Sajjappa / Kajjaya

Sajjappa is one of the traditional dish prepared during the festival. Sajje means rava/semolina and appa is a sweet. The outer layer is covered with rava and maida and the stuffing is Gasa gase/Poppy seed, coconut and jaggery.

Festivals are celebrated not only to have fun. we family members learn a lot like adjusting each other member in the family.  Lots of traditions and culture passing on to the next generations. It is not only about the food, family bonding, respecting the elders, love and care everything that comes together.
Sajjappa can be kept in airtight box for 15 days. We all love to have them at any time of the day.
Let us see the recipe Now :

Things Needed :

Chiroti Rava : 2 Cups
Maida : 1 Cup
Salt : A pinch
Jaggery : 1 Cup
Copra /Dry Coconut : or normal coconut gratings. : 1 cup
Poppy Seeds : 2 Tablespoons
Cardamom : 5 to 6 Pods
Ghee : 2 Tablespoons
Oil : To Fry /2 Cups of oil

Method :

1 Grate coconut and Dry grind it with cardamom pods.  powder jaggery.
2. Take a big bowl and put chiroti rava and maida. Add a pinch of salt and ghee.

3. Mix all the ingredients nicely Add water and prepare thick dough.

4. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add dry ground coconut and jaggery. Let the jaggery melt and mix with coconut.
5. Stir till all the moisture disappear from coconut - jaggary mixture. Add poppy seeds and stir till all the moisture disappear.

6. Shift the ready hoorana ( coconut-jaggery mixture) to a small bowl. Let it cool.

7. Divide the ready dough into very small portion. Kneed it well and give a ball shape.
8. Now roll the small pooris, place 1 teaspoon of jaggery -coconut mixture.

9. Fold the edges and bring it in the middle. Press it slightly with your palm.
10 Arrange these folded sajjappa in a plate or tray.

  11. Keep a pan and heat. Put oil and let it get hot. ( Low flame ).
12. Fry Sajjappa on low and medium flame one by one or as you wish.
13. Fry Sajjappa on both sides and remove it from the pan. Put it on a kitchen tissue.

  14.Shift the ready Sajjappa to a serving bowl.
15. Serve hot or cooled Sajjappa at any time of the day.

 Note :

Use of ghee while preparing the dough helps the sajjappa to be crispy and adds to the   taste. You can use hot oil instead of ghee. You can also dry roast maida slightly and then use it. Allow the maida to cool completely before adding water. dry roasting helps the Sajjappa to be crispy.
For the stuffing you can use copra / dry coconut or normal coconut.  Dry grind the coconut and then use it.
Time 30 to 40 Minutes
Serves : Around 20 Sajjappa.

Wheat Fruit basket Chat

Wheat Fruit Basket is a chat. It is my own creation. It is healthy, easy and creative I can say.
Just had some thing in mind and gave a try, it has come out nicely and of course healthy.

I have used wheat flour and fruits like apple, pomegranates with little chat masala.
The baskets are made with wheat and chiroti rava/thin variety of semolina.
Try and enjoy this Wheat Fruit Basket Chat.
Wheat baskets are easy to prepare.
These Wheat baskets are prepared with wheat flour and chiroti rava.
Let us see the recipe now :
Let us prepare wheat basket first and then proceed to fruits

Things Needed :

Wheat Baskets 

Things needed :

Wheat flour : 2 Cups
Chiroti rava/thin variety of semolina : 2 Tablespoons
Jeera /Cumin Seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Ghee : 1 Tablespoon
Salt : As required
Oil : To fry : 1 Cup
A Steel glass
Fruits Filling :
Apple : 1
Pomegranate : 1
Honey : 2 Tablespoons
Chat Masala : 1/4 Teaspoon
To Add :
Fried Corn flakes. (Purely optional).

.

Method :

1. Take a big bowl and add wheat flour,jeera, ghee and salt. Mix it well and then add water to prepare poori dough.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of chiroti rava and then mix it with dough. Kneed the dough well and keep it aside.

