Mung kavum (මුං කැවුම්), also spelt mung kevum, is a diamond-shaped sweet made from roasted mung bean flour and rice flour bound with kithul treacle. The firm, fudge-like dough is cut into diamonds, dipped in a yellow batter of rice flour, turmeric and coconut milk, and deep-fried until the coating is crisp and golden. It is one of the sweets made for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April and set out on the New Year table, next to crisp kokis and the other members of the kavum family.
The one step that decides success is the treacle: it must be simmered until it falls from the spoon in a thick thread, or the dough will not hold its shape. Everything else is straightforward. For the sweet's place at Avurudu and how it differs from other kavum, see the page on mung kevum and its New Year tradition.
How to make mung kavum
- Makes about 20 pieces
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 45 minutes
- Difficulty: Moderate
For the mung dough
- 250 g mung bean (green gram) flour, roasted, or 250 g whole mung beans to roast and grind
- 150 g fine white rice flour, plus extra for dusting
- 350 ml kithul treacle
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
For the batter
- 150 g fine white rice flour
- 200 ml thick coconut milk, plus up to 50 ml extra to adjust
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- A pinch of salt
- About 1 litre coconut oil or vegetable oil, for deep frying
Method
- Roast the mung. If using whole beans, dry-roast them in a heavy pan over a medium heat, stirring, for about 10 minutes until light golden and nutty. Cool, grind to a fine flour and sieve out the husks. Bought mung flour can simply be warmed in the dry pan for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the mung flour, 150 g rice flour, salt and cardamom in a large heatproof bowl.
- Cook the treacle. Simmer the treacle in a heavy pan over a medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes, until it thickens and falls from a lifted spoon in a slow, thick thread. Set aside 2 tablespoons of it.
- Make the dough. Pour the hot treacle into the flour a little at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it comes together as a stiff, glossy dough. When it is cool enough to handle, knead it briefly until smooth, adding reserved treacle if it cracks or a spoonful of rice flour if it sticks.
- Roll and cut. Dust a board with rice flour and press or roll the warm dough into a sheet about 1 cm thick. Cut it into diamonds about 4 to 5 cm long, first in parallel strips, then across on the diagonal.
- Make the batter. Whisk the rice flour, turmeric and salt with the coconut milk until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Thin it with a little of the extra coconut milk if needed.
- Heat the oil. Heat the oil in a deep pan or wok over a medium heat to about 160 to 170°C, until a drop of batter sizzles and rises steadily.
- Coat and fry. Dip each diamond into the batter with a fork, let the excess drip off and lower it into the oil. Fry 4 or 5 at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until the coating is crisp and golden.
- Drain and cool. Lift out onto kitchen paper and leave to cool completely; the pieces firm up as they cool. Store in an airtight tin.
Why does the treacle have to reach thread stage?
Kithul treacle straight from the bottle is thin. Simmering drives off water, and when a lifted spoon trails a slow, thick thread, the treacle will set the flour into a dough that can be rolled and cut. Undercooked treacle gives a sticky dough that slumps and soaks up oil; overcooked treacle gives a dough that cracks as you roll it. If the dough is too soft, knead in rice flour a spoonful at a time. If it cracks, work in the reserved treacle.
What can you use instead of kithul treacle?
Coconut treacle is the usual alternative and behaves the same way. Kithul jaggery melted with a few tablespoons of water also works; strain it before cooking. Avoid British black treacle or molasses, which taste quite different. Kithul treacle comes from the sap of the kithul palm, collected by hand; the page on kithul tapping explains how.
Why is my batter coating patchy or greasy?
- Batter too thin: it slides off and leaves a pale, papery coat. Whisk in a spoonful of rice flour.
- Batter too thick: it gives a heavy shell that stays raw inside. Thin it with coconut milk.
- Oil too cool: the pieces soak up oil. Oil too hot: the coating browns before it crisps. Fry a test piece and keep the heat steady at medium.
How is mung kavum different from other kavum?
Most kavum are made from rice flour and treacle alone. Konda kavum, for example, is a rice flour and treacle batter fried into a round cake with a raised knot in the centre. Mung kavum is built the other way round: a firm mung and treacle dough is shaped first and then given its own coat of yellow batter. The roasted mung gives it a nutty flavour and a dense, soft bite under the crisp shell.
What variations are there?
Some cooks add an egg to the batter for a sturdier coat, which makes the sweet no longer vegan. A couple of teaspoons of sesame seeds in the batter is another common touch, and some recipes stir grated coconut into the dough. Some cooks roll the dough into small balls instead of cutting diamonds. For a different treacle sweet from the same kitchen, try pani kadju, roasted cashews coated in treacle.
How long does mung kavum keep?
In an airtight tin at room temperature, mung kavum keeps for about 4 to 5 days. Do not refrigerate it, as the coating softens and the dough hardens. This keeping quality is why households make it a few days ahead of the New Year, which begins at the auspicious moment set each year in the Avurudu nakath.
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