Buttery delights: Tasty delicacies for Krishna Janmashtami

The threat of coronavirus notwithstanding, cooking enthusiasts are armed with moulds and cutters to cook, feed, sing and bring in Lord Krishna’s birthday with pomp and gaiety.

The threat of coronavirus notwithstanding, cooking enthusiasts are armed with moulds and cutters to cook, feed, sing and bring in Lord Krishna’s birthday with pomp and gaiety. As we await his arrival, here are recipes of traditional savouries and sweets with a twist for you to prep and begin the festivities.

THATTAI BY SHANTHI RAMACHANDRAN
Ingredients
Murukku flour: 1/2 kg (or) processed rice flour mixed: 1/2 kg with roasted urad dal flour: 2 tbsp, Butter: 50 gm or hot oil: 2 tbsp, Roasted gram: 2 tbsp or soaked chana dal: 2 tbsp, Chilli powder, salt, asafoetida: as required, Chopped curry leaves, Water

Method

1. Divide the half kg murukku flour into three portions. Add 1 tbsp of fried chana dal, salt, 1/4 tsp asafoetida, 2 tbsp chilli powder, and finely chopped curry leaves to one portion. Mix with your fingers. Then, add 1 tbsp hot oil. Mix well with a fork and add required water little by little to make a soft pliable dough. You need not knead the dough.
2. Heat oil required for frying and drop a pinch from the dough, it should come up immediately and float on top. Set heat by adjusting the flame.
3. Take 2-3 tsp oil in a small bowl. Grease a thick plastic sheet or a thick zip-lock cover with little oil.
4. Make big marble-sized balls from the dough. Flatten them using your fingertips, dipping oil from the bowl every now and then.
5. Make 4-5 thattais and prick them with a fork. Drop them in oil carefully and fry till they become crispy. Once there are no bubbles or sizzling sound of the oil, remove them.
6. Remove excess oil by placing them on a kitchen tissue. Do the same process for other batches.

Notes

• You can substitute chilli powder with pepper-jeera powder for variation.
• Butter can be substituted with hot oil for soft thattais.
• Substitute asafoetida powder with asafoetida water (by soaking a piece of asafoetida in little water) for a good flavour.
• Check for salt before making, add chilli powder as per your taste.

SUKKU VELLAM LADDOO BY SRIVIDHYA RAVIKUMAR

Ingredients
Dry ginger powder: 2 tbsp, Grated jaggery: 1 tbsp,
Ghee/honey: 1 tsp

Method

1. Blend ginger powder and jaggery in a mixer.
2. Add ghee or honey and mix.
3. Make small balls and store it in an airtight container.

COCONUT RIBBON PAKODA BY JEYASHRI SURESH

Ingredients
Besan/gram flour: 1 cup, Rice flour: 1 cup, Red chilli powder: 3
tsp, Sesame seeds: 1 tsp, Butter: 3 tsp, Hot oil: 1 tbsp, Oil for
deep frying, Thick coconut milk: 3/4 cup, Fresh coconut: 2 tbsp,
Salt as needed

Method

1. Grind the fresh coconut into a fine paste. You can add little water if needed.
2. In a wide bowl add rice flour, besan, coconut paste, red chilli powder, salt, sesame seeds, butter and 1 tbsp hot oil.
3. Warm the coconut milk. If you insert your fingers you should be able to keep the fingers in the coconut milk for 7 seconds. Adding warm coconut milk gives a nice texture to the ribbon pakoda.
4. Add the coconut milk to the mixture and knead into a soft pliable dough. If needed add little water. Do not make it too stiff else it will be hard to press the ribbon.
5. Cover the dough. Take small portions and put them into the murukku press using the ribbon pakoda mould.
6. Heat oil. When it becomes hot, bring the flame to medium.
7. Squeeze dough into the oil. Fry on medium flame till the sound of the oil subsides. Remove and drain in a kitchen towel.
8. Repeat this with the rest of the dough.

Notes

• Homemade coconut milk gives a nice flavour to the ribbon pakoda.
• Do not make the dough in bulk, make it in small portions. Make the dough using 2 cups of flour (1 cup rice + 1 cup besan) for one batch.
• Adding fresh coconut gives a nice taste and flavour, so do not skip this.
• This coconut ribbon pakoda stays crispy for a week. Store in an airtight container.

CASHEWNUT MURUKKU BY SRIVIDHYA RAVIKUMAR

Ingredients
Rice flour: 4 cups, Cashewnut: 1 cup, Ghee: 1.5 tbsp, Salt, Asafoetida, Oil

Method

1. Soak cashewnuts for half an hour.
2. Grind them to a smooth paste adding little water. Transfer it to a wide bowl.
3. Add rice flour to this paste.
4. Then, add ghee, salt, asafoetida and mix everything well.
5. Sprinkle little water and knead like a firm dough.
6. Take a small portion, fill the greased murukku mould with that dough. Squeeze it out in a circular motion in hot oil.
7. Fry them well and remove when they turn crisp.
8. Store it in an airtight container after it cools.

