Broken wheat Huggi:

Huggi is a very popular, semi solid dessert of North Karnataka and each house has its own method. It is a sort of homely recipe and you would not find in any restaurant. Broken wheat is known as Godhi nucchu in Kannada language. I learnt Some of my favourite North Karnataka recipes from my previous neighbour aunty, who hails from Solapur near Gulbarga. I used to enjoy whatever she used to offer, starting from simple triangle chapati, obbattu, obbattu saru, chapparadavarekai palya, chavlikai palya and khara byale saru to Godhi nucchina Huggi, which she used to offer to God, every Friday evening and used to offer as a prasadam to us.

Aunty used to use hardly 3 ingredients and it used to taste divine. It is no coconut dessert and you can feel the texture of wheat as well as flavour. Preparation is very quick and simple and needs hardly any pre-preparation.

Recipe goes like this-

Ingredients:

Broken wheat – 1 cup

Jaggery – ¾ cup

Salt – ¼ tsp

Ghee – ¼ cup

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Cashew pieces – Roasted (Optional)

Method:

-Wash broken wheat twice. Cook with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt for 2 to 3 whistles.

-Mean time, heat jaggery by adding ½ cup of water. Strain the liquid and remove the impurities.

-Add strained jaggery syrup to cooked wheat and cook further at a very low temperature.

-When raw smell of jaggery vanishes, add ghee and cook further by mixing in between.

-Lastly when mixture becomes like a mass, add cardamom powder, garnish with roasted cashew and serve.

Besan Laddu:

Besan laddu is one of the most popular Indian sweets prepared during the time of Deepavali or Diwali festival. Besan laddu is pretty simple and contains three main ingredients- Gram flour/ Besan, ghee and sugar. These melt in a mouth laddu’s are my family’s favourite.

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Ingredients:

Gram flour/ Besan – 3 cups

Sugar – 2 ¼ cups

Ghee – 1 cup

Dry fruits – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – 1 tea spoon

Method:

-Chop dry fruits. I normally use half cup of cashew bits and half cup of slivered Almond bits.

-Dry roast almond and cashew bits and keep aside.

-Powder sugar and keep aside.

-Take one thick bottomed wok, roast Besan in very low temperature.

-When it is a little hot, start adding ghee little by little during the roasting process.

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-Don’t add or pour all the ghee at one go. It will not help to roast evenly and it will make muddy consistency, and will affect in even roasting.

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– I took exactly 30 minutes over a very small flame.

-When it roasts and after adding all the ghee, mixture becomes very runny and colour will turn into reddish brown.

-At this time your house will filled with roasted flour’s aroma. This is the time you should switch off the gas and leave this mixture to cool completely.

-It will take anywhere between 30 to 40 minutes.

-Now add powdered sugar, cardamom powder and roasted dry fruits and mix everything properly.

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-Now start using your hand and mix it once and start making small roundels by taking very little mixture at a time.

-At this time, you will feel that the laddus are a little wet and glossy and shining.

-Arrange these over a clean, dry platter. Because of the wetness, it tends to loosen its shape.

-After some time (one hour) laddu’s will be dry and glossy texture will vanish.

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-I usually take these shapeless roundels and once again try to give shape and store it in an airtight container.

Masala Whole Wheat Laddu/ Pinni Ke Ladoo:

Happy New Year wishes to all my Readers!!!!

Masala whole wheat laddu’s are pure bliss!!!! I had some apprehension before tasting this mainly because, I couldn’t imagine the taste of laddu’s with fennel, pepper etc.! These beauties are originally from Punjab and known as Pinni ke ladoo. This recipe is from my friend and according to her; each family has their own style of preparation of Pinni and is a must for winter months. I have prepared according to our taste and availability of the ingredients in my pantry.

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Ingredients:

Note: Here I have used steel tumbler or regular steel glass to measure ingredients.

Whole wheat flour – 3 cups

Ghee – 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups

Almond- ½ cup

Pista – ½ cup

Desiccated coconut – ½ cup

Flax seed powder – 1tblsp

Sugar – 1 ½ cup (powdered)

Jaggery – ¼ cup (powdered)

For masala: Fennel – 1 tsp, black pepper – 1 tsp, cardamom – 1 tsp, ginger powder – ¼ tsp.

Salt – ¼ tsp

Edible gum – 30 – 50 gms.

Method:

-Dry roast almond and Pista, cool, powder it and keep aside.

-Dry roast desiccated coconut for 2 minutes, to increase its fragrance.

picture-1-Powder masala ingredients in a small mixer jar. No need to roast this.

-Put 1 tsp of ghee, fry edible gum in a hot ghee until it puffs and becomes transparent. Cool it and powder in a mixer jar.

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-Take one thick bottomed kadai, add one cup of ghee and roast whole wheat four in a very low fire, until it becomes light brown and sandy in texture.

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-Switch off the gas. Add in edible gum, sugar powder, jaggery powder, masala powder, salt, coconut, dry fruits powder,flax seed powder etc.

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-Mix everything together, try to make roundels. If you are able to bind it together, well you can proceed to make laddu’s.

-If it breaks while binding, add little by little hot ghee and mix, and then make the roundels.

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-Cool completely before storing it in an air tight container.