Kokis

Kokis is a Sri Lankan fried sweet. Thin batter in the shape of a flower or butterfly is fried until crisp. The batter is made from rice flour and coconut milk, coated onto a long-handled metal mold, and fried. Some versions are made without sweetener. At the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, kokis is served with other sweets.

Kokis arranged on a plate. 2013, Chamal N / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. The version on Commons has had its brightness adjusted; the downscaled version from the source was not altered after retrieval.

Flowers from a Hot Mold

The mold is the key to making kokis. The mold is heated, dipped into the batter to coat it thinly, and put straight into the oil. Once the batter sets, it is removed from the mold and fried further, then taken out of the oil when it has colored. The shape of the mold appears as a fine outline, and the thin parts fry to a light, crisp texture. Molds come in many shapes, including flowers, butterflies, and stars. Some recipes add salt or turmeric to the rice flour and coconut milk, and some also use egg. One person who learned to make kokis in Sri Lanka describes soaking rice in water, draining it, and having it ground at a shop.

Kokis and a mold in hot oil. 2013, Chamal N / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Downscaled version from the source; content not altered after retrieval.

A Sri Lankan essay recalls New Year at home. The author remembers their mother adding eggs, salt, and a little sugar to the batter, and in some years chili or powdered cheese as well. The light, crisp kokis were stored in tins, served with other sweets, and also given to neighbors. Each household has its own way of making them, from less sweet versions to spiced ones.

Aasmi is also made from rice flour, but its sticky batter is poured in thin streams to form a lattice. Kokis is made by coating the surface of a mold with a thin layer of batter, so the same shape can be made again and again. It also looks and feels different from thicker fried sweets such as kavum, which is made from dough mixed with treacle.

Two kinds of long-handled kokis molds. 2013, Chamal N / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. The version on Commons has been edited; the downscaled version from the source was not altered after retrieval.

Shapes Kept in Molds, and the New Year Table

The Colombo National Museum holds brass kokis molds donated in 1906. They include molds with square patterns that are rarely seen today. The molds themselves are a record of the sweet’s shapes.

One theory links the sweet to the Netherlands and traces its name to the Dutch word koekje, meaning a small cake. A newspaper article about the museum, however, links it to Portugal. When and how today’s sweet came about is uncertain. Swedish rosettes are a similar flower-shaped sweet, also made by frying batter on a mold.

At one New Year gathering of Sri Lankans living in Auckland, New Zealand, people formed a team for each sweet, such as kokis or kavum, and made them the day before. Even far from Sri Lanka, the sweets made by different teams come together on the celebration table.

Glossary