Wednesday, June 19, 2013

RAVE UNDE / RAVA LADDOO



As you know, this is actually an ancient dish! I vaguely remember  that my ajji, i.e.your thatha's mother, used to make tiny unDes specially for me and place one in each of my three year old  tiny hands, since  they say I used to ask for two pieces every time!

The procedure is very simple and  the ingredients are almost always readily available on the South Indian kitchen shelves. That is the reason the ladies those days prepared this in no time if the guests were to arrive within a short notice.

So, here are the ingredients:

Chiroti Rava                               1 cup
Sugar                                          1/2 cup
Grated coconut                           1/2 cup
Ghee                                           2-3 table spoons
Water                                          Enough to cover sugar in the kaDai
Cardamom powder                    1/4 teaspoon
Cashew nut pieces                     1-2 tablespoons
Raisins                                        1-2 tablespoons

Optional:


How to proceed:

Take about a teaspoon of ghee in the kaDai and fry cashew nuts till golden brown and raisins till they bloat. Transfer them to a small bowl.

Take  the remaining ghee in the kaDai and when it melts add both the rava and grated coconut and roast till the rava turns golden brown and the rava together with coconut give a pleasant aroma. Transfer the contents to the same bowl.

Next take sugar in the kaDai, add water just enough to cover it, and bring to boil till you notice foaming of the syrrup. Turn off the burner. Add cardamom powder, mix well and then transfer the contents of the bowl to the kaDai and mix well.  When the mixture is cool enough for you to handle, take small portions and make balls. Store in an airtight container. Can stay fresh for about a week.

From this amount you can make about 10 balls.  Enjoy!