GLUTEN FREE · DAIRY FREE · VEGAN OPTION

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Literally translated as “Good Thing”, “Kalo Prama” is a traditional Greek Cypriot cake made from semolina, and is quite popular in the pre-Easter period as it is vegan and therefore fasting-appropriate. However, many variations of this recipe exist within Cyprus, but also across Greece and certain parts of the Middle East. By extension, there exist multiple names for these variations, including: Kalo Prama (or the more heavily-accented Kalon Praman), Revani, Namoura, Siamali etc. The recipes themselves can vary widely as well, with possible ingredients including eggs, sour cream, lemon and rose water, to name some. But the key ingredient in a real Kalo Prama, is the oh-so-unique flavour of mastiha (see Ingredients section below for details), there’s nothing quite like it. This particular Kalo Prama is based on a recipe my mum has been making forever, passed onto her by my grandmother.

Around 20 years ago, when I first started “eating for health” as a way to help with my new Crohn’s diagnosis, I heard about gluten for the first time, and how I might try avoiding it to see if that helped my symptoms. It certainly did, and so began the steep learning curve and the thundering realisation so many of us have come to: gluten is everywhere! So imagine my joy when, one Easter, my mum had made Kalo Prama for my grandparents, as it was one of their favourites, and as she handed them their plates, my grandmother looked over at me, puzzled, and asked why I was not having any. I explained the wheat/gluten issue, to which she responded, “but this is made with semolina, not wheat, of course you can have some”! To this day, I don’t know if she genuinely didn’t realise that semolina was indeed wheat, or if she thought my talk of gluten was ridiculousness personified and an insult to her recipe, but at the time I did not question it and chose to take her word for it, because it meant I could have some Kalo Prama!

That assumption remained for an embarrassingly long time, I’m sorry to say, when a few years ago it suddenly hit me that of course semolina is wheat! And so, the time finally came that I dared to tinker with this very well-established recipe, in an effort to make a version that I could enjoy without worrying about the gluten, and maybe even make it a little more ‘healthy’ (for example, I swapped out the vegetable oil for coconut oil, and opted to make a syrup with honey instead of sugar).

The result was a happy one. Although not the pale golden cake of the original Kalo Prama (my recipe has coconut sugar in the cake mix - instead of refined white sugar - which of course is brown and so gives the cake a darker hue), the taste is bang on! This is not a fluffy, spongy cake by any means, it is crumbly and sticky and the mastiha just works so well, and I really can’t think of anything to compare it to…but I love it! I hope you will too.

[Please note: for the Kalo Prama in this post’s photos, I made half the usual portion, so that’s why you can see eight servings, while the recipe is for 12-16, depending on the size and shape of the dish used.]

Ingredients

Rice semolina

With a similar texture to coarse wheat semolina, rice semolina makes a great gluten-free alternative. Of course, if you prefer a smoother texture, you could always blitz it in a food processor to make it a little finer - but not too fine! After all, Kalo Prama is meant to be coarse, not smooth and fluffy like a cake made with regular flour.

I used this one.

Coconut oil (odourless)

This is a great oil option for sweeter dishes. I prefer odourless coconut oil for this recipe, as I did not want the coconut taste coming through and competing with the distinctive mastiha flavour. However, you can of course use regular coconut oil if you wish, just be aware that it will come through in the final flavour, and while not unpleasant, it’s not the true “Kalo Prama” flavour.

Make sure you use melted coconut oil, so that it is a liquid, for more efficient incorporation into the cake mixture.

Coconut oil is high in lauric acid, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, helpful for fighting pathogens. For more on coconut oil, check out this post.

Coconut sugar

A great substitute for refined sugar, also called coconut palm sugar (not to be confused with palm sugar), it is not as processed and even contains small amounts of certain nutrients.

Coconut sugar contains potassium, magnesium, and sodium, which are important for balancing electrolyte levels in the body. Regular table sugar has a glycemic index (GI) of 65, while coconut sugar has a GI of 35 (much closer to the GI of the sugar that’s naturally found in fruits - around 25).

