Kitchen Recipe
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Sri Lankan Halapa (Kurakkan Halapa)
A rustic, highly nutritious sweet treat made from finger millet (kurakkan) flour and coconut, steamed inside aromatic kanda leaves.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Servings
- 10
- Difficulty
- medium
- Cuisine
- sri lankan
Ingredients
Scaled for 10 servings
- kurakkan flour (finger millet)
- rice flour
- freshly grated coconut
- jaggery (kithul or coconut)
- salt
- water
- kanda leaves (or banana leaves)
Equipment
- Steamer
- Mixing bowl
Instructions
- 1
Make Dough
Mix kurakkan flour and a little rice flour with warm salted water to form a soft, pliable dough.
- 2
Make Sweet Filling
Melt jaggery and mix with grated coconut.
- 3
Shape on Leaf
Take a kanda leaf (or banana leaf), flatten a small ball of dough on it. Place the sweet filling on one half of the dough.
- 4
Fold & Steam
Fold the leaf in half so the dough encases the filling. Steam for 15-20 minutes.
- 5
Serve
Serve warm or at room temperature. Peel the leaf off before eating.
Cooking Tips
- The kanda leaf imparts a very specific, slightly herbal fragrance to the halapa. If unavailable, banana leaves work but taste different.
- Kurakkan flour can be dry, so adding a small amount of rice flour improves the texture.
Variations
- Mixed Halapa: Mix the jaggery and coconut directly into the dough before steaming, instead of using it as a filling.
Chef's Notes & Storage
- A traditional village snack often made for farmers taking a break from the fields.
Nutrition Estimate
150 calories · 3g protein · 30g carbs · 2g fat · 4g fiber per serving
