July 10, 2008

Sailu's Kajjikayalu for RCI : Andhra Festival Foods


RCI : July 2008 made me explore untreaded territory in terms of regional Indian cuisine. This month, the theme is Andhra Festival Foods and I really had no idea about Andhra cuisine let alone Festival foods! I decided to search around and immediately came across the Kajjikayalu recipe on Sailu's website "Sailu's kitchen". I was really happy to see that this particular recipe was simple without an extensive list of ingredients and for the first time, I had everything at hand! I tucked the recipe away in the exhaustive must-try list. Sailu had really beautiful pictures in her post that were really tempting and had given clear step-by-step instructions. I was unsure if I would be able to make them as decorative as hers. I finally made them a couple of days before and somehow I mastered the technique soon. I definitely can see that mine didnt turn out to be as pretty as Sailu's but sure were tasty!! This sweet is really easy to make and I dont know if this is new to many of you, but if you haven't already, do try this out! Its quick, pretty and delicious! What more could you want out of a sweet!!? Yum!! I only made a quarter of the recipe given on her site. I am posting the modified recipe here. Check out her blog for the actual recipe which would yield 60 sweets, while mine are on their way to RCI : Andhra Festival Foods over at Vani's Batasari.


Recipe (Makes 15 kajjikayalus) :

Dough pockets:

All purpose flour - 125g
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Water - as needed to make a dough
Salt - to taste
Oil - for frying

For the filling:

Sweetened flaked coconut - 2 tbsp
Sooji/semolina - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Cashewnuts - 1 tbsp, coarsely ground

Method:

Make a dough with maida, salt, ghee and water which is soft and pliable.

Divide the dough into 15 portions and shape them into small balls.

Keep aside covered with a wet paper towel for 30 minutes.

In a skillet, dry roast the coconut until light brown.

Keep aside.

In the same skillet, dry roast the semolina until light brown and take it off the heat.

Mix together the coconut, semolina, cardamom powder, sugar and cashewnuts to make the filling. Keep aside.

Take one dough ball at a time and roll it out into thin circles.

Spread a tablespoon of the filling on one half of the rolled out dough.

Wet your finger and run it along the edges of the spread out dough with water and fold over to the opposite end, thus enclosing the filling.

Press the ends firmly so that it is sealed completely and twist around the edges in a ripple-fashion (check out Sailu's pictures).

Heat enough oil in a wide vessel to fry the stuffed kajjikayalu.

Drop 3-4 kajjikayalu into the oil slowly and deep fry them till golden brown.

Turn it over once it is golden brown on one side and then cook the other side.
Drain on paper towels.

Serve and enjoy!!


Tips:

  1. The actual recipe mentioned using dry coconut which is finely grated instead of flaked sweetened coconut.
  2. Sailu's recipe used finely chopped cashewnuts in the filling.
  3. It also used a bit of ghee to roast the coconut and semolina, which I omitted.
  4. Check out Sailu's post for pictures and tips on storing the kajjikayalus.

Enjoy everyone!!

16 comments:

ranji said...

this one is new to me as well...looks yumm..love andhra food because of its spiciness ..but never had andhra sweets.. good choice :)

Srikitchen said...

i tried it once.. my neighbor aunt told me this recipe..

delhibelle said...

It does look so nice! If think it's not pretty enough, I dare never blog mine!!
We call these Gunjiyas and are typically made for the Holi festival:)

Laavanya said...

I like these too but have never tried making them myself. Look so cute JZ.

Trupti said...

Kajjikayalu looks delicious JZ. We call it Karanji ..we usually made them at diwali festival..I love karanji

Cham said...

Looks really superb , your Kajjikayalu!

Sujatha said...

Looks delicious, We make it during our festivals. I love it.. But haven't made it myself. The recipe sounds easy, should try it sometime

Dori said...

I keep seeing this around and wanting to try it... It's sweet AND fried, that's just too good!

Illatharasi said...

My mother used to make this.... had this long time back... miss it;) Pictures are awesome JZ!

Anisheetu said...

good addition dear....

@the_whisk_affair said...

Thanks Ranji, Srilekha and Delhibelle..Thanks for the additional info DB!! :-)

Thanks Laavanya, Trupti and Cham! :-)

Thanks Sujatha, Meeso, Illatharasi and Anisheetu !

A_and_N said...

Wow crunchy on the outside, moist and cocunutty on the inside! Sweet recipe JZ :)

Bharti said...

Hey..I love Sailu's blog too. That looks like a really tasty dish!

Sunshinemom said...

I know this sound cliche from me - but this is again a favorite! I make with a khoa filling! Yours looks delish:) Now that I am vegan I will have a go with rawa:)

Sunshinemom said...

I saw your subscribe button today! Since I generally look for the big orange button, I missed this one out totally! Suggestion - why not use that button dear?

Andhra Recipes said...

I like this too.....
Thank for share.........