Ukkarai - My 100th Post

This is my 100th post! Can you believe that? I really can’t believe it. I still remember the day, I wrote my first post and waited eagerly for somebody to drop by and leave a comment, but then I was very naïve. I did not realize that for somebody to know that I and my space existed I had to visit others too. But as days went by I also learnt. Now I can boast of 100+ followers and a good readership. Let’s leave all the statistics aside.

 During the past 10 months I have learnt quite a few things, from taking better pictures, (though I have to still improve a lot on it) to writing better posts, and also a few technical aspects. Another good thing is that I have successfully tried out quite a few recipes which I thought I would never do. I would like to thank all my readers and blogger friends who have supported me by visiting my space and leaving their valuable feedback.

Thought of posting a sweet for my 100th post! So here is Ukkarai or Okkarai. This is a simple sweet dish very popular during Diwali. Though it is supposed to be a common Palakkad Iyer recipe, my grandmother and mother never made this. It was only after my marriage that I got introduced to this dish. A healthy protein packed sweet dish, made out of Channa dal/Bengal gram dal and jaggery. So here is the recipe.

  What you’ll need:

 1. Kadalai Paruppu/Bengal Gram Dal – 1 cup
2. Powdered jaggery - 1 cup
3. Cardamom – 4 to 5
4. Cashewnuts and raisins – few
5. Ghee/ Clarified Butter – 1 tbsp

Method

 1. Dry roast the Bengal gram dal in a Kadai, till the dal becomes light brown and a nice aroma starts emanating.
2. Soak this roasted dal in water for about ½ hour to 45 minutes.
3. Cook the dal with just enough water in a pressure cooker for about 2 whistles. Dal should be just cooked and not mushy.
4. After the pressure from the cooker is released, remove the cooked dal and put it in a strainer so that all the water is drained. Let it cool.
5. Powder the dal in a blender and keep it aside.
6. In the meanwhile, heat a Kadai and add the powdered jaggery with about 1/3 cup of water. Let the jaggery dissolve completely.
7. Strain for impurities.
8. Heat the jaggery water on medium flame till Kallupakkam is achieved.
9. To check for the pakam, keep a small bowl of water, add a drop of the jaggery syrup in the water, then gather it and roll it into a ball, now throw that into the bowl, you should hear a good sound.
10. Now add the powdered dal and stir well continuously for 5 to 7 minutes or till bread crumb like texture is obtained.
11. Finally, heat a small frying pan with ghee, fry the cashew nuts and raisins and add it to the ukkarai along with the ghee. Mix well.

That’s it, yummy ukkarai is ready.

 Linking this recipe to MLLA - 40 hosted by Suma started by Susan.

Cashew Coconut Burfi | Diwali Speical

Ah! It’s that time of the year, when women in most households, would be discussing and planning what bhakshanams (Sweets and Snacks) to prepare for Diwali.

Though Diwali is a festival of lights, it is known more for its festive sweet and snack preparations. Talking of sweets, the person who immediately comes to my mind is my grandfather. Yes! Believe me, he was the one who used to prepare the sweets in my home until he was alive. He was an expert in making all kinds of sweets. He was very well known for his Jangri, Badushah and Badam Halwa.

A week before Diwali, preparations would start. My grandfather would ask us grandchildren what we would like to have and from there on, he would make a list of the required ingredients and ask my mom to get it. And every day,(till the day before Diwali) after lunch, the kitchen would turn into a mini (Halwai ki Dukaan), with my grandfather being the Master Chef, grand mom would be his assistant and my mom though did not have to do anything much, but still like an obliging DIL she would be close by waiting for some sundry instructions.

After each sweet was made, my grandfather would first call me and my brother and offer us his creation. And we would gladly gorge on the yummy delicacies.

I was quite young then, and never bothered to find out how these were made. My mother got some good tips from him. And I am learning from my mom and MIL of course.

I am really a beginner when it comes to sweets. I hardly prepare sweets and it’s only during this time of the year that I start scratching my head as to what to prepare for Diwali. Making sweets, especially burfis is rather tricky. You need to know exactly when to remove it from heat and transfer the mixture into a plate. The first time, I ventured to make badam cake, I got only Badam powder L.

Today I am sharing the recipe for a simple burfi, which is quite easy to make and very delicious. I definitely want to update the post with step wise pictures for the benefit of beginners. Maybe when I make it actually for Diwali I will do that. So here is the recipe:

What you’ll need:

1.       Cashew nuts – 1 Cup

2.       Scraped Fresh Coconut – 1 Cup

3.       Sugar – 2 Cups

4.       Ghee/Clarified Butter – 2 Tbsp

5.       Milk – ¼ Cup

Method

1.       Warm the milk and soak the cashews in the milk for half an hour. Grind the cashews with the milk into a smooth paste. Add the scraped coconut and pulse it for a few seconds.

2.       Grease a plate and keep aside.

3.       Heat a heavy bottomed Kadai, add the cashew coconut paste, sugar and ghee. Mix well. Keep stirring continuously on medium flame.

4.       First stage – you will see bubbles forming on the sides of the Kadai. Keep stirring.

5.       Second stage – you will see lots of bubbles forming and the whole thing will start leaving the sides and start frothing up. Keep stirring, we’re almost there.

6.       Final stage – The whole mixture will come together and become a thick mass. Immediately, pour into a greased plate.

7.       Cool and cut into pieces when slightly warm.

Enjoy this yummy burfi with your family.

Note:

 After transferring the mixture onto a greased plate, wait for a few minutes and mark the lines with a knife for the pieces. If you feel the mixture is slightly gooey and not yet reached the burfi stage, put it back on heat and give it a stir for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Make sure you don’t keep it for too long, else the sweet may turn crumbly and become powdery.

Linking this to Radhika's Diwali Special - Sweets and Savories, Anu's Diwali - Festival of Lights and Only Sweets hosted by Gayathri started by Pari and to Khushi's My Diwali My Way
Also linking it to Healing Foods - Coconut hosted by Sukanya started by Siri.