Kokis ( si, කොකිස්) is a deep-fried, crispy Sri Lankan food made from rice flour and coconut milk. Although considered as a traditional Sri Lankan dish, it is believed to have come from the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. This is an important dish when celebrating Sinhala New Year and plays a major role in the festivities.

Etymology and history

Although kokis is considered as a traditional Sri Lankan dish, it is believed to be of Dutch origin, from the time when parts of the country were under Dutch rule during the

Kandyan period The Kandyan period covers the history of Sri Lanka from 1597–1815. After the fall of the Kingdom of Kotte, the Kandyan Kingdom was the last Independent monarchy of Sri Lanka. The Kingdom played a major role throughout the history of Sri Lanka. ...

. Its name may have been derived from the word '' koekjes'', meaning

cookies A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chi ...

or biscuits in the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

. The Swedish rosette and the Persian Nan panjereh would be the most similar dishes to the Sri Lankan kokis. The Indian biscuit, Nankhatai, also bears some similarities with kokis. An almost identical snack,

Achappam Achappam ('achu' meaning mould and 'appam' meaning food made with flour) is a deep fried rose cookie made with rice flour. It is a signature Syrian Christian food believed to come from Dutch influence. In Kerala, it is an essential snack for Chri ...

, exists among Christian community in the south west Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Significance during the Sinhala new year

Sinhalese people Sinhalese people ( si, සිංහල ජනතාව, Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela people ( si, හෙළ). They constitute about 75% of ...

prepare and consume a number of traditional dishes, including kokis, to celebrate their

new year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

in mid-April. These are traditionally prepared by the women of the household, usually a few days before the new year. Nowadays however, they are made mostly by older women, as many people of the younger generation lack the time or the skill and knowledge required to make them due to their busy lifestyles.

Description

A special

mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. Not ...

of decorative shape such as a flower is used to make kokis. This is called a ''kokis achchuwa'' ( si, කොකිස් අච්චුව). It is also called Rosette cookies in English. This mold is coated in a thick batter made from

rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...

, coconut milk and beaten eggs. Sugar and salt may be added to the mixture as well. The batter-covered mold is dipped in boiling coconut oil, and the kokis is shaken off the mold and into the oil when it is half cooked and allowed to deep fry until ready. The cooked dish is crispy, and may be served hot or after cooling down. The oil is usually drained on paper before serving. It may also be prepared using

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...

, as an alternative to the traditional rice flour. Kokis may be consumed as a dessert, and also as an

appetizer An hors d'oeuvre ( ; french: hors-d'œuvre ), appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the m ...

or snack. It is also commonly served with kiribath and other traditional sweets, which are collectively referred to as sweetmeats or ''rasa kavili'' ( si, රස කැවිලි), particularly at new year celebrations and other auspicious occasions.

Health effects

Like most of the traditional Sri Lankan sweetmeats, kokis is a food that has a high energy-density. As an oily and fatty food, there is a risk of it causing heart diseases and narrowing of blood vessels.

References

External links