Onde Onde ( Pandan Palmsugar Coconut dumpling)

Onde Onde ( Pandan Palmsugar Coconut dumpling)

Ingredients:

Glutinous Rice  :  1 cup

Sugar  :  2 tsp

Pandan leaves (screw pine leaf) :  3 or 4 twigs.

Palm sugar   :  5 tbsp

Grated Coconut  :  1/2 cup

Green Food Color  : 1/2 tsp ( optional)

Steps:

Wash the pandan leaves, cut into small pieces 

Blend the pandan leaves to extract juice. A few teaspoons of water is added.
Strain the extract to remove the residue.

In a bowl mix the flour, sugar and the extract. Few drops of green food color can be added.
Form a smooth dough.
Add a pinch of salt to the graded coconut and steam it for 5 minutes (or microwave for one minute ) Spread it on a plate and let it cool.

Knead the dough, make small balls. Flatten the ball and place half a teaspoon or required amount of pounded palm sugar and roll back into balls.

In a heavy bottom sauce pan, boil approximately a litre of water. When the water reaches boiling, add the pandan flavored rice balls into it. 

The balls will start floating once it is cooked. That is the time it has to be removed. Strain water and transfer to the plate of coconut. Roll it to get a uniform coat of coconut. Remove.

Spread the delicacy on a plate and serve.

My Notes:

Onde Onde is a traditional Malay sweet.It is one of the popular kuih in Malaysia. Kuih is a term used for Malay pastries, cakes in which glutinous rice, sweet potato or tapioca will be the main ingredient to which palm sugar, coconut are added . Palm sugar is called Gula melaka in Malay.

A must in Nonya desserts list. I first got a taste of Onde-Onde and other kuihs quite a long back at a function in Singapore. I learnt to do this simple dish of Onde-Onde and is a hit with guests who visit us from India. 

Recently I made this together with Potato Patties for my friend Uma' parents when they visited us. 

The cute little  soft outer ball with a surprise of palm sugar bursting in your mouth as you bite into it, is a yummy feeling.

The pandan flavour infused glutinous rice smells awesome as it boils in water. To get a juicy sugar inside, boil the balls for few more minutes for the palm sugar to melt. If crunchy bits is your choice, remove  the ball once it starts floating in water.

The salt added and steaming gives a longer shelf life for fresh coconut.

 A must try  healthy , delicious dessert.

Coconut Khoya Burfi ( தேங்காய் கோவா பர்ஃபி )

Coconut Khoya Burfi ( தேங்காய் கோவா பர்ஃபி )

                                  

Ingredients:
Shredded Coconut ( துருவிய தேங்காய் ) : 2 Cups
Unsweetened Khoya ( சர்க்கரை சேர்க்காத கோவா ) :  1 Cup
Sugar ( சர்க்கரை )  :  2 Cups
Ghee ( நெய் )  :  3 tbsp
Cashew nuts ( முந்திரிபருப்பு )  : 12 ( halved )
Saffron( குங்குமப்பூ )  :  1 tsp

Cardamom ( ஏலக்காய் )  : 4 or 5  ( optional )

Steps:
In a heavy pan, add a tablespoon of ghee. Fry the Cashew nuts and remove. Add coconut and fry in low flame, to remove the moisture and also become slightly dry. Remove and cool.
In the same pan add the sugar and 1/5 cup water. Boil to get a syrup.
Mix the coconut and khoya.
When two string consistency of syrup has formed, add in the coconut khoya mixture. Stir continuously, add the remaining ghee.

 Finally add in the saffron strands which was soaked in warm milk. Mix well. The mixture gets a beautiful color and fragrance of saffron. Powdered cardamom can be added at this point.

My Notes:

I have made coconut burfi before. But tried this recipe for the first time. The khoya gave a rich taste. Wanted to use saffron for coloring and fragrance. And what a finish. Fabulous taste. An entirely different taste from the regular coconut burfi. May be its the saffron magic. :)

 Cardamom is for those who feel content with sweet only after adding it.

If the syrup is not of correct consistency and the coconut is added earlier then we may have to cook a longer time until the burfi mixture leaves the sides of pan and is not sticky when touched with wet fingertips.

Also refrain from grinding the whole coconut pieces. The outer brown skin will not be grinded smooth and may not mix well with the syrup. Also while eating the sweet you may feel like chewing the bits rather than smooth relish. Always use shredded coconut without the outer brown skin. 

The color of the final product in the picture is not the same as the original. May be because of the lighting that it looks darker.

Deepavali Delicacies ( தீபாவளி பலகாரம் )

Deepavali Delicacies ( தீபாவளி பலகாரம் )

Last few days were spent preparing snacks for the festive, Deepavali. Shall post the recipe for Mixture, Coconut koya burfi and murukku separately. 

Happy Deepavali to all :)

Athirasam - Riceflour Jaggery delicacy ( அதிரசம் )

Athirasam - Riceflour Jaggery delicacy ( அதிரசம் ) 

Ingredients:

Raw Rice flour ( பச்சரிசி மாவு )  : 3 cups
Jaggery (வெல்லம் )  :  3 cups
Powdered Cardamom (ஏலக்காய் பொடி)  :  3 tbsp
Powdered Dry Ginger ( சுக்கு பொடி )  :  2 tbsp
Oil for frying.


Steps:

Soak 3 cups of raw rice for minimum 30 minutes. Drain the water through and sieve and let it dry on a clean white cloth for a few minutes. Turn the rice and spread it well.
Take a few spoons of  the moist rice and pound in a mixer and sieve. Repeat with the whole rice.



                                 

Measure the rice flour. Pound an equal amount of Jaggery. Add 15 to 20 ml of water for every cup of Jaggery. Melt and strain to remove the impurities. Bring back to boil. Boil in a medium to low flame, stirring continuously. Don't let the boiling syrup settle. Mix by stirring, to give uniform heat.
 Lift a little syrup in the ladle and let it flow, if it falls in 2 strings, continue boiling. Once it has reached 3 string consistency switch off the flame.
You can check by placing a drop of syrup in a cup of water. if it forms a firm ball, then it is the correct consistency. The syrup should not dissipate in water.


                                

 To the ground rice flour, add powdered cardamom and dry ginger. Add in the Jaggery syrup turning the flour in clockwise direction. Continue adding and mix evenly.
The batter will be loose but will thicken on cooling . Let it to ferment for minimum 24 hours.

Next day or the following day, knead the batter well. Roll into big lemon size and flatten it on a greased plastic sheet.

Deep fry the flattened sweet flour in a low to medium flame.

Use a flat ladle to press the fried athirasam to remove the excess oil. Place the athirasam between two flat ladle and press.

My Notes:

The word athirasam itslef brings  a drooling mouth. An all time favourite of most people.

This  sweet belongs to traditional sweets category and is made during deepavali and other prayers/nonbu.

At my Paternal Grandmother' house, they used to pound the rice in the stone grinder manually to get the flour.

The more the batter is let to ferment more softer will be the sweet ( upon frying)