Moutay

Name: Moutay
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 840 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Seychelles
Ingredients: 100 g uncooked jasmine rice; 120 g plain wheat flour; 3 g instant dried baker’s yeast; 190 ml lukewarm drinking water for batter, only slight adjustment; 120 g sugar for the whole syrup batch; 120 ml drinking water for syrup; ½ teaspoon vanilla; About 1 litre suitable frying oil, not all consumed; Additional drinking water for soaking rice, then discarded

Seychellois rice-and-wheat spirals, yeast-raised, fried and dipped in vanilla syrup, served in small portions.

Ingredients

100 g uncooked jasmine rice
120 g plain wheat flour
3 g instant dried baker’s yeast
190 ml lukewarm drinking water for batter, only slight adjustment
120 g sugar for the whole syrup batch
120 ml drinking water for syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla
About 1 litre suitable frying oil, not all consumed
Additional drinking water for soaking rice, then discarded

Preparation

Rinse rice and cover generously with drinking water in a clean covered container. Soak 12 hours in the refrigerator, drain and discard water.

Blend drained rice with some of the 190 ml batter water until finely grainy without hard chunks. Add flour, yeast and remaining water gradually for a thick ribbon. Cover and rise 45 minutes at moderate room temperature.

Meanwhile dissolve 120 g sugar in 120 ml water and simmer until slightly thickened, about 105–106 °C on a suitable thermometer. Remove and add vanilla. Never test hot syrup with fingers.

Heat oil to 165–170 °C in a stable pan no more than half full. Use a food-grade piping bag with 6–8 mm nozzle to make one 7–8 cm spiral of two or three coils just above oil.

Fry small batches 3–4 minutes total, turning, until golden and cooked through. Open the test piece and adjust heat or thickness if doughy. Drain briefly.

Dip hot spirals about one minute in warm syrup using tongs, turn and drain on a rack. Cool 15 minutes. Aim for twelve, six portions of two; leftover syrup is not a drink.