Cold water

Baking powder (gluten free)

Mastiha

Mastiha (also known as: masticha, mastika or mastic) is a resin, obtained from the mastic tree native to the Greek island of Chios. While it starts off as a semi-clear sap, mastiha solidifies to form yellow-hued ‘tear drops’, which are then ground down into a powder and used as a spice. Popular in Greek, Cypriot and Middle Eastern cuisine in particular, mastiha has a unique fresh, musky aroma, similar to pine almost.

To use mastiha in cooking, it needs to be ground using a pestle and mortar. Don’t try to grind it using a food processor or spice grinder because it is a resin, not a regular spice, and so is gummy and sticky and will not only not turn to powder, but could ruin the blades of your machine! After all, mastiha is a natural chewing gum, and you wouldn’t want that in your blender, now would you?

Mastiha has been used medicinally for centuries for both digestive and oral health. Indeed, it has been shown to help ease gastrointestinal discomfort, and to have positive effects on ulcers in particular. In fact, there has even been a study demonstrating that mastiha has the ability to kill off Helicobacter Pylori bacteria, which is responsible for the majority of ulcers in the stomach and small intestine.

Not only is mastiha used to alleviate abdominal discomfort, but there has even been the suggestion that it could help ease symptoms of IBD due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. As such, various mastiha supplements are readily available, either in powder or capsule form.

Blanched almonds

For the honey syrup:

Honey

A milder-tasting honey is preferable for this syrup than something more intensely-flavoured, so that it complements, and doesn’t compete with, the mastiha flavour.

Water

Changes & Substitutions

Alternatives for rice semolina?

You could theoretically use any alternative gluten-free grain semolina (I have seen buckwheat and millet versions, for instance), but be sure to keep their individual taste and texture in mind.

I have tried making this Kalo Prama using polenta, but the texture was grittier than with the rice semolina, and also, because of polenta’s yellow colour, combined with the dark coconut sugar, the resulting cake came out looking much darker and was less visually appealing!

Make it vegan?

This recipe can easily be made vegan simply by swapping out the honey for coconut sugar. However, if you do this, you will need to use 2 cups of coconut sugar and 1 cup of water instead.

Make it nut-free?

The only nuts in this recipe are the almonds used as decoration on top of the cake, so you could easily leave them out!

Tips

The “one hot - one cold” rule

Apparently, there is a piece of baking advice for making Kalo Prama (and possibly other syrupy cakes too) that can be traced way, way back to an ancient granny’s kitchen, that is the secret to success! Behold, the “one hot - one cold” rule, which states that, in order to keep your Kalo Prama from turning into a vile mush, either the cake OR the syrup must be hot, and the other must be cold. It doesn’t matter which way round, just as long as there is one hot and one cold.

So, you will notice that in my recipe here, I have opted for a cool cake and hot syrup combo, simply because I find it more convenient to do it this way round. However, you could alternatively opt to make the syrup as soon as you put the cake in the oven, then let it cool until the baking is done, and pour the cooled syrup over the fresh-out-of-the-oven cake.

I have not tempted fate by attempting to challenge this rule, so I cannot speak to the consequences! I’ve stuck to the rule both because I didn’t want to risk my baking efforts going to waste, but mainly because this recipe is modified from my mum’s own Kalo Prama recipe, and you don’t mess with Mama’s recipes! Well, at least not in terms of ignoring her explicitly-written instructions - trying to make a healthier version of her creations is about as far as one dares go!

Be prepared to sacrifice the first slice!

Relax, this isn’t as dramatic as it may first sound. This is not haggis, there is no requirement for a sacrificial speech and energetic stabbing of the food before you! No no, what I mean when I say be prepared to sacrifice the first slice of Kalo Prama is simply that it can be really, really tricky to neatly and cleanly cut out and remove the first slice from the dish.

This is a deep, sticky and crumbly cake, and I don’t think I have ever successfully cut out a first slice. If you manage it, I salute you! You must unquestionably be a far more careful and less klutz-like creature than myself! But for the rest of us mere humans, when it comes to serving that first portion, dispense with the plate, grab a bowl, and scoop the inevitable failure of the first slice into that, then proceed to spoon the deliciousness into your mouth and forget all about the mess. Don’t worry, your second slice will be beautiful, as well as tasty!

(For anyone wondering, this is why in the main recipe photo there are two servings missing from the dish, and only one on the plate!)