Binangkal Recipe (Deep Fried Sesame Balls)

Binangkal is a sweet and nutty bread ball, coated with lot of sesame seeds. This Filipino sesame ball is a delicacy from the islands of Visayas and Mindanao. This Binangkal recipe will show you how to make this dish in your home, and can be enjoyed with your coffee or chocolate.

Binangkal Recipe (Deep Fried Sesame Balls)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup powdered milk
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted butter (or margarine)
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 piece egg
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• Oil for deep frying

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add the all purpose flour, powdered milk and baking powder. Combine and mix well.
2. In another bowl, combine the sugar, evaporated milk, melted butter and egg. Mix until well combined.
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Mix until well combined. Knead for a few minutes until smooth and sticky.
4. Grab a small portion of the mixture and then roll into a ball. Then, coat them with sesame seeds. When fully covered by sesame seeds, roll them again in your palm to make sure that the seeds will not fall. Do these steps with the rest of the ingredients.
5. Heat a lot of oil in a pan. Deep fry the binangkal balls until golden brown. Transfer them to a strainer or paper towel to drain excess oil.
6. Transfer the binangkal to a serving plate. Enjoy this with your favorite afternoon tea or coffee. Yum!

WHAT ARE SESAME SEEDS?

Sesame seeds are commonly used for garnishing different savoury dishes. With its nutty flavor, it is also sometimes used as an additional ingredient for desserts. In this recipe, the sesame seeds is the next main ingredient, which makes the binangkal distinct among other breads.

Sesame seeds are the seeds you get from the sesame plant. If you haven’t seen a sesame plant, the seeds are gathered from its pods. The two main varieties are the white and black sesame seeds. You can use either or both of them for additional colors and aesthetics.

Sesame seeds are usually eaten in small amounts but did you know that these seeds are rich in proteins, fiber and unsaturated fats (good fats). A spoonful of sesame seeds is around 50 calories.

What is Binangkal

Binangkal in english is known as sesame bread balls. Binangkal is one of the oldest local breads in the country. Although the binangkal are now sold anywhere, it is believed to originate from the central part of Visayas and northern part of Mindanao.

Binangkal Origin

The term “binangakal” came from the Cebuano word “bangkal”. The bangkal tree is known to produce spherical fruits and flowers, which resembles this bread.

If you pass by the bakeries in Visayas, it is more likely that binangakal is on the front of their shelf. Binangakal is not your regular bread. You can easily spot one by looking at the shape and if they are coated with sesame seeds. What made the binangkal best partnered with hot chocolate or coffee is that they are super dense. Only a few balls of binangkal can magically make you full!

Fried Sesame Bread

For some, they can only see sesame seeds on top of the burger buns. For me, sesame seeds is always a part of the pantry. Surprisingly, these seeds have a nutty flavor. And have I shared how yummy they are when toasted? I sometimes toast them very lightly and eat it just like when eating nuts, or combine it with some sugar and glutinous rice.

My love for sesame seeds was magnified during our trip to Bohol when I was still a child. Once I spotted a local bakery, I ran and ordered for some binangkal, even when I didn’t know what it is called yet. They said, binangkal from Visayas were more dense and tastier than in other places since they use muscovado sugar instead of the regular sugar. Since then, I had been a fan of binangkal.

I made a lot of kakanins lately and so I have extra sesame seeds on my pantry. I immediately looked for the rest of the binangkal ingredients to know if I could also make some of them. One thing I really love about binangkal is that it uses very simple ingredients which has a 100% chance of already being in the pantry. A proper combination of these and some rolling and frying would give you a happy bread snack which will fill both your tummy and your heart.

If you wanna know how to make some binangkal balls, read and follow the simple steps below. Yum!

How to Cook Binangkal

Making some binangkal is super easy. If you have tried making simple breads before, then this recipe will be familiar to you.

To make the binangkal dough, we will be using the muffin method of mixing. Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately. Remember that the sugar is counted as wet ingredients. Then, combine the wet mixture to the dry mixture until you form the dough. What we want to achieve is a sticky but smooth dough.

Then, the next steps would be rolling the dough into small balls and then coating them with sesame seeds. It is up to you whether how big you want your binangkal balls to be. To cook them evenly up to the core, I recommend a ball slightly less than the size of the palm. After coating the balls with sesame seeds, some seeds might fall of later when frying so make sure to roll them once again for the sesame seeds to stick well.

The last step would be deep frying the binangkal balls. You’ll know that the balls are cooked when they turn light brown in color. The sesame seeds will also look darker in color. It is natural if some of the balls will burst or crack during the frying process, so don’t be surprised.

After deep frying them, it is important to transfer them first to a strainer or paper towel to drain excess oil before serving them.

What I really love about binangkal is that it perfectly matches any tea or coffee! Yum!

COOKING TIPS

• The classic binangkal usually uses white sesame seeds. If you want yours to be unique and more appetizing, you can use both white and black sesame seeds for your binangkal!
• If you’re on the sweet side, you can also roll your balls into a sesame seeds and sugar mixture.
• Instead of rolling the dough into balls, you can also try making a doughnut shape one if you like.

Binangkal Recipe in Tagalog

Mga Sangkap:

• 1 1/2 tasang harina
• 3/4 tasang powdered milk
• 1 kutsarang baking powder
• 1/3 tasang asukal
• 1 kutsarang tinunaw na butter (o margarine)
• 1/4 tasang evaporated milk
• 1 itlog
• 1/2 tasang sesame seeds
• Mantika (pang deep fry)

Paano Gawin:

1. Paghaluin ang harina, powdered milk at baking powder sa isang malaking bowl.
2. Sa isa pang bowl, paghaluin ang asukal, evaporated milk, tinunaw na butter at itlog. Haluin ng mabuti.
3. Ihalo ang wet mixture sa dry mixture. Haluin ng mabuti. Kapag naging dough na, masahin ito ng ilang minuto hanggang maging malagkit at smooth.
4. Kumuha ng konting mixture at gawin itong maliliit na balls. Pagulungin ito sa sesame seeds. I-roll ito ulit para mas dumikit ang sesame seeds. Gawin ang mga steps na ito sa iba pang ingredients.
5. Magpainit ng maraming mantika. Ideep fry ang binangkal balls hanggang maging golden brown. Ilipat ang mga ito sa strainer o paper towel para tumulo ang sobrang mantika.
6. Ilipat ang binangkal sa lalagyan. Enjoyin ito kasama ng mainit na kape o tsaa. Yum!