Mung Kewum (මුං කැවුම්) – A Traditional Sweet For Sri Lankan New Year

Yield – 20 Mung kewum

Prep time – 15 mins                  Cooking time – 30 mins

Mung kewum is one of the traditional Sri Lankan delicacies made specially during the Sri Lankan new year. The memories of Mung Kewum are way back to my childhood. I remember how my mother used to make this at home for Sinhala Awurudu (Sri Lankan new year). She has this particular Cheenachatti athiliya (Steel pan) that uses only for making sweets like Mung kewum and Aluwa. I still remember the sound and color of it. Luckily I found a small version of it during my last visit to Sri Lanka and last couple of months I have been using it more often to tone it (Making it nonstick) for making Kewili (Sri Lankan sweets). 

This delicious Mung Kewum comes with two textures. The golden yellow coat is crispy from the outside and the chocolate brown core is ooey gooey from the inside. It’s mainly made with mung dhal (green gram), rice flour, and treacle. In Sri Lanka we use, Pol pani (coconut treacle), but you can also use Kithul pani (Kithul treacle) as in my recipe. 

The smell of the combination of roasted mung flour and rice flour and the treacle is so inviting. From the moment you start making this dough until the frying sets you in the mood for the new year. The joy of making Mung kewum at home is never giving me a dull moment, but making me feel like I’m not away from home. 

What do you need:  

For the dough: 

• 3/4 cup roasted mung flour
• 1 cup roasted rice flour 
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 3/4 cup kithul treacle 
• 1 1/4 cups coconut oil, divided 

For the batter: 

• 1/2 cup raw rice flour 
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/3 teaspoon turmeric powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Let’s make it: 

Dough making: 

1. Add mung flour, rice flour, and all-purpose flour in a bowl and mix to combine together using a spoon. 
2. Add treacle to a separate pot and heat it for about 3 minutes on medium heat until it starts boiling. 
3. Separate about 2 tablespoons from that boiled treacle for later use. 
4. Keep the heat low to medium and add flour mix little by little and stir while doing so. This will take about 4 – 5 minutes. 
5. If needed add the treacle mix that we separated earlier to form a soft dough. 
6. Turn off the flame and add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to the dough, just to line the surface of it.  
7. Transfer the dough to a greased tray and flatten it by hand or a rolling pin. The thickness of the sheet should be about 1/2 cm. 
8. Cut into 5×5 cm diagonal shapes using a knife.

Batter making: 

1. Take a bowl and add rice flour, all-purpose flour, turmeric powder, and sea salt. 
2. Give it a good mix using a spoon. 
3. Add regular water little by little to the flour mix and gently mix until everything combine together and forms a batter runny and pourable batter. I have used 1 cup of water. 

Frying: 

1. Add coconut oil to a deep frying pan (Cheenachatti) or a deep nonstick pan. 
2. Heat the oil on medium heat for about 2 minutes. 
3. When the oil I ready for frying, take a piece of dough and coat it with the coating mixture with the use of a spoon or hand. 
4. When it’s fully coated remove the excess batter by pressing it against the wall of the batter container. 
5. Add it into the oil away from you (to prevent splashing of oil onto you). 
6. Fry the Mung kewum for about 2-3 minutes on low to medium heat, until golden brown and crispy by folding it over. 
7. Remove it from the oil and transfer it to a blotting paper. 
8. Let it fully cool for about 20 – 30 minutes before serving or storing until further use. 

Tips for you: 

• If using mung dhal to make the flour, wash it and dry it thoroughly and roast it until golden brown. 
• Cool the roasted mung dhal before grinding. 
• For mixing the flour for the batter, you can also sieve them through a mesh in order to combine them tother. 
• The dough texture should be in between string hoppers to bread. 
• Feel free to customize the size of the diagonal shape as per your choice. 
• The texture of the batter should be runnier than a cake batter. 
• To check the readiness of the oil for frying, add a couple of drops from the batter into the hot oil. If it’s sizzling and coming to the oil surface, it’s good to go. 
• For frying, add 3-4 pieces of battered dough at a time. (This depends on the size of the dough piece and the size of the pan you are using for frying)

Make ahead info: 

• Roast the rice flour for about 3 – 4 minutes on low to medium heat until pale yellow. 
• Roast the mung dhal before using. You can also use the store-bought one. 
• Grease the tray for flattening out the dough. 
• Store the Mung kewum in an air-tight container for about 5 days at room temperature. I bet it will not last this long. 

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