Olya Naralachi Karanji / Fresh Coconut Nevries#Alphabet Challenge

We East Indians make this for San Jao Cha Sann/St John feast, which is celebrated on 24th June the proper day or the coming Sunday. 

This is must in my family, my mother and grandmother used to make this every year,  I too make this since my husband loves them. This year I decided to take step by step pics, here is my family recipe. You can add more sugar if you want, but for us the sweetness was just right.

This Karanji is  also a traditional Maharashtrian sweet,  usually made  for festive occasions like Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi.  

Olya means fresh, naralachya means coconut,  karanjya is turnovers or nevries,  which means fresh coconut karanji. The shelf live of these are just 3 - 4 days,  for a longer shelf-life you may use dry or desiccated coconut and sugar. 
I, prefer making karanji using fresh coconut for a superior taste. Making these, is quite a time consuming task, but,  if you love these, all the effort is worthwhile. This is one of the most easy recipes, do try preparing karanji this way and let me know how it turned out. 
Makes around 9 - 10  Nevries /Karanjies - depending on the amount of filling inside. 
Ingredients
For The Filling
1 Cup Packed Fresh Grated Coconut
¼ Teaspoon Heaped Cardamom pods
3 Tablespoons Heaped Sugar
A Pinch of Nutmeg powder
15 Cashewnuts - chopped
1 Tablespoon Golden Raisins/Kismis
1 Teaspoon Ghee/Vegetable Shortening

For The Covering

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1½ Tablespoon Heaped Melted Ghee

¼ Teaspoon Salt

For Frying 

Vegetable Oil as required
 Method

For The Filling

In a pan / kadai take ghee, coconut and sugar. Cook on low heat till  melts and the mixture comes together, add the raisins, cashew nuts, cardamom  and nutmeg powder and continue to cook the mixture on low medium heat for a 2 minutes stir continuously, since tends to burn quickly, so do not stop stirring at any given point of time. Once the mixture is dry  take  off the heat and set aside to cool completely.

For The Covering

In a thaal/bowl mix  flour, melted ghee and salt, mix well.  Add water as required and knead to a soft, pliable,  smooth dough.  Keep it covered in a moist cloth  for 25 to 30 minutes. 

After 30 minutes, knead the dough again slightly and make small round balls.

Take one small dough ball. With the help of a rolling pin, roll it flat (same as the size of a poori)

Place a spoonful of the coconut jaggery mixture in the center

Dip your finger into the water and apply on the edge of half the poori. Flod the other edge of the poori, press the edges well to seal the filling inside.
Be sure that no air bubbles remain inside. The edges should be tightly sealed or the filling may ooze our during deep frying.

Press the edges using the back of a fork  or a cutter to give it that  design.  Place the filled karanjis on  a plate and cover with  a damp towel to avoid drying. 

Heat oil for deep frying in a kadhai or deep pan.
Slowly fry the karanjis on low flame till golden brown. Remove on paper towel and let them rest for 20 mins. When cooled down, store in airtight container upto 3 - 4 days. If refrigerated, it can be stored for a few more days.

Enjoy.. these are delicious, I am sure you can't stop at one or two!!
Labels:   Coconut, Fried, Nevries, Karanji, Turnover, Festival , Maharastrian Cuisine, East Indian, Vegan,Alphabet Challenge

Let's take a look at the recipes being shared today with Alphabet "N"

• Food Lust People Love: Nocciolata Swirl Meringues
• Sneha’s Recipe: Olya Naralachi Karanji / Fresh Coconut Nevries
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: New England Iced Tea
• Blogghetti: Zucchini Nut Bread
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Crispy Noodle Salad
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Singapore Noodles
• A Messy Kitchen: Frozen Negroni
• Culinary Cam: White Nectarine-Lime Jam
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Nut-Free Basil Pesto Chunky Tomato Sauce
• Magical Ingredients: Nutella Neufchatel Dip
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Sweet and Spicy Cashews 

Tangy Spicy Garlic Coconut Chutney

Tangy Spicy Garlic Coconut Chutney is very simple to prepare, tastes great with vada, idli, dosa, sandwiches, aloo paratha, roti or perfect side dish with plain steamed rice. You can also use it as a dip for samosa and pakoda. It is a simple chutney recipe made with garlic, dry red chillies, coconut, spices and tempering is optional. Try it and you will love it.

