Chocolate and Jaggery Sandesh

Sandesh. These moist yet flaky sweets ( excuse me but I have not been able to figure out the right adjective to describe a Sandesh ) of Bengali origin have a special place in my heart. While I never had much of a sweet tooth, but I cannot resist the lure of these beauties. Maybe it the beauty in their shapes or the amazing texture or even the low sugar content, I can never have enough of these. And I would promptly pester anyone coming from Calcutta to get a packet for me.

While the preparation itself is nothing much to talk about, the kneading time of the chenna and the cooking time play an important role in the final taste of the product. Most of us would be able to get it right with a few trials. Here is a very simple recipe that I refer to whenever I am in the mood for some low calorie cocoa indulgence. This is a sugar-free chocolate version of Sandesh.

Read on -

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 1/2 liter milk
• 1 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 3 tsp grated/powdered palm jaggery
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• few drops ghee to rub on the palm and the molds

Preparation - Bring the milk to boil on a medium flame in a thick bottomed vessel. Once it gets to a rolling boil, keep on the flame for another 2-3 minute.

Dilute the vinegar with 1/2 cup warm water.

Remove from flame and keep aside for 4-5 minutes. Add the diluted vinegar in one corner of the vessel till the milk shows signs of curdling. Using a spatula, mix the contents of the vessel thoroughly till the greenish water (whey) and milk solids (chenna) get completely separated. ( You might not need to add the entire cup of citric acid but use sufficient amount needed to split the milk )

Place a thin cloth on a metal strainer ( Do not use  plastic as the mixture is still very hot at this point ). Pour the contents of the vessel over it. Wash the chenna under running water for 2 minutes to remove all traces of citric acid. Bundle/gather the corners of the cloth and squeeze out all the water but do not squeeze too hard.
Hang it for 1 hour or till the chenna is dry.

Remove the cloth and place the chenna on your sanitised kitchen counter / chopping board. Start kneading it with the heel of your palms. Then gather the chenna into a ball and start kneading again. Do this for 10 minutes.

Now add the powdered jaggery and cocoa powder and knead again till completely incorporated.

Cooking - Heat a nonstick pan on low flame. Add the chenna mixture and spread it all over the bottom. Let it cook for 5-6 mins with regular stirring till any residual mositure evaporates.

Once the mixture starts to come together, remove from the stove and allow the dough mixture to cool down till it is just warm to touch.

Knead it again for 2-3 mins.

Break of small bits of the chenna dough and shape it using us fingers or use a mold.

Allow it to cool down.

Serve or keep refrigerated till consumption.

Mawa Gujiya

The first of my posts leading up to the Diwali festivities ( I know it is still a long way but was feeling quite happy after a thorough cleaning session ). Mawa gujiya is one of those classic Holi/Diwali recipes that are on the must-do list of everyone. They are deep fried pastries stuffed with a spiced khoya (solidified milk ) and dry fruits filling. They can be stored in an airtight container for upto a week. The vegan version uses a mix of roasted semolina and fried coconut instead of the milk solids.

Read on for the recipe -

For the dough -

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 5 tsp hot oil
• 2 tsp semolina
• 2 pinch baking powder
• salt to taste
• cold water for making dough
• oil for deep frying

For the stuffing -

• 2 cups khoya
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 12-14 cashews
• a fistful of raisins
• nutmeg powder

Preparation - Take the all purpose flour, semolina baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the hot oil and rub in. Then add water, very little at a time and knead into a stiff dough. Cover with a damp cloth/little oil and keep aside for sometime. Knead it once again after 30 mins. It should feel smooth else repeat the process once again.

Cooking - Fry the khoya in a wok till it just starts to brown. Remove and keep aside.

Fry the raisins and cashews in the same wok with a little ghee. Remove and add to the khoya. Also add the powdered sugar and mix lightly using your fingers.

Pinch small portions of the dough and shape into a flattened disc. Dust a working surface and roll out the discs into small circles. Put some of the khoya mixture in one half of the circle leaving out some space on the edges. Apply water along the circumference before folding it into a half moon shape. Use a fork to make crimp patterns on the sealed edge. Repeat the process with the remaining dough and stuffing.

Heat sufficient oil in a wok. Add the gujiyas one or two at a time. Fry on one side till brown before turning over and frying the other side as well.

Allow to cool down a bit before serving. Keep the rest in an airtight container.

Suji Nadia Ladoo ( Semolina coconut ladoos )

Preparation time: 30 mins

Ingredients: 1 medium sized coconut ( grated ), 1 1/2 cups bombay rawa/suji, ghee ( 2-3 tbs ), sugar ( 1 1/4 cup ), water ( 1 cup ), cardamom powder ( 1/5 tsp ), dry fruits ( 1/3 cup, optional ).

Cooking: Heat 1 tbs ghee on a pan. Add the suji and roast for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Remove from pan when it reaches a light brown colour ( khova colour ).
Add another tbs of ghee to the pan. Now add the grated coconut and roast for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Remove from pan and keep aside.

Dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to boil in a wok. Let it boil till the sugar reaches a stringy consistency. ( Test this by taking a little of the liquid, cool it to a tolerable temperature and keep a drop of it between the thumb and forefinger. When you try to separate the fingers, a fine thread of the liquid appears )

Add the cardamom powder and coconut to the sugar syrup. Reduce the flame and mix it for 2 mins. Now add the suji in small batches and stir rigourously to mix all the ingredients. Remove from the flame once the mixture thickens enough to form balls/laddoos ( ideally its better to do it a little before it becomes this thick so the mixture further solidifies on cooling ) .

Keep aside till the temperature drops a few notches and it becomes tolerable to work with your fingers.

Spread a nice amount of ghee on your palm and fingers. Take a little amount of the mixture and gently shape into laddoo.

Spread a little ghee on your hands after every 2-3 laddoos as it prevents the mixture from sticking to your fingers. Makes 20 medium sized laddoos.

Store in a airtight container when completely cool. Keeps fresh for 1 week.

Note: Adding more ghee while roasting the semolina adds to the flavour.

Karanji - a sweet snack

Cooking Time Required: 20-30 mins
Cost of preparation: 35-45 rupees

Ingredients:
For dough: Maida ( 2 cups ), ghee ( 3 tbs ), water, salt to taste.

For stuffing: coconut ( 1 no ), powdered jaggery / sugar ( 4-5 tsp ), cardamon ( 2-3
nos ), ghee ( 1 tbs ), salt to taste.

Oil for deep frying.

Preparation: Heat the ghee and add to the maida . Sprinkle salt and just enough water to make a stiff dough. Knead well and keep aside for 15 mins.

Grate the coconut and keep aside.

Cooking: Heat a pan. Add ghee followed by the jaggery and allow it to melt.

Add the grated coconut and stir fry for 5-6 mins. ( If sugar is used, add the sugar at this stage )

Sprinkle the powdered cardamon and mix well. Remove from the stove.

Make small balls from the dough. Roll into small circles.

Put a small amount of the stuffing on the circles and close the edges with a little water to get a semi-circular shape. ( One can also make use of the moulds available in the markets )

Heat sufficient oil in a wok. Add the karanji to the hot oil and fry to a golden brown.Remove from wok and keep aside.

This can be kept in a airtight container and consumed within 3-4 days.