Recipe: Balushahi, Rava Ladoo, Mohantal, Jahangir

I just could not come back to my blog for some time. I had been wanting to add so many things, i just couldnt sit down for it.

so, for Diwali in America, I made the following: Balushahi, ravaladoo, Jaahangir and Mohan tal and a little quantity of pokoda and baked maddur vadai.

Balushahi

preparation time - 30mnts.

cooking time-30mnts

prooving time-2 hrs.

Ingredients:4 cups flour, 1 cup butter(I used margarine),(refrigerated)11/2 cups sugar, 4 tbsp curds,(refrigerated) 1tsp baking soda, 1/2tsp salt. Oil for frying

Makes30 balushahis

Method

Mix the flour and salt. As I had bought a electric hand mixer recently, I mixed the flour and salt for 2 mnts with the dough kneader blade.The flour and salt can also be seived twiceAdd the butter or margarined(refrigerated) and mix well so that the dough resembles bread crumbs. Mix the baking soda and curds and beat with a spoon a couple of times. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and knead well adding cold water if necessary ,to make a soft and pliable dough.( Now this is where one has to be very careful. The kneading has to be done well(you need great strength in your palms for this). I had the hand mixer this time, so the kneading was done to the right consistency.) Rest the dough in a cool place for 2 hrs.(it can be kept in the refrigerator also. The preparation can be done to this stage the previous day and dough can be kept in the fridge.)

Take sugar and 11/2 cup of water in a pan and boil to a one string consistency. Keep the syrup warm.

I used canola oil(Any veg. oil could be used).Meanwhile, heat the oil(I used canola oil any veg. oil could be used) in a flat shallow bottomed pan(I used the pressure pan). Do not allow the oil to smoke. Make small pedas of the dough. Roll in the palms to a ball and flatten. Make a small depression in the centre.Put into the hot oil one by one. remove the pan from the stove (you can reduce the heat to the minmum, if it can go to a very low temperature). The balushahis will turn on its own when one side is cooked. Bring the pan back to the stove and cook the other side also.When they are golden brown in color and well cooked remove from the oil, drain off the oil and dip in the sugar syrup. Let them soak in the sugar syrup till the next batch is fried. Remove from the sugar syrup and keep it aside. Fry all the balushahis this way and dip in the sugar syrup.

Boil the remaining sugar syrup to two string consistency and pour over the prepared balushahis. Decorate with colored coconut gratings.

Rava Ladoo

This is a Karnataka version of rava ladoo, a little different from the traditional tambram method. Many poeple liked this variation, when I had made it at home. So I tried it again with fantastic results.

Preparation time: 20mnts.

cooking time: 1 to 2 hrs.

Ingredients: 3 cups fine sooji, 3 cups grated copra, 3 cups sugar, 1/2 cup ghee, 1 tbsp. cashewnuts (broken), 1 tbsp. raisins, 1 tsp, cardomom pow., 1/2 cup warm milk, few strands saffron(optional)

30 ladoos.

Method.

Heat 1 tbsp. ghee in a kadai and fry the cashew nuts to a golden brown, remove and keep aside. Fry the raisins in the same ghee and remove and keep aside.

Add the remaining ghee and fry the sooji in a medium temp. until the raw smell disappears and u get a good fragrance.Switch off the heat.. Add the the copra and sugar and keep stirring for 5 mor mnts.Add the cardomom and fried cashews and raisin and saffron dissolved in milk and mix well.Make a small well in the centre and add little warm milk and make into ladoos.(It will be hot to touch , yet the ladoos have to be made when the mixture is hot)


Mohantal

Preparation time:5 mnts.

Cooking time: 45 mnts.

Ingredients: 1cup Besan, 1 cup Ghee, 1/2 cup milk powder(khoya can also be used),1 tbs. cashew nuts broken, 2 cups sugar, cardomom pow. 1 tsp.

Take a thick bottomed kadai(again, I used the pressure cooker) and add the ghee. When the ghee is hot add the cashew pieces. When the cashew turn to golden brown add the besan and fry until the raw smell disappears. Remove from the stove and keep aside.Add the khoya or milk powder and mix well until they are well blended.

Make a two string consistency sugar syrup and add the cardomom pow., and remove from the stove.( The remaining procedure to be done away from the stove). Pour the above mixture into the sugar syrup amd keep stirring until the mixture thickens to the cake consistency. Pour into a greased thali and cut into desired shape..

Jahangir

Preparation time: 1 hr.

Cooking time: 1/2 hr.

Ingredients: 1 cup whole urad dal,1 tbs. raw rice 2 cups sugar,1tbsp. raw rice, food color

makes 30 jahangirs

Method

Soad urad dal and rice for 1/2 hr. Grind adding very little water at a time, just to keep the blades moving(in a wet grinder it is very easy and grinds to perfection).When the urad dal is ground to a very smooth and fluffy and light paste, remove.

Meanwhile make a one string syrup of sugar and water . Add the food color and keep the syrup warm.

Heat oil in a flat bottomed shallow pan and squeeze te urad dal bater thru a jahangir maaker . Fry on both sides and dip in the sugar syrup. Keep the jahangir in the syrup until the next batch is ready.Drain and keep on a plate to cool.