3. Now divide the dough into small portions.

4. Roll them as small chapatis.
5. Take a steel glass. Put it up side down.
6. Take a rolled chapati and put it on the bottom around the glass. ( Only 1/4 of the glass ).
7. Just give a basket shape and keep it aside. Let the chapati stick on the bottom of the glass.

8. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add oil and let it get hot. ( Medium flame).
9. Now take a glass with the help of holder and dip in hot oil.

10. Slowly the basket comes out of the glass bottom. Fry on both sides and remove the wheat baskets once it is done. (Fry on low and medium flame). Put it on a kitchen tissue.

11. Repeat the same and prepare the remaining baskets.

12. Wash and peel off the apple skin and seeds. Cut it into small pieces.
13. Remove pomegranate seeds and put it with apple pieces.

14. Mix the fruit pieces with honey and chat masala. Mix some rose petals. ( Optional).
Mix it nicely. Keep it aside.

15. Now arrange the wheat baskets in a tray and fill it with fruits mixture. Top up with fried corn flakes and serve. Adding corn flakes on the top is optional.

Note :

Let the dough be bit tight. Adding chiroti rava helps to add the crisps to wheat baskets.
Adding any fruit pieces is optional. I have added some rose petals with fruits. (purely optional).
You can also add onions and carrot gratings and make spicy wheat basket.
Time : 40 Minutes. 

Serves : 3 to 4.

Jaggery Karchikai

Karchi Kai /Karanji / Sweet fried Kadubu is one of the traditional dish prepared for Ganapati and Deepavali. It is one of the easy dish and can be kept for a long time ( At least a week).

Varieties of stuffing can be done according to your imagination. The outer layer is done with chiroti rava and maida. The filling/stuffing is like coconut, jaggery or sugar, dry fruits, dates and candy sugar etc.
Here I have used roasted chenna, jaggery, thin variety of semolina and little maida.
Use of ghee helps the outer layer to be crispy and crunchy.
It is easy, simple and jaggery is used instead of sugar. Chiroti rava in a al
Let us see the recipe now :

Things Needed :

For Outer Layer/Cover/Kanaka 
Chiroti Rava : 1 Cup
Maida : 1/2 Cup or little less
Ghee : 1 Tablespoon
Salt : A little
Hoorana /Stuffing
Roasted Chenna /Huri Kadale : 1/2 Cup/ 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Dry coconut : Cup
Cardamom :  5 to 6 Pods
Jaggery : 1/2 Cup (Powdered)
Oil : to Fry : 2 Cups

Method :

1. Dry grind dry coconut and keep it aside.

2. Dry grind jaggery, roasted chenna and cardamom pods nicely till powder.

3. Take a big bowl and put coconut powder, jaggery mixture and mix it well.

4. Take a big bowl, put chiroti rava/thin variety of semolina and maida/All purpose flour.

5. Add required salt, a tablespoon of ghee and mix all the ingredients nicely for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add water ( little by little ) and prepare the dough.
7. Kneed the dough nicely and divide the dough into small portion.

8. Roll each small portion and stuff some sweet mixture and fold the karchikai and press it at the edges. So that it does not get open while frying in oil.

9. Arrange the done karchikai in a plate or tray.

10. Keep a pan on the fire and put oil. Let it get heated.  (On low flame).
11. Put folded karchikai/karanji one by one and fry on both sides.

12.Remove it from the pan and put it on a kitchen tissue.

13. Repeat the same and prepare rest of karchikai.

14. Let it cool. Serve them with as snack.

Note : 

Do not add any water while dry grinding. No need to heat sweet mixture on the pan. Roasted chenna helps to take away the moisture. Use of more / less jggery is optional. Use of more ghee while preparing the dough helps the dough to turn crispy. Let the flame be low while frying also. It helps the kachori layer to be crunchy
Time: 30 to 40 Minutes
Serves : 15 to 20.