Making the festive delicacy at home - Htamane(အေမ့လက္ရာ ထမနဲ)

This is another traditional savoury dish from the lovely cuisine of Myanmar. Htamane(ထမနဲ) is ceremonially prepared on the full moon day of Tabodwe(တပို႔တြဲ), the 11th lunar month on the traditional Burmese calendar (around the month of February). It is also an indication of the end of winter. In Myanmar, a large quantity of htamane is usually prepared in an open space at monasteries.

Ingredients:

1. Glutinous rice
2. sesame seeds
3. Garlic
4. Ginger
5. peanuts
6. shredded coconut
7. salt for seasoning

This is my mother's method of making htamane at home so it will be slightly different from the traditional way of making htamane. It is simple to make. This year, my mother made this traditional snack on my birthday. Thank you May May for such a great tasting snack!

Method

Heat up oil in the wok.

Then add in the ginger and give it a quick stir.

Now add in the garlic and stir-fry until they are fragrant and golden brown.

Remove the garlic and ginger from the wok. You can leave some of it. 

 

Add in the glutinous rice and stir well.

Add in water and stir gently. 

Cover with the lid and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes over a medium heat.

 

Peanuts, sesame seeds, shredded coconut  as well as crispy garlic and ginger are all added to the wok. Stir well.

I believe this is important. 

You need to hold two spatulas as shown in the photo below to mix the glutinous rice into a dough. You need to do this continuously for about 15-20 minutes.

My Mum's simple homemade festive delicacy.

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Three types of roselle leaves

In 2014, a female journalist from America contacted me through email regarding whether she can use my recipe post - fried roselle leaves (chin baung kyaw) in her article. Of course, I agreed without hesitation. She told me that her article is for some kind of Herbs magazine. I can’t recall the actual name of the magazine now since I had deleted those emails. She also asked me whether roselle leaves (chin baung ywet) is used in any other way.
At that time, I myself did not know much about chin baung ywet. Therefore, I had to ask my parents and also went online to learn more about chin baung ywet. I'm not sure how her article on roselle leaves goes as she never contacted me again after I had replied to her. Anyway, I did learn more about roselle leaves which is good!
In Myanmar, there are three types of “chin baung” available.
They are:
1. Bitter roselle leave (chin baung khar),
2. White roselle leave (chin baung phyu) and
3. Red roselle leave (chin baung ni let char).
Bitter roselle leave which has slight salty taste is widely used in traditional Myanmar herbal medicine as appetizer, for good digestion, to relieve joint and muscle pain, cough and running nose, etc.
White roselle leave is used in traditional Myanmar herbal medicine for diahorrea.
Red roselle leave is used in traditional Myanmar herbal medicine for headache, also to increase urinary flow and help to increase milk supply for nursing mother.
Some parts of “chin baung” such as buds and flowers can also be used to make jam using jaggery or brown sugar. It is popular among consumers as it has stronger smell and taste.
Juice can also be made from mature fruits of “chin baung”. Just add in a pinch of salt and sugar, and let it boil. After that, let it cool and the juice is ready to consume.
In some parts of Myanmar, mature leaves, buds and fruits are sun-dried before being consumed as Roselle tea.

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