Arisi Karjikkai

Karjikkais are very popular sweetmeats. Usually, flour is rolled out and sweet fillings are stuffed in and deep fried to make them. The very delectable variation is the arisi karjikkai where the outer coat is made with rice flour with some roasted urad dhal flour is added to it. This gives the karjikkai a nice flavour.

The filling poornam is made with coconut mixed with sugar or with sugar and lentils. The stuffing is cooked to a very dry powdery consistency to retain the crispness. Jaggery can be substituted for sugar. But again that has to be cooked very dry too.

Ingredients:

1 large very ripe coconut scrapped or 1 cup dry dessicated coconut

150 grams/1 cup (250ml) rice

25 grams/ 2 tablespoons urad dhal

200 grams/1 cup(200ml) sugar

2 teaspoons cardamom powder

Ghee/oil for deep frying

Wash rice and soak for an hour. Drain, spread on a piece of cloth for some time and pound to a fine flour in a mixie. Seive and dry roast in a heavy pan until very warm. Seive for lumps, cool and pound them well.

Dry roast urad dhal until slightly brown. Cool and pound to a very fine powder.

Mix both of these together and keep aside.

In a pan take sugar with some water and allow to boil.

Add some milk and with a slotted spoon remove the impurities that will float on the surface.

Make a very thick syrup of one strong thread consistency.

That is if you hold some syrup between your thumb and index finger and pull them apart, the syrup will be pulled along like a thick thread without breaking.

Now add the cardamom powder and the coconut. Cook until they blend well and further until the mixture is dry. Keep aside.

If the filling is damp the karjikkais may not retain crispness.

To prepare the outer coating, measure the prepared flour by volume.

In a heavy pan, take water just as much in volume as the flour. Add 2 tablespoons milk to it.

Bring to boil. Reduce heat,drop the flour and immediately remove from heat.

Mix the flour well and close with a tight fitting lid. Keep covered for 1/2 an hour.

Take this lump on a flat dish and with ghee grease your palms. Knead this dough well for sometime.

Make small balls of the dough and shape them in cups. Fill the prepared cups with the filling.

Seal the edges tight brushing some water along the edges.

Heat ghee/ oil in a kadai and deep fry the karjikkais until golden and crisp.

Remove and place on absorbent tissues. Once cool store in airtight containers.