Sri lankan Asmi

Ingredients - [8-10 Portions]

225g		Rice floor
1	Cup	Thick coconut milk
1	Cup	Light coconut milk
1/2	Tablespoon	Salt
		Oil for frying
		A handful of “dhoul kurundu” leaves (cinnamon  leaves)

                                   For the Syrup

225g		Sugar
1/4	Cup	Water
		Essence of rose
		Pink coloring

Method :

Pound rice and sieve through a very fine sieve.
Add milk to flour very gradually and knead well with the hand. Then add salt.
Squeezed cinnamon leaves in a 1 cup of light coconut milk.
Add the leaf juice (strained) to the mixture to make the batter slimy.
The batter should be of a thick, slimy consistency.
Dilute with a little more coconut milk to get the consistency required for the batter.
Have ready a deep round-bottom pan about three-fourths full of boiling oil.
Take a spoonful of the batter and pour it through an Asmi spoon ( a large coconut shell spoon with a perforated bottom and an upright handle) into the boiling oil moving the spoon round and in all directions until a complete network is formed.
Release the edges with an oil spoon , fold over to form a semi-circle and press the edges together.
Turn over and fry the other side.
Drain on paper.
The Asmis should be put away for a day or two and then fried again to make Asim light and crisp.
Then decorate the top of the Asimis with thickened syrup pouring it in a zigzag design.

To prepare the syrup

Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and thicken it over the fire.
Flavor with rose and color it pink with a few drops of coloring.
Pour it over the Asmis before it hardens.