Gasagase Payasa

Ingredients:
. Gasagase - 2 tbsp. [ Poppy seeds / Khus Khus]
. Badami/Almonds - 10 to 15
. Hallu/Milk ½ cup
. Kai Hallu / Coconut Milk - 2 cups
. Sakkare/Sugar - 3 tbsp (or according to taste) (Bella/Jaggary could be used instead)
. Ellaki/Cardamom/Elaichi pdr - from 2 pods

For seasoning and garnish:
. Badami Esallu/ Almond Slices
. Wanna Drakshi/Golden raisins (dry grapes)
. Thupa/Ghee - 2 tsp
. Kesari/Saffron

Method:
1. Wash and soak poppy seeds and almonds separately for at least 4 hours.
2,  Remove the almond skin and grind it in to paste along with soaked poppy seeds.
3. Heat the milk, as it comes to boil, mix almond/poppy paste. Let it boil for couple of minutes.
4. Stir-in coconut milk and sugar. Let it boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Keep stirring or else it will boil over.
5. Turn of the fire. Add Cardamom powder to the payasa and cover.
6. In a small seasoning pan, heat the ghee on low fire. Add almond slices and raisins. Once raisins puffs, turn off the heat and pour hot ghee. almonds and raisins over the payasa.
7. Garnish with Saffron and cover.
8. Serve warm or refrigerated(cold).

I prefer cold. Try this recipe and let me know. If you have different recipe, write it the comment below. Happy Cooking!!

Ragi Huri Hittina Unde /Ladoo

Ingredients: 

• Ragi Huri Hittu - 2 cups
• Coconut grated – 2 tbsp
• Jaggery grated – ½ cup
• Elachi (cardamom) – ½ tsp.
• Ghee – 1 tsp
• Warm Milk – 1 cup ( as needed)
• Optional: roasted nuts ( peanut or cashew)

Method: 

1. Mix everything except milk in a bowl. 
2. Gradually add  little by little milk until the mixture holds together to form lime size ladoos/balls.

Rave Unde

Ingredients :
  

• Chiroti Rava - 3 cups
• Ghee - 6-7 tsp
• Dried Coconut - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 and a half cup
• Cardamom - 2
• Raisins and Cashews - half a cup
• Milk - optional

Method :

• Fry Chiroti Rava with ghee.
• Add powdered  : dried coconut (kobbari) , cardamom, sugar to it.
• Add raisins and cashews to the same.
• Make small balls of the above mixture by adding milk in little quantity,if required.
• Rave Unde is ready to eat.

Note : raisins and cashews can be fried in ghee before using for better taste

Godhi Laddoo

When it came’s to laddoo,Godhi laddoo is my favorite. Especially the ones my mom makes. It always tastes better when mom makes it.

Godhi Laddoo brings memories of childhood. There is no place in the world anybody can hide these from me. No matter where you put it, I will find it. My mom learnt this early on and had given up hiding it. No use!

I make Godhi laddoo during most of the festivals. I make plenty to share. It just melts in your mouth. It is easy and quick to make. Simple ingredients, most of them found in the kitchen all the time. Tastes good.

To make Godhi laddoo you need… 
· Godhi Hittu- Atta – Wheat flour - 1 ½ cup
· Sugar (powdered) – 1 cup
· Ellachi powder– Cardamom –from 4 pods
· Dry grapes – raisins - a handful
· Ghee –Purified butter – 1 cup (or dalda)


Here is how to make Godhi laddoo…

1. In a heavy bottom pan, dry fry the wheat flour on a medium flame. Continue stirring so that flour won’t burn or brown. It may take 10 to 15 minutes. You will know it is done when you get sweet pleasant aroma from it.
2. Turn off the fire. Add raisins, sugar and cardamom powder. Mix it well.
3. Stir-in melted ghee into the mixture. Mix all together with a wooden spatula until the raisins puff-up. (Mind, it is very hot).
4. Now let the mixture stay until it has cooled down. This is the only laddoo I know of which you work with when cold.
5. Take a handful of mixture and press it to form onto lemon size balls.

