Githeyo Boakibaa

We’ve been trying to publish a Githeyo Boakibaa recipe for ages and many failures later we’ve finally managed to nail it.

For non-locals reading this, Githeyo Boakibaa is a ghee cake that’s made with ground rice, coconut milk and sugar. Sea almonds and onions fried in ghee give it a nice bit of crunch while cinnamon and cardamom give it a hint of spice.

Traditionally Githeyo Boakibaa is made from ground soaked rice. However, to make things a bit easier, we’ve used rice flour in this recipe instead. Grinding the rice flour to a powdery consistency is a step that you should really pay attention to because otherwise the consistency of the boakibaa turns out just all wrong. Also, if you have the time to grind the cinnamon and cardamom yourself, please do so, as these spices when freshly ground gives the boakibaa a real nice lift of flavour.

Another traditional ingredient that goes into Githeyo Boakibaa is ‘maafen’ or jasmine infused water and since it’s not always so easy to get ‘maafen’, we’ve used some rosewater instead. With that being said, if you are lucky enough to have some ‘maafen’ with you, we’ve left some notes in the instructions to let you know when and how to use it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 large onions
• ¼ cup kanamadhu (sea almonds)
• 3 tbsp. ghee (plus 1 tbsp. for greasing tray)
• 3 ½ cups water
• 12 inches raanbaa (pandan leaf)
• 2 cups thick coconut milk
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp. cardamom powder
• 3 tsp. rose water

Instructions:

1. Grind the rice until it’s powdery, and set it aside.
2. Slice the onions thinly. Halve the kanamadhu lengthwise.
3. Heat the ghee in a pot and add the onions once it melts.
4. Cook the onions on low to medium heat until they turn brown. Remove from the pot and set aside.
5. Add the kanamadhu to the same pot and cook until the kanamadhu turn golden. Remove from the pot and set aside.
6. Add the water and pandan to another pot. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let the mixture simmer uncovered until it reduces by half. This should take around 20 minutes. Set it aside.
7. Prepare a 7 inch round cake tray by coating it with a tablespoon of ghee. Set it aside.
8. Add the thick coconut milk, sugar, ground rice, and 1 ½ cups of the padan infused water you made in step 6 to a large pot. Mix well. (If you are using jasmine water, add 1 cup of jasmine water and ½ cup of pandan infused water instead of the 1 ½ cups of pandan water.)
9. Cook the mixture over low heat until its thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. You’ll have to keep stirring throughout. This could take around 20 or so minutes.
10. Add the cinnamon and cardamom and half of your fried onions and kanamdhu.
11. Keep mixing and cook for another minute or so.
12. Switch off the stove and add in the rose water (or skip it if you are using jasmine water).
13. Pour the mixture into the tray you prepared earlier. Moisten your finger tips with some water and gently tap the mixture to smoothen the top. Sprinkle the remaining fried onions and kanamadhu.
14. Place the tray on the middle rack of an oven that is preheated to 170 degrees Celsius and bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Githeyo Boakibaa is a moist boakibaa, so it’s okay if the toothpick comes out a bit moist. However, it shouldn’t have gooey bits sticking to it when you pull it out. Our Githeyo Boakibaa was done in an hour. But since oven temperatures differ, it might turn out differently for you. Long and slow is the way to go for this one, so if it doesn’t pass the toothpick test, put it back in for like 10 more minutes and check again.
15. When baked, take it out of the oven and let the boakibaa cool down in the tray for at least 10 minutes before you attempt to get it out of the tray.