Ingredients
3 Red Kashmiri Chillies - soaked
3 Big Cloves Garlic
¼ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/3 Cup Grated Coconut
Salt To Taste
1 Teaspoon Tamarind
Method

Use freshly grated coconut for this chutney. Grind all together to a fine paste with little water as possible to a fine paste. Red Garlic Chutney is ready!

Labels: Chutney, Garlic, Coconut, Side Dish, Condiments, Indian

Fingerlicking Garlic Coconut Chutney

This chutney recipe is a simple made with garlic, coconut it's fingerlicking & delicious. Goes well with dosa, snacks or sandwiches, you can also enjoy with rice as a side dish.

Ingredients
2 Big Cloves Garlic
½ Cup Packed Grated Coconut
¼ Teaspoon Cumin powder
Sendav Namak to taste
1 Tablespoon Oil
½ Teaspoon Sugar
2 Green Chillies - not spicy
2 Spicy Green Chillies
Juice of One Lime
3 Tablespoons Coriander leaves
5 Mint Leaves 
Method

Use freshly grated coconut.
Grind all together with little water as possible to the fine paste. Fingerlicking Garlic Coconut Chutney is ready.

Labels: Garlic, Coconut, Green Chilly, Side Dish, Chutney, Indian

Semolina Cucumber Cake#SundayFunday

I have already posted a cucumber cake recipe, that is eggless and made with idly rava, this one is totally different and unique. This cucumber that I got is directly from the framers field again that is the big yellow cucumber if you see the early recipe you'll get the information about that cucumber.

This cucumber had hardly any seeds, was so cool and had a sweet taste. I grated 3/4 of the cucumber and the remaining we sliced and enjoyed.

Ingredients
3 Cups Packed Cucumber - see notes
2 Cups Jaggery
2 Cups Fine Semolina/Rawa
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Freshly Grated Coconut
3 Eggs
100 Grams Butter
3 Tablespoons heaped Ghee
1 Teaspoon Baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking soda
A few drops of Vanilla essence

Method

Wash and peel the cucumbers and cut them vertically, scoop out the pith (seeds). Grate the cucumber and then lightly squeeze out the juice.

In a big vessel add the semolina, jaggery, cucumber, coconut, and stir well till there are no lumps. Finally add the ghee and butter stir again till well incorporated and keep it for soaking minimum for an hour. 
Grease cake tin with ghee or butter.
Preheat oven at 180°C for about 15 minutes.

Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix it properly. 
Beat the eggs and pour it into the batter and whisk it well then add the flour and and fold it into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin bake it for an hour.

Perfectly baked Semolina Cucumber Cake. 
My Notes
Taste the cucumber before you grate it, if it's bitter do not use it.
Do not squeeze the cucumber of all the juice then the semolina/rawa will not get enough moisture to soften.

Depending on the size of the tin, moisture in the cake batter and oven used the baking time may vary between 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes.

You can't unmold this cake, so cut the desired pieces in the pan itself and gently lift it.
If you want a brown surface you can change the oven settings to the 'Broil/Grill' mode for the last 3 minutes (I did it), brown crust adds to the taste.
Adjust the jaggery to your taste.

Labels: Cake, Cucumber, Healthy, Semolina, Coconut, Jaggery, Sunday Funday,

• Cucumber and Avocado Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cucumber Raita from Cook with Renu
• Cucumber Rosettes from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Roasted Apricots, Cucumber, and Tomato Gazpacho with Alioli from Culinary Cam
• Semolina Cucumber Cake from Sneha's Recipe
• Sesame Cucumber Radish Salad from Food Lust People Love

Vegan Moonga Gathi#SundayFunday

This is a traditional Goan, Maharashtra Konkan coastal side, which is soupy and delicious curry, called Moonga Gathi. This is a soupy gravy prepared by cooking sprouted moong in ground coconut . It's normally prepared during festive seasons like Ganesh Chaturthi or some holy ocassions or for a Pooja etc., Since it is complete vegan and also no onion no garlic, gluten free recipe, a perfect vrat recipe. 

