According to Chinese traditional calendar, Chinese New Year 2011 is year of the rabbit. The New Year celebrations reflect the belief of Chinese people on gods, spirits of ancestors, legendary beings and animal spirits. Part of the festivities include the traditional lion and dragon dance, held in the streets of Chinatown as well as in some of the bigger shopping malls like Phoenix Les Halles and Le Caudan, to ward off evil spirits. Large numbers of firecrackers are also set off at midnight for the same purpose.
The other important aspect of CNY is, of course, food. Families and friends come together for big feasts. The venue usually is at the home of the most senior member of the family. CNY dinner is a very sumptuous affair and traditionally includes foods that are consumed to bring in wealth and good fortune. Noodles, chicken and fish [eaten whole], dumplings, spring rolls and mandarin oranges are typically among those that feature on the menu.
The celebration is never complete without gato lacire/nian gao, a steamed cake made from glutinous rice and brown sugar. Other sweets like gato zinzli and gato crabe are among those to be distrubed to relatives and friends. Read more about CNY food traditions on my friend Cindy’s blog where you can also find a variety of Mauritian, Indian and Chinese dishes.
Last year I celebrated CNY with Chinese Smiling Cupcakes and for 2011, I made a batch of gato zinzli along with some crisp sipek/prawn crackers. The recipe for these yummy Glutinous Rice & Sweet Potato Balls is from Ti Pomme D’amour – a food blog co-hosted by Manju, Kit, Carine, Angele and Jaimie. Thank you girls!
GATO ZINZLI
Ingredients:
500 g glutinous rice flour
500 g sweet potatoes
3-4 tbs raw brown sugar
1/2 cup sesame seeds
Method:
- Boil the sweet potatoes in a large pan of water with their skin on. Cool slightly in pan before you peel them.
- Mash sweet potatoes until you have a thick gooey mess.
- Add sugar and enough glutinous flour to make a dough.
- Pinch off dough to form small walnut-size balls.
- Roll the balls in sesame seed so that they are evenly coated.
- Heat oil in a wok until and deep fry until golden in colour.
- Drain well on absorbent paper before serving. Makes 20.
- Store in an airtight container but best eaten on same day.
Wishing all my readers luck and prosperity for the coming year!
19 comments
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February 3, 2011 at 1:30 pm
dbs
gato zinzliiiiiiiii mo all time favourite kan mo ti zenfan! top recette, mais mo douter mo pu kav reproduce ça…
August 3, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Devina
nice n inspiring blog..keep it up…btw wat is glutinous rice flour plz? want to try this recipe but don’t know about the flour..is it sold in supermarkets?
thx n all the best:)
August 4, 2011 at 6:22 pm
prerrnamirchi
Hi Devina! You will find glutinous rice flour in chinese shops and in supermarkets like SikYuen or London Way Vacoas. Costs around Rs30/ 500g. Hope you manage to get it easily.
November 8, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Diwali – Moricienneries Style [Guest Post] « Heaven on a Spoon
[…] 9. Gato Zinzli – Deep fried dough balls coated with sesame seeds, probably stems from a fusion of indo-chinese cuisine […]
November 15, 2012 at 4:10 pm
shameem
hi prerna i like gato zinzli i will try this ,finger cross hope i get it right thanks,dont forget about my biscuit fromage please.
November 15, 2012 at 5:55 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi shameem this month’s been a bit busy for me but i’ll try to post the biscuit fromage recipe as soon as i can. tcare!
November 17, 2012 at 4:02 pm
shameem
ok thank you.
January 29, 2014 at 10:42 am
mina
hi ,
you have many nice recipes have try some of them.
can i get recipe of red piaw is it baked or fried.
thks
January 31, 2014 at 2:17 pm
prerrnamirchi
thank you mina, I have never heard of red piaw though. can u please elaborate?
January 31, 2014 at 7:38 am
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[…] preparing a large assortment of dishes for the New Year including the traditional gato la cire, gato zinzli, gato crabe and spring rolls and poutou sinoi. Another popular snack served on this festive […]
February 5, 2014 at 9:48 am
sabrina
Couma dir gato zinzli en sinois
February 6, 2014 at 9:45 am
prerrnamirchi
no idea Sabrina, bisin dman ene sinoi mem sa 😉
February 28, 2014 at 1:04 pm
LoVenaaaa
HI i really like GATO ZINZLI i wiil try it
January 20, 2015 at 3:49 pm
Roopwantee
Hi I will try this typical gato zinzli soon but can you send me the other type of gato zinzli (it looks more like indian sweet) .I once ate it when I was very young I think my dad used to buy it from the marchand in Port-Louis.Thank you.
March 3, 2015 at 7:44 am
nid
hi..iv tried it..the inside is remaining uncooked.how should it be fried to be cooked properly?
March 22, 2015 at 2:55 am
prerrnamirchi
hello u should cook over low heat and flip them over when done on one side.
September 9, 2016 at 10:58 pm
Marie
Enjoying your blog. My main interests are Mauritian recipes from my childhood. I have to try the gato zinzli. Thanks.
September 19, 2016 at 6:51 pm
prerrnamirchi
I’m also a big fan of gato zinzli. Hope you get to try it soon!
October 18, 2016 at 8:15 am
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