Sanna | Steamed Rice Muffins
Soft and pillowy like a ball of cotton-wool and absolutely versatile, pairing perfectly with a chutney or meat dishes – that’s Sanna for you! In simple terms, they are nothing but steamed fermented rice batter muffins/ cakes. No Catholic feast / celebration in Mangalore and Goa is complete without Sanna on the menu. Sanna is the plural form, while the singular form is Sannan in Konkani. They are the cousin of the much loved South-Indian Idli, but trust me when I say that the Sanna are a hands-down winner when it comes to a show-down between the two.
While the Idlis are fermented with Urad Dal and have a coarser texture and dull white in colour owing to the larger proportion of Urad Dal used in it, the Sanna are fermented traditionally using Toddy and in current times – yeast. They are pillowy soft and whiter compared to the idlis. While the idlis are enjoyed best with chutney and sambhar, the sanna are versatile and team well with anything vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian.
How To Make Sanna
My early memories of Sanna is the inviting aroma of the fermented rice batter wafting through the air on the eve of a feast day or a celebration in the family. This was true of every Catholic home in Mangalore. Walking by, one would be greeted with that aroma and you would know they are preparing for a celebration. Now, when I make them here in Germany, I’m sure my neighbours would be wondering, what’s cooking!
Making them involves four primary processes viz. soaking the grains, making the batter, fermenting the batter and steaming the batter. Traditionally, a steamer known as Tondor was used. One had to fill the lower half of the tondor with water and bring it to a boil. A perforated plate separates the two halves. Steel ramekins known as Gindlaan (singular- Gindaal), filled half way up with the fermented batter were placed on the perforated plate. The Tondor is then sealed with a snugly fitting lid, letting the batter to bake in the trapped steam.
So, as briefly explained above, we begin by washing and soaking the Rice and the Urad dal. I use Par-boiled rice, Raw rice and urad dal in the ratio of 3:1:0.5. Soak them separately for 3 to 4 hours. Drain them and grind them. I begin by grinding the urad dal and raw rice one after the other with minimal water to a thick smooth paste and transfer to a large enough bowl/ vessel. Before you begin grinding, parallely activate the yeast by mixing it with lukewarm water and sugar and set it aside for atleast 20 minutes till the mixture turns frothy.
After the urad dal and raw rice, grind the par-boiled rice to a thick smooth paste. Since I am not using toddy in this recipe and toddy can be made by fermenting coconut water with yeast and sugar – to get the traditional flavour of toddy fermented sanna, I ground the par-boiled rice with freshly grated coconut and coconut water. After grinding to a thick smooth paste, transfer it to the vessel with the ground urad dal and raw rice and mix well. Add the sugar and the activated yeast solution and mix well. The batter should not be runny nor too thick. It should be of Dosa Batter consistency. Cover the vessel and allow the batter to ferment and rise.
Fermenting The Batter for Sanna
While fermenting, the rising time for the batter will vary based on the region and the ambient temperature. It can vary from less than couple of hours in peak summer in hot-humid countries like India and many hours/ overnight in peak winter in the colder countries and may need some coaxing. Placing the batter in a warm oven will help it rise in colder climates. Another thing to remember is the presence of salt slows down the growth of the yeast and in turn the fermentation and rising.
Always add the salt after mixing the activated yeast solution into the batter. Also, ideally avoid stirring the batter once it is risen as you may run the risk of making the batter go flat and the sanna may not be fluffy. But in colder climates, it is best to avoid adding the salt before fermentation and add it only after the batter has fermented and risen. I always add the salt after fermentation and if you mix it in gently like I do, you will end up with fluffy sanna as seen in the image above.
Steam-baking The Sanna
Once the batter has fermented and risen, we proceed with steam-baking the sanna. For this, prepare the Tondor/ Steamer with sufficient water on the boil. Oil the Gindlaan/ moulds/ Ramekins (I used ø6cm x 3cm gindlaan). Fill the batter, half way up the gindlaan and place in the steamer and steam for about 25 minutes. Remove the gindlaan out and allow them to cool completely. You can invert them and cover with a wet cloth to speed up the cooling.
Once cooled completely, with the help of your fingers, gently pull-back the edges of the sanna or run a knife/ back of a spoon along the sides and tap them out of the mould and serve. The yield depends on the size of the moulds used. This recipe with the mould size I used, yields 24 Sanna.
How To Enjoy Sanna
Sanna are very versatile and team up well with anything, especially non-vegetarians dishes. You can enjoy them for breakfast with a watery coconut based chutney or dip them in your coffee/tea and enjoy. But team them with a non-vegetarian dish like the Mangalorean Chicken Roce Curry or the Kori Gassi and mopping up the gravy is a heavenly feeling. Don’t think it is limited to only chicken dishes. Try it with Mutton and Beef too and don’t miss out on trying the classic Mangalorean festive combo of Sanna and Dukramass (Pork-Bafat). Even the Pork Indaad or the Chicken Ghee Roast work well. And if you think these are the only combos, dip them in some Vorn (payasam) and try!
