Pani Walalu (also called Undu Walalu) is a traditional Sinhalese sweet — delicate, crispy, coil-shaped fried cakes made from rice flour and urad dal flour, soaked in kithul treacle syrup. The coils are piped directly into hot oil, creating a nest-like shape that crisps as it fries and absorbs the syrup. It is the most beloved Sri Lankan sweet after kavum.
Pani Walalu (also called Undu Walalu) is a traditional Sinhalese sweet, especially associated with the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. The name means 'treacle coils' — the batter (rice flour and urad dal flour) is piped through a cloth with a hole directly into hot oil, forming a coil/nest shape. The fried coils are then soaked in kithul treacle (palm sugar syrup), which they absorb, becoming sweet, sticky, and glossy. The technique of piping into oil is uniquely Sri Lankan — similar to the Spanish churro but with a different batter and syrup.
A small, golden, crispy coil of fried batter, glistening with dark treacle syrup. The outside is crisp; the inside is soft and slightly chewy; the syrup is intensely sweet with the caramel complexity of kithul treacle. It is sticky, sweet, and impossible to eat just one.
The batter must be the right consistency — thin enough to pipe but thick enough to hold its shape in the oil. The traditional piping tool is a cotton cloth with a small hole (similar to a piping bag). The oil must be at 170°C so the batter sets immediately. The coils are fried until golden, then soaked in warm treacle syrup for at least 30 minutes.
Variations
Some use sugar syrup instead of treacle; some add cardamom; some make them larger; the soaking time varies.
On the Palate
Where Pani Walalu sits in the Sri Lankan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
10 steps · 45 min active + 30 min waiting
- 1120 min
Soak 100 g urad dal 2 hours; drain; grind to a smooth paste.
- 25 min
Mix the paste with 200 g rice flour, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and enough water to make a smooth, thick batter.
Watch outMix the batter thick enough to hold a piped line but loose enough to flow — too thin and the coils spread and break; too stiff and they won't pipe smooth.
- 38 min
Make syrup: dissolve 300 g kithul treacle (or palm sugar) in 150 ml water; simmer 5 minutes; keep warm.
- 43 min
Heat 500 ml coconut oil to 170°C.
Watch outHold the oil at one-seventy — the batter should set the instant it hits, holding its coil; too cool and it sinks and spreads before it firms.
- 55 min
Put the batter in a cotton cloth with a small hole (or piping bag with a small tip).
- 65 min
Pipe the batter into the oil in a circular motion to form coils.
- 73 min
Fry 2-3 minutes until golden and crisp.
- 81 min
Remove; drain briefly.
- 930 min
Soak in the warm treacle syrup 30 minutes.
Watch outSoak the fried coils in warm syrup a full half hour so they drink it deep — pull them early and they stay dry and crunchy instead of sticky-sweet inside.
- 101 min
Drain; serve.
