One of Sri Lanka's best-known local candies. They are
sold on the road to Kandy, the ancient hill capital and favorite tourist
resort, by village belles who also offer young coconuts for drinking.
Ingredients :
2
cups
500 g
Sesame
seeds
Palm sugar
Generous pinch of salt, to taste
Method :
In a mortar
and pestle pound the sesame, a little at a time, until the seeds are
crushed and oily.
As each batch
is done, turn it into a bowl.
Grate the
palm sugar and add to the sesame with the salt.
Mix well with
hands.
The heat of
the hands and vigorous kneading slightly melts the palm sugar, and after
a while the mixture will hold together.
Make balls
the size of a large marble.
These are
wrapped in rectangular pieces of wax or greaseproof paper fringed at the
ends.
The paper is
twisted on either side of the thala guli so each one looks like a
miniature Christmas cracker.
Serve at the
end of a curry meal, or as a between meal treat.