Makar Sankranti Recipes

In India the word festival is synonimous with the word excellent food. There is no celebration considered complete unless and untill rich food is served among friends, family and relatives. The festival of Makar Sankranti is no different from the other Indian festivals, lots of cooking of good quality food is done and served on this day.

Makar Sankranti is another Indian Harvest festival and is celebrated all around India, and what harvest festival goes on withouting eating of some delicious food. Here we have offered recipes for some mouth watering sweets that can be easily cooked, these dishes are 'Bandaru laddu' that is an Andhra delicacy, the mere mention of which is enough to make one crave for it. With a little effort it can be made at home.

You need `janthikala gottam' / muruku press. 'Ariselu' a popular delicacy of Andhra. Any occasion is good enough to make 'ariselu'. The procedure is slightly elaborate and time-consuming. But it is worth the effort. It is a must for Sankranti and the last one is the `Kajji Kaayalu' a mouth watering delicacy that is made with a sweet stuffing.

Here are some the names of the dishes whose receipes we have provided for your cooking:

Ariselu :

Ingredients :

• 1 kg rice.
• 3/4 kg jaggery (grated).
• 2 tb sps of sesame seeds.
• Oil to fry.

Preparation :

• Pick and wash rice.
• Soak it overnight and remove water completely (spread on a cloth for a few minutes to make sure that the rice is dry).
• Make a fine powder of it in a blender (sieve if necessary) and set aside.
• The flour should be slightly damp.
• Add one cup of water to the grated jaggery and heat it in a pan till it melts.
• Sieve to remove any unwanted stuff.
• Heat it on low flame till it becomes thick syrup (a drop of the syrup dropped in a spoon of water should make noise and become lumpy and not melt).
• Add the rice flour to it slowly and stir well.
• Remove flame and make sure that no lumps are formed.
• When slightly cool make big lime size balls of it.
• Heat oil in a thick bottom pan/wok.
• Pat each ball into a thin, round and flat disc on a banana leaf or a plastic sheet and dab it with a few sesame seeds.
• Fry each one in oil on low flame till deep brown and remove.
• To remove the oil completely, place it between two flat ladles and press.
• Repeat the procedure till the dough is over.
• When cool store them.
• They last for more than two weeks.

Kajji Kaayalu :

Ingredients :

For the filling :

• 100 gms `endu kobbari koru'/ grated dry coconut.
• 75 gms jaggery / sugar (powdered).
• 8 to 10 cardomoms peeled and powdered.
• 1 tsp khus khus.
• 1 tsp poppy seeds.
• 25 gms roasted cashew nuts.
• 10 grms raisins.
• 2 tbsps roasted groundnuts.
• Oil to fry.

For Covering :

• 150 gms maida.
• 1 tsp ghee (neyyi).

Preparation :

• Add melted ghee to maida and mix well.
• Make dough of it adding enough water and leave it covered for an hour.
• Mix all the filling ingredients and set aside.
• Knead the dough and make it into small lime size balls.
• Roll them like `poories' - thin, flat and round.
• Place one and a half tablespoons of the prepared filling on the left side of the `poorie' and fold the other side over and press the ends together securely.
• You may cut the edge with the serrated edge of a knife or with the other end of a spoon to make it look decorative.
• Repeat the procedure till the filling is over.
• Heat oil in a thick pan / wok and fry two or three at a time till golden brown and remove.
• Stored in air tight containers they easily last for a couple of weeks.

Bandaru Ladoo :

Ingredients :

• 250 gms `senaga pindi' / bengal gram flour.
• 250 gms `senaga pindi' / bengal gram flour.
• 8 to 10 cardomoms peeled and powdered.
• 250 gms sugar.
• 1 tsp cardamom powder.
• Oil to fry.
• 50 gms cashew nuts fried in a tbsp ghee.

Preparation :

• Heat 4 tb spoons of oil and add it to `senaga pindi'.
• Mix well with hand and knead it into dough using water.
• It should not be too soft or too hard.
• The consistency should be like that of poori dough.
• Place the disc with medium size holes in the muruku press.
• Fill it with dough leaving space to place the upper part of the press.
• Heat the oil and carefully press the dough, like spirals and without overlapping, directly into the oil, keeping the bottom of the press 2 inches away from the oil.
• Take proper care that the hot fumes of oil does not reach your hands.
• Turn it over and remove when golden brown.
• Drain the oil and repeat the procedure till the dough is over.
• Powder them in a blender, measure and set aside.
• Take equal measure of sugar and make light syrup / `letha paakam'.
• Add the powdered spirals, cardamom powder and the cashew nuts to it and mix well.
• Turn off the flame and make big lime size balls of it by smearing ghee to your palms.