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!!

Lucchi (Bengali fried bread) and an award!

Poori-masala is one of the most welcomed food combo in our house. Infact it is JM's one of the favourite foods (and he doesnt have that many favourites!). But we make them at home less often. That actually make them all the more special. After coming to US, I stuck to just the basic Indian recipes like rice and a curry or something. But later on I started making most of our Indian specialities. But only recently did I REALLY know that JM loved this combo A LOT!! This time I decided to try out Lucchis which I came across in a cookbook. Lucchis are basically pooris with semolina added to them, which actually gives them a slight resemblance to baturas. The semolina also helps to hold the puffed up shape of the pooris longer than the regular pooris would. The lucchis also have fennel added to them for fragrance. And they taste phenomenal! It would go well with any curry, we had it with some beef curry and onion salad. Enjoy!

Recipe (Makes 8 lucchis) :

All-purpose flour - 1 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Fine semolina - 1 tbsp
Fennel - 1 tsp, dry roasted and ground
Oil - 1 tbsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Oil - for frying

Method:

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Add the semolina and fennel and mix well.

In another bowl combine water and oil.

Mix together with the dry ingredients.

Knead well to make a smooth dough, adding more water if necessary.

Cover the bowl with a cloth and set the dough aside for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into eight balls, flatten slightly and then roll them out in the shape of disks (4-5" diameter).

Heat the oil in a wok/kadai until very hot.

Fry the breads one at a time, flicking the hot oil over the top so that it puffs up.

Turn and cook on the other side until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot with Indian curries.

Source: Authentic recipes from India by Brinder Narula.

Tips:

1. I made 1 1/2 recipe to get 12 lucchis.
2. While frying the pooris, push down the bread under the oil so that it will easily puff up.
   

Once again, I have an award to cherish and share! Neha of Tasty recipes passed me the Nice Matters award. Thank you so much Neha, I am happy to know that I am in the thoughts of a few blogger friends. It feels great to be appreciated, and thanks for being nice and for making my day!! :-)

"Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.”

I would like to pass this onto

Purnima of Cook
Roopa of My kitchen treats
Hetal of Isha's kitchen
Vani of Illatharasi

Enjoy your awards! :-)

I am sending this to the Roti mela hosted by Srivalli at Cooking 4 all seasons.

Rava dosa (Semolina crepes)

Rava dosa is one among the many tasty crepes popular as breakfast dishes in South India. The other common crepes like dosa involve fermenting the batter and hence a bit of pre-planning. But these crispy crepes can be prepared on a whim, as they involve no grinding or soaking. They are very tasty and is an ideal South Indian breakfast. They taste the best when served with dosa podi/chutney powder. Enjoy!!

Recipe (Makes about 6 crepes):

Rava/ Semolina/ Sooji - 1/2 cup
All-purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Warm water - 1 2/3 cup
Fresh cilantro - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Fresh thai, serrano or cayenne chillies - 2 or 3, chopped
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Vegetable oil - 1 tsp
Vegetable oil for brushing

Method:

Mix all-purpose flour, rice flour, semolina and salt in medium bowl.

Beat in warm water, using wire whisk, until smooth and batter is thin.

Stir in cilantro and chillies, set aside.

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a 6-in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and splutter the mustard seeds.

Add cumin seed and sizzle for about 10 seconds.

Pour hot oil mixture into the batter and mix well.

Brush 1/4 tsp oil in 6-in or larger crepe pan or skillet, heat over medium heat.

For each crepe, pour 1/4 cup batter into skillet.

Immediately rotate skillet until a thin layer of batter covers bottom. (If batter doesnt spread evenly, stir in a small amount of water into the remaining batter to thin it down).

Cook 1-2 minutes or until the top surface is opaque and the side of the crepe starts to pull away from the pan.

Run a wide spatula around the edge to loosen, turn and cook the other side for a minute.

Repeat with the remaining batter.

Stack crepes, placing waxed paper between each and wrap in aluminium foil to keep warm while cooking the remaining batter.

Source: Betty Crocker's Indian home cooking, Recipes by Raghavan Iyer.

Tip:

1. The skillet should be at the right temperature. If its too cold, the crepes will break on turning. If its too hot, the batter will sizzle and will not spread properly.

Rava kesari

Kesari can be made without much pre-planning, especially if you are someone like me, who at times cook on a whim. It is a quick recipe with only a few ingredients, can be made in about 10 minutes and is definitely enough to satisfy your craving for something sweet !! It is a versatile dish which can be made plain, or dressed-up with fried nuts and dry fruits.

Recipe (Serves 5)

Semolina/Rava/Sooji/Wheatlets - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 1 cup

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Yellow color - optional

Cashewnuts/Almonds - a few (optional)

Raisins - 1 tbsp (optional)

Method:

Heat the ghee in a pan and fry the nuts until golden brown. Keep aside.

Fry the raisins until they puff up. Keep aside.

In the same ghee, fry the rava until golden brown (approx 5 min on medium heat).

Add the yellow food color to the water.

Reduce the flame to low.

Pour the water into the pan and stir well so that rava is mixed in with the water. (The water will be evaporated in about a minute).

Stir in the sugar and mix well, so that no lumps are formed. Break up the lumps, if any, using a wooden spatula until the mixture is smooth.

Bring up the flame to medium and stir the mixture so that the excess moisture is evaporated and the kesari appears to come together.

Transfer the kesari to a pie-pan (or any other mould) and smooth the top.

Once cooled, transfer the kesari by keeping another plate over the pie-pan and inverting it.

Cut out into desired shapes.

Garnish with fried cashewnuts, almonds and/or raisins.

Tips:

1. Kesari can be made without the food color, but yellow color makes it more appetizing.
2. The fried rava will give off a toasted smell and will be golden brown.
3. Once cooled, the kesari will still be soft, but will hold its shape.
4. Use dry-ingredients measuring cup for rava and sugar and liquid measuring-cup for water.
5. The pictured kesari has almonds and raisins as garnish.