancakes as they are called or Alle Belle ( It sure is not a Portuguese word but is more of a local nickname) stuffed with fresh grated coconut is a new one for you. To confuse you further 😉 these are made for evening tea. And of all the crepes or pancakes I have eaten, this one is unique, simple and very delicious.

The filling for the crepes is made with coconut jaggery. It’s almost a raw form of sugar that is available in Goa and is dark brown and triangular-shaped. The coconut jaggery is moist, sticky and grainy to the touch. Jaggery that is available in the rest parts of Indian is a light golden brown color and is available in most Indian store. The darker version that is close to the Goan Jaggery is found  in Sri Lankan stores or Indian Stores that sell Sri lankan products. I get mine imported from Goa 🙂

There are many version of the Goan Crepes recipes that I have seen online. I have seen some use coconut milk, baking soda or baking powder but take it from a Goan it’s not that complicated. The crepe or pancake batter is made with just flour, egg, water and pinch of salt. It is a thin batter and all you need is a good non-stick pan and a cooking spray.

Serving Size: 9 Crepes

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup of grated coconut
• 5 pods of cardamom seeds pounded
• 1/2 cup of jaggery that is shaved with the knife. (To make it more sweeter you can add 1/4 cup more)

Crepe Batter Ingredients:

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 2 pinches of salt.

Directions:

• Mix all the 4 ingredients till it is smooth. Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat.
• Spray the pan with Pam spray. Spoon in 1/4 cup batter swirl it to make a round shape. Cook till the sides curls. Flip it over and cook for another 30 seconds. Take off heat.
• Repeat the above step till all the batter is over.
• Divide the filling in 9 equal parts and spoon it on one side and roll the crepe as below.

Enjoy it with a lovely Rose flavor Tea.