Do not skip adding jaggery in this recipe, because renders a beautiful taste to the gravy, it's soupy, but you can mash some to moong beans to make a thick gravy or increase the coconut quantity to enhance the thickness.

Ingredients
1 Big Bowl Sprouted Moong Beans - Whole Mung Beans
2-3 slit green chillies
1 Teaspoon Level Garam masala
1 Teaspoon Level Turmeric powder
1 Teaspoon Jaggery
2 Tablespoon of Cooking oil
1 small marble size ball of tamarind
1 Teaspoon Level Sea Salt or to taste
To Dry Roast
1 Tablespoon Coriander seeds
¼ Teaspoon Whole Black peppercorns
3 Tablespoon Grated Dry Coconut - See My Notes
For The Tadka
1 Tablespoon Oil
1 Teaspoon Mustard seeds
A Pinch of Asafoetida
2 Dry Red Chillies
A Sprig Curry Leaves
Method

Dry roast pepper corns and coriander seeds in a pan on medium heat) until you get a aroma. Remove this into a plate and in the same pan add the dry coconut and lightly toast it, do not brown it. Cool and then grind all the roasted coconut, coriander seeds and peppercorns , along with tamarind, turmeric powder and garam masala in the grinder. Make a smooth paste adding just a tablespoon or two of water.

In a pressure pan heat the oil add the ground paste and wash the blender with water add that too and fry till oil separates. Now add the moong and sauté it lightly by tossing it up and down trying not the break the sprout or 2 minutes on high flame. Now add the slit green chillies, salt and 1½ cup water. Bring it to a rolling boil on high flame, once it comes to a boil, lower the flame and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Cover with lid and on high flame take one whistle. 

Switch off the flame and let the cooker cool down a little. When the steam settles down then open and add the jaggery and mix it well, taste for salt. Again cover the cooker with the lid and take one more whistle on high flame. Switch off the flame and the cooker steam settle completely. Open the cooker, I like the sprouted moong to be whole and not mushy , if you prefer a thick and mushy moong gravy , then take 2 whistles on high flame, or else mash a tablespoon of moong, it will thicken the gravy.

Now let's prepare the tadka
Heat oil in a tadka pan add mustard seeds, when it crackles then add the red chillies and asafoetida and curry leaves. Switch off the flame and pour this over the gravy. Moonga Gathi is ready to serve.

We enjoyed eating it with a spoon and chapatti. This goes well with poee or any crusty bread or bakri or boiled rice, mildly spiced and yummy.
My Notes
If you do not have dry coconut then used desiccated coconut ( toast this lightly) OR ½ Cup freshly grated coconut, do not roast this.

Labels: No Onion No Garlic, Sprouts, Moong Beans, Coconut, Vrat, Goa, Pressure Cooker, Vegan

Sunday Funday

Vegan Main Dishes

• Crispy Tofu Noodles by Palatable Pastime
• Mushroom Eggplant Stir fry (Indian-style Mushroom Baingan Masala) by Cook with Renu
• Mushroom Ragù by Culinary Cam
• Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Vegan 3 Bean Soup by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Vegan Moonga Gathi by Sneha’s Recipe
• Vegan Tofu Steak by Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Vegetable Biryani by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Marble Stuffed Coconut Pancakes -East Indian#SundayFunday

These stuffed and rolled sweet pancakes, is prepared with coconut, sugar and flour as the main ingredient. These are mainly made East Indian on pancake Tuesday, at must in every household. I made these with three different colors and gave a marble effect to the pancakes. They are soft, luscious and delicious, assure you, that, you can't stop at one.

Ingredients
For The Kesar Filling
1 Big Coconut - grated
1/3 Cup Cashew nuts chopped
¼ Cup Rasins
A pinch of Kesar color
2 - 3 Drops Kesar essence
¼ Teaspoon Cardamoms powder
½ Cup Granulated Sugar or adjust to your taste
1 Teaspoon Ghee
For The Pancake Batter
1½ Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Small Eggs
Water or Milk - as required to make a thin batter
¼ Teaspoon Vanilla essence

Method
For The Kesar Filling

Cook the grated coconut with sugar & color on low heat till the sugar melts. Add raisins, cashew nuts and cardamom powder. Cook till the coconut mixture is semi dry, there shouldn't be much moisture in it.

