Making delicious vegan coconut dumplings

Narkel Puli or Narikel Puri is a very popular Bangladeshi pitha made of rice flour, coconut, and date molasses. To add that extra essence for vegan tastebuds, I use crushed cashew, pinch of black cumin and walnut.  

Vegan Narikel Puli (Deep Fried Coconut Dumpling)  

Photo: Faiza Ahmed

Ingredients 

• 1 cup date jaggery (gur) 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 cup coconut, unsweetened 
• 1 tbsp oil 
• 1 cup rice flour 
• 1½ cup water 
• ⅛ tsp salt 
• 2 tsp cashew dust 
• 1 tsp crushed walnut 
• Pinch of black cumin 
• Oil for deep frying 

Method

For coconut filling — 

Boil water and add the gur. As gur melts, add coconut to the pan. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is semi sticky but not runny.  Add cashew, walnut and black cumin.  

For pitha dough — 

Boil water. Add salt and oil. Add rice flour to boiling water and keep stirring with a wooden spoon to form a firm but soft and not sticky dough. Adjust flour accordingly. Knead well for about 3-4 minutes. Take a portion of the dough and roll it out as a thick tortilla, about a quarter of an inch thick. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter. 

Place a small amount of coconut filling on each circle. Repeat the process with the remaining dough. Brush the edges with water and seal tightly to form a crescent (semi-circular) shape. 

Heat oil. Fry the narikel puli pitha in medium heat until the dough is cooked through and slightly golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Total time: 60 minutes

Serving: 10-12 people  

Notes: Adjust water and flour for the dough depending on the quality of flour. 
Cooking time will vary depending on the thinness of the dumpling skin. If the dough is thin, the narikel puli should cook very quickly but will take longer if the skin is thick. 

You can serve extra liquid molasses as a dip if the pitha is less sweet!