Away from home, you must be missing the smell of Diwali sweets and namkeens being prepared at every home in India before the days of Diwali.
In Marathi state of Maharashtra, Diwali Indian food recipes are incomplete without some of the remarkable sweets like Laddoos, Karanji, Shankarpaali, and Anaarse.
All these sweets are prepared with love, care and following the traditional methods learnt from our grannies and nannies. If you are preparing for this Diwali 2019 and want to impress your friends and closed ones with authentic Maharashtrian sweets, we are providing you a quick, easy and tasty Karanji recipe. So, get ready to learn how to prepare Karanjis at home along with some of the other healthy Indian food recipes posted on our website.
Karanjis are inevitable sweets during the festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali in Maharashtra, so, here are some of the necessary items you would need in your pantry…
1. Shredded coconut (Dry or fresh as per your requirement)
2. Ghee
3. Sesame seeds
4. Almonds, cashews, raisins (As per your preference)
7. Maida
8. Milk
9. Cooking oil
These items are easily available in your local grocery store which you can find them asking for the items needed for any Indian food recipes.
So, let’s start with the basic preparations for Karanji…
1. Take a small frying pan and heat the ghee, after 5 to 8 minutes, add shredded coconut
2. Saute stir the coconut until it turns golden. Remove the coconut and take it aside.
3. In the same pan, add the sesame seeds and roast until they pop and change color. Keep aside. Roast on a low flame.
4. In a dry grinder or mixer, grind the almonds, cashews, raisins to a semi-fine powder. You can also chop the dry fruits.
5. Add the well-grounded dry fruits powder to the sesame seeds and coconut mixture we earlier prepared.
6. Add granulated sugar, nutmeg powder and cardamom powder. Mix everything well and keep the stuffing aside.
7. Heat the ghee first. Just gently heat it.
8. In a bowl or pan, take the flour. Make a well in the centre and add the new melted ghee and salt in it.
9. Just lightly mix everything.
10. Add milk in parts and start to knead the dough.
11. Continue to knead the dough.
12. Knead the dough till smooth.
13. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
Assembling the Karanji
1. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Roll every part into a log and start to cut the log in equal slices.
2. Take every slice and roll it between your palms and flatten it.
3. With a rolling pin on a dusted board, roll the dough spherical in 4 to 5 inches diameter circle. Whereas rolling, cover the other slices with a wet kitchen towel.
4. Place 1 tbsp or 2 to 3 tsp of the coconut stuffing in the centre or on one side of the circle, keeping the perimeters empty. Don’t add an excessive amount of stuffing as then it’s tough to shape them and therefore the karanji might break in the oil.
5. Together with your fingertips, apply water everywhere the circumference edge.
6. Carefully, gather both the edges and join.
7. Gently press the edges.
8. Now along with your fingertips, begin pinching the pressed edges.
9. Keep on pleating till you come to the end. Seal of the end with a pleat. If you are unable to pleat, then press the edges with a fork.
Frying the Karanji
1. Gently place the karanji in moderately hot oil for deep cooking. Simply add 1 or 2 karanji, depending on the scale of your Kadai or pan. Too many can difficult to fry.
2. Fry until crisp and golden. Remove and place Karanjis on paper napkins to remove extra oil. The karanji can puff while cooking.
3. Once cooled, store karanji in an air-tight container.
4. Serve karanji warm or at room temperature. You can have them for next few weeks with tea or as a snack.
If you have liked this recipe, do share any difficulties you faced during the preparation, or visit our store www.quicklly.com if you are not finding any ingredients in any of your favourite Indian food recipes.