Watalappam, also known as watalappan or vattalappam, (Sinhalese: වටලප්පන්, Tamil: வட்டலாப்பம்) is a coconut cream pudding from Sri Lanka made with coconut milk or condensed milk, kitul jaggery, cashews, eggs, spices such as cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg, and sometimes thick pandan juice or vanilla pods.
It is believed that the dish was brought to the country by the Malays of Sri Lanka in the 18th century, who moved from Indonesia to the country during Dutch rule.
The dessert is likely derived from the dish known as sangkhaya, which is a steamed custard made from eggs, coconut milk, palm sugar, and pandan leaves.
The similarity between the two dishes suggests a common origin.
And it is likely that it is a word borrowed from Dutch, Vla, meaning custard, and was applied by the Moors as a vernacular name, vattil-appan, using the Tamil phrase.
The dessert is traditionally steamed, but the easier technique of baking it in a water bath can also be used.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Steam
- Cuisine: Indian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 7 oz kitul jaggery (or jaggery)
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3 cloves
- to taste ground cardamom
- to taste ground cinnamon
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste cashews
Steps
Dissolve the kitul jaggery in 100 ml of hot water.
Beat the eggs, add the coconut milk, the jaggery, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Transfer the mixture to a pan (if round, 8 inches) and steam for 1 hour.
Serve with cashews on top.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is kitul jaggery?
In Sri Lanka, however, jaggery does not come from sugar cane. Instead, it uses sap extracted from a type of palm called “Kitul”.
Kitul molasses or kitul jaggery can also be found in some parts of India.
It is a dark brown sugar block, softer than its cane sugar counterpart, and when grated, it has a slightly powder-like quality.
This is what can be bought in supermarkets in Sri Lanka.
