Sanna

also called Sannan · Godachi Sanna (sweet variant)

A pillowy Goan steamed cake risen with palm toddy - coconut-forward, faintly sweet, and built for sorpotel.

Goa, Mangalore & the Konkan coast

Image: One Plate Please · Copyrighted blog photo · small copyright text bottom

Sanna (singular: sannan) is a steamed rice cake from the Konkan coast - Goa, the Mangalorean Catholic and Hindu communities, and the broader Konkani diaspora. Unlike a Tamil-style idli, sanna is built around rice and coconut with little or no urad dal, and it rises on toddy (palm wine) rather than wild fermentation. The result is a pillowy, glossy, almost cotton-wool-soft cake with a forward coconut aroma and a whisper of natural sweetness.

It is the canonical companion to Goa's gravy-rich meats - sorpotel, dukra maas, pork bafat, vindaloo, chicken xacuti - because the spongy crumb absorbs gravy like nothing else. Sannas appear at Catholic feasts, weddings, christenings and christmas tables; Hindu families make them for Ganesh Chaturthi, Sonsar Padvo (Yugadi) and Makar Sankranti. The sweet variant, godachi sanna, swaps in jaggery and is eaten on its own with chai.

The Recipe

Yield · ~12–15 sannas

Effort profile

Soak4–5 hours

Ferment4–6 hours (yeast) or 8–10 hours (toddy)

Steam20–25 minutes

Steps8

Each axis is scaled against the longest example in the archive.

Ingredients

Batter

2 cups Goan red rice (or idli/parboiled rice)
¾–1 cup freshly grated coconut
1½ cups toddy (or warm water if using yeast)
½ cup sugar (divided)
1 tsp salt (divided)

If using yeast in place of toddy

1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water

Sweet "godachi sanna" filling (optional)

¾ cup grated coconut
½ cup grated jaggery (cooked together over low heat until dry)

Method

1.
Soak rice 4–5 hours; drain.
2.
Grind drained rice with toddy (or warm water) to a smooth batter.
3.
Grind coconut separately with 2–3 tbsp toddy or water.
4.
Combine the rice and coconut batters; stir in ¼ cup sugar and ½ tsp salt.
5.
If using yeast, mix the activated yeast (dissolved sugar + yeast, foamed for 10 minutes) into the batter.
6.
Cover and ferment 4–6 hours (yeast) or until doubled.
7.
Grease idli moulds; fill ¾-full. For sweet sannas, fill ¼ batter, add a spoon of cooked coconut-jaggery, then top with batter.
8.
Steam 20–25 minutes.

Serve with

Goan pork sorpoteldukra maasvindaloochicken xacutichicken curry

Notes

Traditional fermenting agent is *toddy* (palm wine - *sur* in Konkani, *kallu* in Kannada). Where toddy is unavailable, ¾–1 tsp instant yeast plus a teaspoon of sugar reproduces the cottony rise. The sweet *godachi sanna* is eaten on its own with morning chai.

Adapted from aromaticessence.co.

Where it's from

Goa · 15.30°N, 74.12°E