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A HAPPY DIWALI


A very Happy Diwali!
It is the season of lights, warmth, gifts, peace and love! I wish everyone all the happiness in the world- enjoy what you have been bestowed with and share what you been given with everyone else! 

I knew someone like that- a larger than life personality. I am in denial and shock- a tragic road accident in Haiti ended her life-that is it, just like that..... reminds one of how fleeting life can be

I was not going to make anything then I thought you know why not- she loved to celebrate and share her happiness with her friends. I did not know her that long or that well but that did not matter...

I made thattais and pedas (from store-bought khoya!) this year- 

For the thattais

Ingredients

Rice flour (best if you made this yourself, unfortunately mine was store bought*)- 2.5 cups
Urad dal flour- 0.5 cups
Butter, softened- 25 gms
Salt- as necessary soaked in water
Hing- a pinch soaked in water

Garnish
~1 cup Pottukadalai (I roasted these too lightly)
~ 3-4 tbsp Omam (caraway seeds)
~ 3 -4 tbsp Toasted sesame seeds
My mom also adds some dried grated coconut (I did not)

Oil, for frying
Water, for kneading

Method

1. Roast the rice flour and urad dal flour separately until the raw smell of the flours is gone (just takes a few minutes)
2. Mix the flours, butter, salt water, hing water just until everything is loosely combined- then add the pottukadalai, caraway seeds  and toasted sesame seeds and make a  dough (you will need extra water)

3. Flatten the dough out and cut circles- fry in them in nice hot oil

Ingredients

Store bought khoya ~ 700gm
Sugar 250 gms
Pistachios, walnuts- to your taste (I had chopped them to tiny pieces and used them as garnish)
Gulkand* 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp to mix with rose petals
Dried edible rose petal 1 tbsp
Nutmeg powder, a pinch
ground cardamom- 1 tsp
Rose water- 1-2 tbsp

Method

Microwave the khoya (in a microwave-safe bowl of course) for 2min- remove it and give it a good stir. Repeat this process 2 more times (you will some of it turning brown).

At this point, I took half out into a separate bowl for making gulkand pedas

1. Mix 1/2 cup gulkand and about 100 gms sugar (this gulkand I have is really sweet) with khoya.  I also added some pink color
2. I used oiled moulds to make different shapes- before I pressed the khoya mixture- I first added the garnish (rose petals mixed with 2 tbsp gulkand and the nuts), then pressed the khoya mixture into the moulds. I removed the pedas off the mould in like 5-10 sec- that is it.

For the plain pedas

1. Mix in 150 gm sugar, nutmeg, cardamom and rose water with the khoya.
2. Again before you press them into moulds, add the nuts (I omitted the rose petals for this one) and then press the khoya mixture
3. Few seconds later carefully take them out of the mould

Place the pedas on a greased sheet pan and let it dry for a few hours.

 *: the store bought rice flour is too dry and therefore the dough was quite dry- you could also taste it in these thattais!
*: Learn more about gulkand here, here and here



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