Alebele - The Lost Goan Delicacy

Alebele , the name itself sound's very interesting right? Most Goan's might have heard about this dish, if you haven't then continue reading if you want to know more about this delicious lip-smacking  Goan snack.

As we know Goa was ruled by the Portuguese for many years as a result the Goan cuisine is strongly influenced by the Portuguese, it is India's most cosmopolitan cuisine. 

Alebele was one such dish that was introduced by the Portuguese in  Goa but has been lost as time passed by. Alebele is a snack that is usually had during breakfast or during tea time in the evening. It is basically a pancake, also called crepe which is stuffed with scraped coconut flakes mixed with melted black Goan jaggery. But you know what made this snack a sweet delicacy in our home? My mother used to stuff it with coconut and a  mixture of different dry fruits she even used to add food color to the  pancakes to make  them look more  appealing . The combination with dry  fruits is  so  flavorful , it will  create an  explosion of  flavor in  your mouth . Oh I remember how I used to gorge on these during childhood.

For those who have never tried Alebele I am sharing the recipe below its super easy to make, requires basic ingredients which are usually available in every kitchen, and trust me everyone in your family with a sweet tooth will love it.

Ingredients for the pancakes:

• 1 cup maida flour (all-purpose flour)
• 1/2 cup milk +  1/2 cup water
• 1 egg
• salt to taste
  

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1 cup Fresh grated coconut
• 1/4 cup melted black jaggery
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 2 drops of vanilla essence
• chopped dry fruits 

Method 

1. Mix all the ingredients of the pancake in a bowl and then cover the batter and keep it aside for 15 minutes.

2. Heat a non-stick pan on the stove and spray it with vegetable oil and add a tablespoonful of the batter to cover the bottom surface of the pan, swirl the pan so that it spreads evenly, the pancake shouldn't be too thick. Let the pancake cook on one side till it turns slightly brown and then flip it on the other side and let it cook for some time repeat until the batter is finished.

3. Heat a thick bottom pan and add all the ingredients for the filling in the pan and cook until all the jaggery melts and is mixed properly with the other ingredients.

4. The final step, take a spoonful of this filling and spread evenly on one side of the pancake leaving a slight edge, then roll it and tuck in the ends on both sides.

That's it ... Enjoy the Alebele  😋

I'd love to hear your comments on this post.

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