Bora

Wishing the followers and readers a very Happy and prosperous Diwali from Amu?s Recipes. This time I am posting a lost recipe from Konkan region called ? Bora, which was commonly made during Diwali in Konkan.

Bora is a recipe from Konkan region of Maharashtra. These are made during Diwali in rural areas of Konkan. As narrated by my grandmother, in olden days, while Diwali faraal was made for home consumption , Bora were made for distributing to under-privileged people who used to visit home for alms.  Even though these were made for distribution, children at home used to love this snack like anything.  The children while going out for playing used to fill up their pockets with Bora and eat these between breaks. 

Serving:  40-45 Pieces

Approx. Time:  30-40 minutes 

Ingredients

1 cup Rice Flour

1 tbspn Sesame Seeds

? cup scrapped fresh Coconut

? tspn Cardamom Powder

A pinch of Salt

1 tbpsn Ghee (for Moan)

? cup Jaggery

? cup Hot Water (Approx.)

Oil / Ghee for frying

Method

To make Jaggery Syrup:

Heat some water till it starts boiling. Turn off the flame. Then take Jaggery in a mixing bowl and add approximately quarter cup of hot water in it. Jaggery starts melting. Stir the mixture to make Jaggery Syrup. Set it aside for cooling to be used while kneading the dough. 

To make Bora:

Take Sesame Seeds in a pan and dry roast it for 2-3 minutes on medium flame. Transfer it in a bowl. Similarly dry roast Rice flour for approximately 3-4 minutes on medium flame and transfer it in a separate bowl. Also dry roast scrapped Coconut on medium flame till it becomes dry and starts releasing aroma. Set it aside for cooling. 

Take a mixing bowl and add the dry roasted Rice flour, dry roasted Sesame seeds, dry roasted scrapped Coconut, Cardamom Powder and Salt.  Mix it well. Simultaneously heat Ghee in a pan and pour it on the mixture. Again mix well. Now start adding  Jaggery Syrup to the mixture. Knead it into a dough of medium  to hard consistency. Rest the dough for 20-30 minutes. Then make tiny balls of the dough with the help of palms of your hand. 

Heat Oil or Ghee in a frying pan. Once the oil/ghee is hot, turn the flame to low and deep fry the balls till it changes the colour to golden brown. Transfer the balls on an absorbent paper. Store it in an air-tight container. It has a shelf life for 1-2 weeks. 

Notes

1. In an alternate method, equal quantity of Rice flour and wheat flour is used to make this recipe instead of using only the Rice flour.
2. Instead of making Jaggery Syrup, you may add grated Jaggery to the mixture. However in this case you may have to use warm water to knead the dough.
3. Moan of Oil may be used instead of Ghee. 
4. Few people also skip usage of Coconut. Instead an additional teaspoon of roasted Sesame Seeds is used. 

Stepwise Pictures

Traditional Marathi

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Thin Poha Chivada

Traditionally in Maharashtrian homes, Poha Chivada is made in two ways, viz. one by deep frying the thick Poha and one by dry roasting Thin Poha, which is also a low fat version. It is generally served with Tea or during afternoon snacking. It is a must in Maharashtrian homes during Diwali. 

Approx. Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
For the Chivada
1 Kg Thin Poha (Flattened Rice)
1 cup Peanuts
1 cup Roasted Gram (Dala/Daliya)
1 Cup Dried Coconut slices
1/4 cup Cashew Nuts
1 tspn Sugar
Salt to taste

For the Tempering:
Half cup Oil
1 tspn Mustard Seeds
1/2 tspn Asafoetida
1 tspn Turmeric Powder,
12 finely chopped Green Chilies
2 springs Curry Leaves

Method:

Take Poha in a pan and dry roast it on medium flame till it becomes crisp. Stir continuously to avoid buring. Alternatively, you may microwave small lots of Thin Poha for approx. 1 + 1 minute for each lot. Transfer it in a bowl and allow it to cool. The Poha will become crispy after some time. 

Then take oil in a pan and heat it on medium flame. Simultaneously fry the Peanuts, Roasted Gram, dried Coconut slices and cashew nuts in the oil. Drain and transfer it to other bowl. 

Now in the same Oil add the Mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add asafoetida, Turmeric Powder, chopped Green Chillies and Curry leaves. Saute it for a minute and add fried Peanuts, Gram, Coconut Slices and Cashews. Mix well and add dry roasted Poha to the mixture. Turn the flame to low and mix well. At the end add Salt and Sugar to the Chivada. Cool it and store it in an airtight container. It can be stored outside refrigerator for approx. a month. 

Notes:
1. Sun-drying of Poha before making Chivada helps in reducing breakage of Poha during dry roasting.
2. Sugar should be added in the end only to avoid caramalization.
3. The Chivada can be flavoured with Garlic by adding finely chopped Garlic in the tempering. You may also add a pinch of Garam Masala / Coriander- Cumin Powder to the tempering.
4. You may also add Puffed Rice to Chivada. It should be dry roasted and to be added along with Poha.

Stepwise Pictorial:
Stepwise Pictorial is not available for this post.Regret for the same.

Traditional Marathi

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Chandrakala

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali & a Prosperous New Year!!  Presenting to you a very drool-worthy Rajasthani recipe - Chandrakala.

Ingredients:
For the Stuffing :
1 cup Mava (Khoya)
1 tspn Milk Masala (or dry fruit powder)
2 tspns powdered Sugar

For Sugar Syrup :
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Water (approx.)
1/2 tspn Cardamom powder
A pinch of Saffron strands

For the Dough :
1 And half cups All purpose flour
3 tbspns Ghee
Milk, as required

For Garnishing :
Milk Masala
Almond Flakes
Silver Varq

Ghee for Deep frying

Method:

To make Stuffing :

Heat the Mava in a non-stick pan. Roast for 8-10 minutes. Transfer it into a bowl and add dry fruit powder (Or ready made Milk Masala) and powdered Sugar. Mix well. Set it aside.

To make Sugar Syrup :

Take Sugar in a pan. Add some water to the sugar. Heat till it forms syrup of one string consistency. Add Cardamom powder and Saffron strings to the syrup. Set it aside.

To make the dough :

Take All purpose flour in a bowl. Add ghee and mix well. Then gradually add milk and knead it into a medium thick dough. Set it aside for 15-20 minutes.

To make Chandrakala :

Make small round balls of the dough. Roll it into small puris. Now make small lemon sized ball of the stuffing. Place it on a puri. Place another puri over it. Seal the sides with wet fingers. Twist the sides with the help of fingers to seal it properly. In the same manner, make Chandrakalas of balance dough and stuffing.

Heat Ghee in a Pan. Once it is hot, reduce the flame. Now deep fry the Chandrakalas till it becomes golden in colour. Once fried,  set it aside for cooling. With the help of a knife or fork, make a small hole on the upper surface of Chandrakala. Soak it in the Sugar syrup for 2 minutes. Take it out in a dish. Garnish it with Almond flakes, Milk masala and Silver Varq.

Notes:
You may use dry fruit powder instead of readymade Milk masala. 
If the stuffing becomes hard, then add some milk cream to make it soft.

Stepwise Pictures:

 

 

Sending this entry to Diwali Bash Event hosted by Vardhini, Lets Celebrate ? Indian Sweets by Nupur, Paricash's Give me some snacks and Amy's event Cook like a Celebrity Chef

Sweets

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