SYRUP SWEETS - SWEET BALLS
Bengali Pantua
2-1/2 cups Sugar
1-1/2 cups Water
4 cups Chenna
¾ cup Semolina Flour
4 Tblsp Ghee
1 cup Khoya (or fine ricotta)
Handful Rasins
2-1/2 cups Ghee
Make a thin sugar syrup with sugar and water. Knead the chenna, suji, and 4 Tblsp ghee to make a smooth paste. Divide the chenna into 20 equal portions. Roll to form balls. Stuff each chenna ball with khoya and raisins. Heat ghee and fry the balls of chenna until golden brown. Drain and immerse in syrup for half an hour, and offer.
Manoharam (Thenkozhal Urundai)
Rice flour - 2 cups
Urad Flour - 2 tbsp
Salt - a pinch
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 3 cups, powdered
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee for deep frying
Mix the flours, salt, and ghee with some water and prepare a soft dough. Take small quantities of this dough and fill in a press ("Achu"). Heat up the ghee in a deep kadai. Use a "Thenkozhal achu" and prepare the thenkozhal by pressing the dough through the mold over hot ghee. Drain off the excess ghee. When done, break down the full thenkozhals into tiny pieces. Do not powder, but gently break into loose pieces. Dissolve the jaggery in 1/2 cup water and filter out impurities, if any. Heat up the jaggery water to form a syrup. As it starts to thicken, add the broken pieces and cardamom powder and mix uniformly. Remove from the heat and while still warm, press firmly into lemon sized balls.
Paneer Murki
1 cup paneer
¾ cups sugar
2-½ cups water
Rose water 2-3 drops
Silver verk or foil (optional)
Cut paneer in to small square pieces. Make sugar syrup (one tar ki chasni). Add paneer pieces into syrup and smear till sugar covered the paneer pieces. Remove the pan from the flame, add rose water drops and start stirring the paneer pieces gently. After five minutes, remove the paneer pieces and put into a decorative plate. Cover with silver foil, and offer.
Pantua
Khoya (or fine ricotta): 3/4 cups
Paneer: 1-1/3 cups
Refined Flour: 3 tbsp
Suger: 5 cups
Cardamoms: 4
Rose water: 1/2 tsp
Prepare a syrup of two-thread consistency with 5 cups of sugar and 9 cups of water. Keep it warm. Mix the paneer and khoya to a smooth paste. Gradually add the flour and cardamom powder and knead well to make a soft dough. Divide into 16 portions and form each into an oblong shape. Fry the pieces, two or three at a time, very carefully, so as not to brown them too much. Add rose water to the warm syrup and soak the fried pantuas in it for about 30 minutes, then serve.
Shakar Pare
1 cup plain flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tbsp curds
1 tbsp melted ghee
2 tsps ground almonds
ghee for frying
Make a syrup by boiling the sugar and water for about ten minutes and set aside. Sift the flour and rub in a tbsp. of melted ghee. Add the ground almonds. Mix well and gradually add the curds to make a smooth ball. Knead well and roll out. Cut in cubes. Deep fry till golden. Drain and drop into the syrup. Remove each cube and keep in a shallow dish. Finally pour out the remaining syrup over the cubes and allow it to cool.
Sweet Puttu
2 cups of Basmati rice
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
¼ cup water
1 pound jaggery
6 cardomoms
1/4 cup grated coconut
several roasted cashewnuts
Dry roast the rice and powder it finely. Heat equal quantity of water to lukewarm, add a pinch of salt and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Pour this water into the powdered rice and mix into a paste. Steam the paste in a pressure cooker fully for 4-5 whistles. To ¼ cup water add jaggery, cardomoms, and grated coconut and make syrup out of jaggery. Break the cooked rice dough into fine pieces, and mix it with the jaggery syrup. Add roasted cashewnuts, and offer.