NAVANEETHAM BY SRIVIDHYA RAVIKUMAR

Ingredients
Butter: 3 tbsp, Powdered sugar: 1 tbsp,
Cardamom powder: a pinch

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients.
2. Offer it to Lord Krishna as naivedyam

WHEAT FLOUR SWEET SEEDAI BY JEYASHRI SURESH

Ingredients
Wheat flour: 3/4 cup, Rice flour: 1/4 cup, Coconut: 1/4 cup, Sesame seeds: 1 tsp, Butter: 1 tbsp, Salt: 2
pinches, Sugar: 1/4 cup, Cardamom powder: a pinch, Oil for deep frying, Milk: 1/2 cup (approx)

Method

1. Slightly roast the wheat flour. Do not let it change colour.
2. Allow it to cool, powder the sugar in a mixer.
3. Roast the coconut in a pan till golden brown. Then roast the sesame seeds.
4. In a wide bowl, add wheat flour, rice flour, coconut, sesame seeds, salt, cardamom powder, and butter. Mix well with your fingers.
5. Add the powdered sugar to this and mix. Sprinkle milk to this and make a tight dough. Don’t pour milk at a stretch. The dough should not be too loose. You should be able to make seedai balls.
6. Make small balls out of the dough. Do it in batches. Keep it covered at all times.
7. Heat oil. Once it becomes hot, simmer the flame. Add the rolled balls in batches.
8. Once the seedais rise slightly above the oil, keep the oil in medium flame and after 1-2 minutes bring it to low.
9. Adjust the flame every time so that oil does not get heated too much. If seedais are cooked in medium flame throughout, it will not get cooked inside and they will not turn out crispy.
10. Once it gains a nice brown colour, take it out of the oil and place it on a kitchen towel for the oil to drain. One batch takes 12-15 minutes to get fried. Repeat the process for the rest of the batches.

Notes

• Ensure that the wheat flour is not roasted too much.
• Depending upon the texture of the flour, the quantity of milk can be increased or decreased.
• Sprinkle the milk to make the dough.
• If you like your seedais to be sweeter, you can add another spoonful of sugar.

CASHEW MILK SWEET BY SHANTI RAMACHANDRAN

Ingredients
Cashew: 1 cup, Sugar: 2 cups, Milk powder: 1 cup, Lukewarm milk: 1 cup, Ghee: 2 tbsp

Method

1. Take a cup of cashew, two cups sugar and one cup milk powder; blend in a mixer.
2. Heat a broad, thick non-stick pan. Add this powder along with a cup of lukewarm thick boiled milk. Let it become like a soft chapati dough on medium flame. Add a tablespoon of ghee and mix well.
3. Keep a greased plate/tray ready and pour the contents and smoothen it with a small bowl greased with ghee.
4. After five minutes, cut into the desired shape.

Notes

• Homemade coconut milk gives a nice flavour to the ribbon pakoda.
• Do not make the dough in bulk, make it in small portions. Make the dough using 2 cups of flour (1 cup rice + 1 cup besan) for one batch.
• Adding fresh coconut gives a nice taste and flavour, so do not skip this.
• This coconut ribbon pakoda stays crispy for a week. Store in an airtight container.
• Very easy to make the sweet with minimum ghee. The milk will give a nice flavour. Elaichi is not needed.
• You can add 1 tbsp cocoa powder and make a chocolate cake.

CHOCOLATE BARFI BY SHANTHI RAMACHANDRAN

Ingredients
Milk powder: 1 cup, Sugar: 2 cups, Milk: 1 cup, Cocoa powder: 2 tbsp, Unsalted butter: 100 g

Method

1. Whisk one cup of milk powder with two cups of sugar, one cup milk, one tbsp cocoa powder.
2. The consistency should be like that of dosa batter. Accordingly, adjust either with water or milk if one cup of milk is not sufficient.
3. Pour the batter in a nonstick pan. Keep a greased plate ready (normal tiffin plate with minimum height will do).
4. Place the pan on medium heat and add 50-100 g unsalted butter. Stir constantly to avoid lumps.
5. Within 10-12 minutes the batter will start getting thick like idli batter. Now, reduce the flame to low and stir again.
6. When the batter becomes like a thick cake batter and starts leaving the sides, switch off flame but keep stirring the mixture with a spatula continuously.
7. Now, the mixture will become thick like a chapati dough. Transfer it to the greased plate and smoothen it out to minimum thickness.
8. Once it is set, cut into desired shapes.

Notes

• Cocoa can be avoided if you want a white-coloured cake
• If you add unsweetened milk powder, then add more sugar, around 2.5 cups.
• More the butter, more the softness.
• The last step of stirring without heat is a must to get melt-in-mouth cake.
• If you do not get the correct consistency even after the last step, heat again for a few minutes