Published: November 3, 2016 Last Modified: May 28, 2019 Freda Dias

Sanna | Sannas | Goan Steamed Rice Cakes (Plain & Sweet Version)

Step-by-step recipe with pictures to make Goan Sannas | Sanna, plain version and a sweet version with a coconut and jaggery stuffing.

WHAT IS SANNA | SANNAS?

Sanna or Sannas are a Goan/Mangalorean version of idlis, i.e. spongy steamed rice cakes. It is made from a batter consisting of ground red rice and freshly grated coconut. The rice and coconut are ground using toddy (fermented coconut water). The batter is then fermented and steamed. Sannas are a popular accompaniment for sorpotel, xacuti, chicken curry, and other meat curries. They are slightly sweet and hence pair perfectly with these fiery and tangy gravies.

HOW TO MAKE GOAN SANNAS | SANNA?

Making sannas is not as difficult as making idlis. To make sanna, you start off by soaking rice for a couple of hours. The rice is then ground with toddy, some grated coconut paste, salt, and sugar are added. The batter is left to ferment for a few hours.

The fermented batter will have tiny bubbles and a characteristic fermented smell. It is then transferred to greased molds, and steamed until cooked through around 20-25 minutes.

There are two types of sanna/sannas,

Plain sanna, the batter of which consists of rice and coconut, fermented with toddy
Godachem/Chunachi (sweet) sanna, the batter which consists of rice, fermented with toddy and is filled with coconut+jaggery mix.

Today I will be sharing both the versions. I made these along with my Mum-in-law, during my stay in Goa earlier this year, using the traditional sanna steamer and those traditional moulds (vatis) to steam the sannas. You can use regular idli molds, or simply a 7-inch or 9-inch cake tin to steam the sanna.

Traditionally, red boiled rice is consumed along with curries in Goa, and even other Southern states like Kerala. Although this form of rice takes longer to cook, it is so much healthier and nutrient-rich than the regular rice.

For this steamed rice cake recipe, you can substitute the Goan red rice with idli rice/parboiled rice, easily available in most Indian stores. Now, toddy is another ingredient which is required for batter fermentation. I used to make these with yeast until I learnt how to make toddy from coconut water from Alves’s blog. I knew I had to give that a shot. The resulting sannas with homemade toddy were as close to the real deal. So, I highly recommend using toddy instead of yeast.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE GOAN SANNA | SANNAS

1.Wash and soak the rice in sufficient water for about 4-5 hours. Drain set aside.

2.In your mixer/ grinder, add the drained rice, grind using little toddy (I used about 1 & 1/4 cup) to a smooth batter. Add the toddy in increments so that the batter grinds well. Remove about 1 & 3/4 cup batter in another large bowl. Transfer the remaining batter to another mixing bowl ( you will have about 1 & 1/2 cup batter )

3.Grind the freshly grated coconut with about 2-3 tablespoons of toddy. Set aside.

4.Mix coconut and grated jaggery in a bowl. Cook this mixture on low heat until all the moisture has evaporated and the mixture has dried up.

5.For plain sannas-To one bowl with the rice batter, add coconut batter [prepared in step 3, 1/4 cup sugar and about 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add more toddy if required to adjust the batter consistency.

6.For sweet sannas- To the other bowl of rice batter, add 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

7.Cover, leave it a warm place to ferment and double in size for about 4-6 hours.

8.Grease the sanna moulds with little oil.

For plain sannas, fill the moulds to about 3/4 th with the sanna batter.

For sweet sannas, fill the moulds to 1/4th with sanna batter, then add a generous amount of the coconut-jaggery mix, fill with more sanna batter up to 3/4th of the mould.

9.Steam for about 20-25 minutes.

10.Transfer to a serving platter, serve plain sannas with gravy of your choice or eat it as is. It’s delicious on its own. The sweet jaggery sannas are great with your morning cuppa or evening chai.

NOTES

How to make sannas without toddy?

If toddy is unavailable, use water to grind the batter.

Dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar in 2 tablespoons of warm water (not hot, or else it will kill the yeast) , add active dry yeast, leave uncovered in a dark place for about 10 minutes.
Whilst the yeast is getting activated, prepare the rice and coconut batter.
Check on the yeast mixture. If it’s bubbly and foamy, it means it’s activated and ready to use. If not, discard, and start again.
Add the activated yeast mixture to the rice batter. Then divide the batter between two bowls and proceed as mentioned from step 5 above.

If you want to make only plain sannas, follow these proportions:

2 cups Goan red rice/ idli rice/ basmati rice

Approx 2 cups freshly grated coconut

1&1/2 cups toddy, adjust as per consistency

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

If you want to make only the sweet sannas with jaggery, follow these proportions:

2 cups Goan red rice/ idli rice/ basmati rice

1& 1/4 cups toddy, adjust as per consistency

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

Filling for chunachi (sweet) sannas-

1 & 1/2 cups freshly grated coconut

1 cup grated palm jaggery/ regular sugarcane jaggery

Homemade toddy recipe here.

HOW TO MAKE GOAN SANNA | SANNAS?