For The Batter

Beat the egg lightly. Mix the flour, milk or water to a fairly thin pouring consistency. 

Divide into 4 portions add the yellow color to one and the green color to the other, third one pink and rest white.
To Make The Pancakes

Take a 6" dia non stick pan. Smear it with oil and wipe it clean. Pour small spoons of different color batter's in the center and swirl the pan so that the batter covers it evenly, any excess batter take is out so that you get a thin pancake.
Cook for a minute or so and then turn it over on a board. (Repeat the process till all the batter is used).

Place  1 - 2 tablespoons of the filling. Fold the sides then roll up the pancake tight or u can even seal edges & roll.

Enjoy!!

My Notes

I have divided the batter into different colors and gradually added a small spoon of each while and swirling the pan.
Labels: Pancake, Stuffed, East Indian, Egg, Coconut, Marble, Sunday Funday, Sweets & Desserts, Festival Sweets

Sunday Funday

Mardis Gras & Fat Tuesday 

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Cajun Nachos
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Muffuletta Sandwich
• Cook with Renu: Homemade Baked Donuts
• Food Lust People Love: Pecan Praline Cookies
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Cajun Stuffed Mushrooms
• Palatable Pastime: Bourbon Chicken Wings
• Sneha's Recipe : Marble Stuffed Coconut Pancakes

Coconut Filled Tartlets - East Indian#Foodieextravaganza

These tartlets are must in our Christmas Sweets Platter. To fill these tartlets my hubby helped me, since we must be quick while filling, the filling hardens quickly.

For our event this month for Foodie Extravaganza Party, we are giving a Virtual Baby Shower for Lauren, the author/founder of our group. These tartlets are prefect for the event which have the color pink and blue.

Ingredients
200 Grams All Purpose Flour
75 Grams Clarified Butter
60 Grams Powdered Sugar
½ Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
3 -4 Tablespoons Chilled Water or as required
Method

Rub clarified butter into flour till it resembles bread crumbs. Add the powdered sugar and essence mix it well into the flour. Now add chilled water just enough bring it into a dough. Do not knead the dough. The dough will be soft and crumbly. Cling wrap it and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  

Then take the dough and lightly knead it. Pinch a small ball and press it into tart moulds. Prick the tartlets with a fork. Make a handles of the remaining and bake these for just 4 -5 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 15 to 18 minutes or until the top start to turn slightly golden.

Remove and cool on a rack. Then un mold and keep it side to cool completely. These tartlets can me made well in advance they stay good for a month or more, if stored in an airtight container.

For The Coconut Filling

This process should be completed quickly as soon as the filling it ready or else it will harden and you will not be able to fill the tarts.
Ingredients
1 Cup Packed Freshly Grated Coconut
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
½ Cup Water
½ Teaspoon Rose Essence
Method

In 2 bowls add a pinch of gel color or liquid color and keep aside. Pink, blue and white, these are the colors.
Mix all ingredients in a non stick pan and cook stirring continuously till dry for 7 -8 minutes, the sugar should melt.
Divide the filling in the respective bowls and mix it well. Fill the tarts with the three colors. Press a handle in the center and let them dry.

Store them in container. The shelf life of the filled tarts is 5 - 6 days in our Mumbai temperature. If you live in a cold climate then these will last for 10 - 12 days.

Labels: Foodie Extravaganza Party, Coconut, Vegan,  Christmas, East Indian, Mini Tarts 

Foodie Extravaganza Party - December 2021 

• Classic Carol Chicken Salad from Palatable Pastime
• Cobb Dip from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Coconut Filled Tartlets - East Indian from Sneha's Recipe
• Melon Prosciutto Chevre Salad with Mint Dressing from Food Lust People Love
• Pink and Blue Sandwich Cake Cookies from Our Good Life 
• Red Velvet Cupcakes from Passion Kneaded
• Toasted Sesame Seed Crackers from Karen's Kitchen Stories