Looking pretty in pink, green and white, letri is a noodle dessert made of rice flour. Quite simply, handmade noodles topped with fresh coconut and jaggery. It’s simply delicious!
Apart from sand cake and apas, one of the things granny made with rice flour is the fine letri noodles. Letri is a dessert I have a love-hate relationship with.
I love it when it’s made sweetish, but don’t like it when it’s just a tasteless rice noodle dessert that requires the coconut and jaggery to add a finishing touch. Methinks letri should be a slightly sweetish rice dessert dish that’s covered with sweet jaggery and fresh coconut; emphasis on the rice noodles being sweetish here.
Checked with Aunty Tiloo, dad and mom on how to make them just perfect. Aunty Tiloo told me about how grandma Rose used to make them every time they wanted to eat it. Dunno if that’s really true. And how they used to squish them in their palms to make them nice and soft. And how they used the ghoda to make it.
I tried to find the family ghoda’s but Granny Catherine’s ghoda disappeared in 1993, and Granny Rose’s ghoda is with one of the aunties, but everyone says they don’t have it.
So to make do in modern times, we used a murruku maker. It’s pretty good as a letri ghoda replacement, and makes good enough noodles without needing too much arm-exercise. That’s me below making it.
Steps to Make East Indian Letri Dessert
You don’t need too many ingredients to make the infamous letri dessert. It may take a bit of practice, but once you’ve mastered it. you’ll be making it ever so often.
A family secret, if you must know, we add a dash of salt to make it even more flavorful. Yes, it’s not in the traditional recipe, but it makes the letri taste many times better.
Make the Khoi
Make the Colored Dough Balls
Cook the Letri Khoi
A note here. Traditionally, the letri rice balls are squished before being added to the boiling water. But we found that they turn out just as good even if you don’t squish them. I guess it really depends on the consistency of your khoi.
Top the Letri with Jaggery and Freshly Grated Coconut
Letri, the East Indian rice noodle dessert
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Ingredients
For the Letri
- 250 gms Rice Flour
- 50 gms Sugar
- 500 ml Water
- 0.25 Tablespoon Salt
- 3 drops Green Food Colour
- 3 drops Pink food colour
For the Topping
- 40 gms Coconut Freshly Grated
- 50 gms Jaggery
Instructions
Make the Rice Flour Khoi
- Boil water in a pot with the salt and when it starts to bubble add the rice flour.
- Cook while stirring for about 4 to 5 minutes till the flour and water forms into a dough, traditionally called a khoi.
- Remove the khoi into a thala (flatboard) and knead into a smoother dough.
- Divide the dough into three parts.
- Add pink and green colors to two of the dough balls and mould again.
Make the Letri
- In a deep pot, boil water and start dropping balls of dough into it.
- When each ball rises to the surface it's cooked.
- Take each ball and put in the murruku maker. (You can also mix the balls to make different colors.) (Granny would use the ghoda, but we don't know which cousin has it.)
- Press out the noodles in a circular format in individual trays or large plates.
Add Toppings to the Letri Noodles
- Cover the letri noodles with the fresh coconut and grated jaggery.
- Serve warm!
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Notes
- Traditionally made with a letri ghoda, my family now uses a murruku maker to make the letri noodles more easily.
- Salt is not traditionally added, but we add it in for flavor.
- Sometimes we add a few drops of vanilla essence to the khoi while making it.
Nutrition (Per Serving)
Disclaimer: Nutrition Information per serving is estimated by a third party software based on the ingredients used, and is for informational purposes only. It will vary from product to product, based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients. Please consult the package labels of the ingredients you use, or chat with your dietician for specific details.
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I’m an East Indian foodie and travel blogger from Bombay, India. I love food, wine, and sharing my culture’s ethnic East Indian and traditional Indian recipes. You’ll find more info about me here!
ABBY, THANKS FOR SHARING THIS AWESOME AND SIMPLE RECIPE. AT ANY EAST INDIAN FOOD FESTIVAL, LETRI IS A MUST BUY ON MY LIST. I WILL DEFINITELY BE TRYING THIS RECIPE IN THE MORNING. WOULD HAVE LOVED TO TRY IT RIGHT NOW, BUT IT IS 3 AM IN THE MORNING, SO I HAVE TO WAIT TILL LATE MORNING, WHEN THE SHOPS OPEN IN MAROL VILLAGE. THANKS ONCE AGAIN. PS: WHICH JAGGERY DID YOU USE. FLOUR OF ANY PARTICULAR RICE TO BE USED OR ANY RICE FLOUR WILL DO.
Hi Royston,
We used a mix of chikki jaggery and regular jaggery, but it really doesn’t matter which you use. Any white rice flour will work. Let us know how it turns out for you. 🙂
Abby