You can always reheat Sanna by steaming them, or blitz in a microwave along with a cup of water for a minute. They store well too. Put them in a zip-lock bag, removing as much air as possible and toss them in the freezer for a couple of weeks. And if you think they have gone a bit stale and dry, fret not! Pan fry them in a little ghee until golden brown on both sides and dig-in. It’s a tasty treat enjoyed as breakfast or as a snack.
Sugarfree Sannas? – Post updated on 06th Sept 2021
My quest to adopt a healthy lifestyle and practice mindful eating, got me thinking about how and if, I can make my recipes a tad more healthier without losing on the taste quotient. These Sugarfree Sannas are the first outcome of this. Going by what I’ve heard over the years and also have read on other popular blogs, I too was of the opinion that Sugar is needed to activate yeast. Turns out it’s a partially-true old wives tale passed on from the time when the preservation of yeast wasn’t as good as it is now.
Sugar can be used to do a quick check if the yeast is still alive enough to be effective. However, it is not needed to activate the yeast. Active dry yeast is the dehydrated form of fresh yeast. This is done to help preserve it better. Activating the yeast means rehydrating it and for this a small amount of lukewarm water will suffice. Once it turns foamy, add it to the batter and let it feed on the natural sugars present in the sanna batter. I also, completely eliminated the addition of any sugar to the batter to make it sweeter. Finally the outcome was spongy and yumm as the sannas with sugar.
So next time, bake your sannas and have them too, minus the guilt! I have updated the recipe card with these sugarfree modifications. Enjoy!
Sanna – Steamed Mangalorean Rice Muffins
Ingredients
for the Yeast solution:
- 1 tsp Yeast, heaped
- ¼ Cup Water, lukewarm
- 1 tsp Sugar
for the Batter:
- ¼ Cup Urad Dal (washed and soaked for 3-4 hours and drained)
- ½ Cup Raw Rice (washed and soaked for 3-4 hours and drained)
- 1½ Cup Par-boiled Rice (washed and soaked for 3-4 hours and drained)
- ½ Cup Fresh Coconut, grated (optional)
- ½ Cup Fresh Coconut Water (optional) (use regular water instead)
- 1½ tbsp Sugar (optional – only if you want them sweeter)
- 1 tsp Salt
- Water (as needed)
Instructions
Activating the Yeast:
- In a small bowl, mix the yeast with the lukewarm water and set aside for about 20 minutes until the mixture turns frothy
Preparing the Batter:
- Grind the Urad dal and Raw rice one after the other with minimal water to a thick smooth paste and transfer to a large enough bowl/ vessel
- Grind the Par-boiled rice along with the grated coconut and coconut water to a smooth thick paste and transfer to the same bowl. Add a little water if needed to aid the grinding process
- Mix well. Add water if needed to bring the batter to a thick dosa batter consistency (not pouring consistency)
- Add the sugar (if using) and mix well
- Add the activated yeast solution to the batter and give it a good mix
- Cover the vessel and keep aside in a warm dry place for the batter to ferment and double up (see notes)
- Once the batter has fermented and risen, sprinkle the salt and gently mix (see notes)
Baking the Sanna:
- Prepare a steamer/ tondor for baking the Sanna
- Prepare the moulds/ramekins by brushing them with some neutral flavoured oil
- Pour the batter halfway into the moulds
- Place the moulds in the steamer and steam them for about 25 mins
- Take out the moulds and allow them to cool completely (see notes)
- Once cooled completely, with the help of your fingers, gently pull-back the edges of the sanna or run a knife/ back of a spoon along the sides and tap them out of the mould
Serving the Sanna:
- These can be had for breakfast/ lunch/ dinner/ tea-time snack, with some chutney/ sweetened coconut-milk/ meat dishes/
Storing the Sannas:
- Place them in an air-tight container and lightly steam them before serving
- If storing them for a longer duration, put them in a zip-lock bag, make it air-tight and place in the freezer
Notes
- the fermentation and rising time will vary based on the ambient temperature. In warmer regions like India during peak summer, the batter can rise in a couple of hours, while in colder climates, it will take hours, sometimes overnight for the batter to rise.
- In colder climate, place the batter in the oven in “Keep Warm” mode
- Salt hampers the growth of the yeast and hence slows down the fermentation. Hence, especially in colder climates, it is recommended to add salt just before baking the sannas and gently stir the batter, without losing much of the frothing.
- In warmer climates, you can add the salt at the beginning of the fermentation process if you so desire
- Exercise caution while opening the steamer, to avoid burns from the hot steam.
- Also, open the lid briskly, without letting any of the condensation to drop on the Sannas and making them soggy
- To hasten the cooling process, invert the moulds on the kitchen counter-top and cover with a wet cloth
- If you have leftover Sannas, pan fry them in a little ghee until golden brown on both sides and enjoy as a tea time snack or a lazy post-festive breakfast
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Please share saana receipe using toddy
Hi Saira! Thank you for writing in. Well, I have no access to toddy in Germany and hence my Sanna recipe is about replicating Toddy fermented Sannas without Toddy. Once can make toddy at home by fermenting coconut water with yeast. I have done the same in my recipe! Instead of Toddy, I have used coconut water and yeast. If you have access to toddy, follow my recipe as it is, but completely skip the process of “activating the yeast” and instead of half a cup of coconut water, use about half to three-quarter cup of Toddy. Done!