Note: If laddoo is not able to hold it’s shape, add more melted ghee to the mixture. 

Enjoy this traditional sweet from my mom’s kitchen. :)

KarjiKai

Karjikai is made during Ganesh Charthuthi, Ugadhi, or Deepavali. Depending on region of South India it is referred to by different names. This is my mom’s recipe; she always used dry ingredients for the filling so the sweet would keep for a long time ….as long as some mischievous hands didn’t eat it away by then!

Ingredients: 

• All purpose flour 2 cups
• Sooji Rawa 1 cup (Semolina)
• A pinch of salt
• Ghee (purified butter) 3 tbsp
• 1/2 cup warm Water to make dough
• Oil for deep frying

For Filling: 

• Chickpeas ½ cup
• Grated Dry coconut ½ cup
• Sugar ½ cup
• Cardamom pdr ½ tsp (from 3 – 4 pods)
• Any dry fruit [Optional] Cashew or Almond (roasted and powered coarsely); or Raisins.

Method: 

1. Mix the flour, Semolina and salt together. Heat 3 tbsp ghee in low flame, pour the boiling ghee into flour mix. Carefully blend the mixture.
2. Add enough water to make a stiff dough. Keep aside covered in a wet cloth or paper towel for half an hour.
3. Knead well again to make the dough soft and pliable.
4. In a blender, powder Chickpeas. Remove the content into a separate bowl.
5. Add grated dry coconut, sugar, cardamom powder and dry fruit. Mix all together and keep aside. – for filling
6. Make small balls from the dough. Roll and flatten each ball into thin circles (about 4 to 5 inches in diameter).
7. Spoon in the filling on one half of the circle and fold along the center. Seal the ends with some water or milk. As you see in the picture I have taken the edges and overlapped to form a design. Start from one corner, take both edges together from the tip of your finger, fold it over and press a bit; repeat the step until you reach the other end. This sounds like a lot of work, but believe me it is not. After practicing on couple of karjikai, your fingers will move very fast. In this way you are sure you have sealed the pouch well. You don’t want the filling to come out while deep frying. Hint: Give this job to the kids (or your husband :P) it will keep them busy and help develop their fine motor skills :D
8. Deep fry the Karjikai in oil on medium flame till crisp and golden. Since Karjikai puffs up while frying, fry 1 or 2 at a time.
9. Remove from oil onto paper towels and allow them to cool completely before storing.

Filling Variation 1 - with jaggary 
Dry grated coconut - 2cups; Jaggary ¾ cup(grated); Sesame 4tbsp(roasted & crushed); Cardamom powdered ½ tsp.
Heat a thick bottom pan and add coconut and grated jaggary, fry them together for 6-7 mins, then add crushed sesame and cardamom powder and mix well, again fry for 2-3 mins then turn of the heat.
Filling Variation 2 – with milk 
Grated Coconut-1 cup; Sugar-3¼ cups; Milk-1½ cups; Few Almonds; Few Raisins; Cardamom powder ½ tsp; 1 tbsp poppy seeds
Cook grated coconut (use fresh or dried), sugar, milk, chopped almonds and raisins, cardamom powder, and poppy seeds (optional) till the milk evaporates.
Filling Variation 3 – with cashew and melon seeds
Grated Coconut-1 cup; Sugar-3¼ cups; Milk-1½ cups; Few Almonds; Few Raisins; Cardamom powder ½ tsp; 1 tbsp poppy seeds
Cook grated coconut (use fresh or dried), sugar, milk, chopped almonds and raisins, cardamom powder, and poppy seeds (optional) till the milk evaporates.
Filling Variation 4 – With Koa
Crumble sugarless thick milk Koa (if necessary put in a hot pan and keep on low flame and stir for a minute) and mix it with equal measure of powdered sugar, finely chopped cashews, raisins, cardamom powder and grated dry coconut.