Kormolas

“These little morsels of heaven are usually made during Christmas time in Goa with the addition of an egg. I omitted the egg and thought they would fit perfectly in Diwali boxes, too.” – Lorraine Maharaj

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Rub in the butter. Add the coconut milk and vanilla and mix well. Knead to form a soft dough. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the dough from the fridge. Divide into two pieces, then roll out each piece as thinly as possible, about ½ mm in thickness. (This is tricky – you’ll need a lot of pressure! If you can’t get them quite that thin, the recipe will still work – they just won’t be quite as thin and crisp and your yield will be lower.) Cut the dough into squares approximately 3 x 3 cm.

3. Moisten the corners of the squares slightly with water. Bring two corners of the squares together to form a triangle and press firmly to seal. Turn over and bring the other two corners together, twisting the corners a little to prevent them from opening up. It should form a little flower shape.

4. Heat the oil in a small saucepan and fry the kormolas in the hot oil over a medium heat until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper. Once completely cool, place in an airtight container and store for up to a week. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Find more Diwali recipes here. 

Photographs: Jan Ras
Production: Khanya Mzongwana
Food assistant: Tahila Pillay