Coconut Tart
Batica is a South Indian dessert made from fresh coconut milk, rice flour, eggs and sugar. The mixture is cooked in a pan until it thickens, poured into a dish and baked until firm and golden.
The texture is closer to a baked pudding than a Western cake — compact, slightly chewy, with a clear coconut flavour from both the milk and the grated flesh. The chopped almonds add a little bite, and a sprinkle of desiccated coconut on top becomes crispy in the oven.
The tart is served as a dessert, warm from the oven. It also tastes fine the next day at room temperature, but the texture becomes firmer and less creamy. In Goa it is a common festive sweet, made for celebrations and family gatherings.
The critical step is the coconut milk. Fresh grated coconut flesh soaked in boiling water and pressed through a cloth gives a rich, aromatic milk that canned milk cannot match. Without it the tart falls flat.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 2 coconuts
- 4.5 dl boiling water
- 250 g sugar
- 175 g rice flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 50 g almonds, chopped
- desiccated coconut, for garnish
- butter or neutral oil, for greasing
Directions
Make holes in the “eyes” of the coconuts and drain the water out through a sieve. Reserve the water.
Split the coconuts and prise the flesh from the shells. Grate the flesh into a bowl.
Pour the boiling water over the grated coconut and leave to steep for 15 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh cloth into a clean bowl. Gather the cloth and squeeze out as much coconut milk as possible. Discard the solids.
Combine the coconut milk with the reserved coconut water. Whisk in the sugar, rice flour, eggs and chopped almonds.
Pour the mixture into a sauté pan and bring to the boil, stirring. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring constantly, until it thickens.
Grease a round heatproof dish of about 20 cm in diameter. Pour in the thickened mixture.
Bake the tart at 180°C (350°F) for about 30 minutes, until the surface is golden and firm.
Sprinkle with desiccated coconut and serve warm.
Notes
Preparation time about 35 minutes plus 15 minutes resting. Baking time about 30 minutes.
Fresh coconut is essential here. Ready-made canned coconut milk does not work as well because the grated flesh is also used in the batter.
A fine-mesh cloth or cheesecloth works best for pressing out the milk. An ordinary sieve alone lets too much fibre through.
The tart should be firm but not dry. It sets further as it cools slightly, so take it out of the oven while it still has a slight give in the centre.
See Also
Green Chutney
