Mont Lone Yay Baw

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 gglutinous rice flour
• 50 grice flour
• 1/4 tspsalt
• 300 mlwarm water, approximately

Filling

• 200 gjaggery or palm sugar, in small pieces

To finish

• 200 gfreshly grated coconut
• a pinch of salt

To cook

• a large pot of water

Traditionally

• one or two balls filled with chilli instead of jaggery, as a joke

Directions

1. Break or cut it into pieces about the size of a small marble. Each ball takes one piece of it. Mix the glutinous rice flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl. The small amount of plain rice flour keeps them from being too gluey. Add warm water gradually while mixing with your hand. Bring it together into a dough.
2. Knead it in the bowl for five minutes. It should feel like soft modelling clay. Add a spoonful of water if it cracks. Add a little more flour if it sticks. Cover it with a damp cloth so it does not dry out. Shaping and filling is done one at a time. Take a piece of dough about the size of a walnut. Roll it into a ball between your palms.
3. Flatten it into a disc in your palm. Put a piece of jaggery in the centre. Bring the edges up around the sugar. Pinch the dough closed over the filling. Roll it between your palms until the seam disappears completely. Check carefully for cracks and smooth them over.
4. Set the finished balls on a tray under a cloth. Filling the joke ones is done quietly. Fill one or two with a piece of fresh chilli instead. Mark them somehow if you want to know which they are. Grate the fresh coconut finely. Toss the coconut with a pinch of salt. Spread it on a wide plate ready for rolling. Boiling them is quick and needs watching.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Do not crowd the pot, since they need room to move. Stir once so they do not stick to the bottom. After three or four minutes they will rise to the surface.
6. Let them boil for one more minute after they float. That extra minute makes sure the jaggery has melted inside. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Rolling them in coconut is done immediately. Drop the hot wet balls straight into the grated coconut.
7. Roll them so they are coated all over. The coconut only sticks while they are wet and hot. Set them on a serving plate as you go. Serving them is done while warm. Serve them warm rather than hot, since the filling is molten. Warn people that the centre is very hot when freshly boiled.

Technique

• Seal every ball completely, since a crack lets the melted sugar leak out.
• They are done one minute after they float, which is how the timing works.
• The chilli-filled joke balls are traditional; warn anyone who cannot take chilli.

Substitutions

• Palm sugar in place of jaggery.
• Desiccated coconut moistened with a little water, if fresh is unavailable.

Variations

• Made with black glutinous rice flour for purple balls.
• With coconut and sesame in the filling.
• Served in a sweet coconut soup rather than rolled dry.

History

Rice-flour balls filled with palm sugar and boiled until they float, made at Thingyan and shared with neighbours.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mont Lone Yay Baw?

Mont Lone Yay Baw is a dessert from Myanmar: floating glutinous rice balls hiding jaggery, made during Thingyan. Rice-flour balls filled with palm sugar and boiled until they float, made at Thingyan and shared with neighbours.

How long does Mont Lone Yay Baw take to make?

Mont Lone Yay Baw takes 40 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 30 balls. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mont Lone Yay Baw?

Yes, within limits. Palm sugar in place of jaggery. Desiccated coconut moistened with a little water, if fresh is unavailable.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mont Lone Yay Baw?

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Do not crowd the pot, since they need room to move. Stir once so they do not stick to the bottom. After three or four minutes they will rise to the surface.