Dessert

Chandrakala Sweet

A spoonful of sugar helps your worries go down. A sweet made out of sugar puts your burden down.” One such magnificent sweet is Chandrakala, which is one among the wide varieties of delicious sweets from Tamilnadu.

This sweet has its origin from Thanjavur, a place known for its renowned cultural heritage and unique identity. One such recipe from this city is the elegant and royal Chandrakala, owning a crescent moon shape, prepared by stuffing Kova in pastry parcels and dipping them in sugar syrup.

Serving
- 2 servings
Cooking Time
- 25 mins
Difficulty
- Intermediate

Ingredients:

250 grams
Maida
1/2 kg
Sugar
75 grams
Ghee
150 grams
Plain Kova
1 gram
Saffron
For deep frying
Oil
1/4 Tbsp
Cardamom Powder
Badam 4 nos, Pista 4 nos, Cashew 4 nos
Mixed Dry Nuts
1 Tbsp
Milk
1/2 Tbsp
Kesari colour

Directions:

1
In a pan add sugar and pour 200ml of water, 1 tsp milk and stir well.
2
When the mixture boils, a layer is formed which holds the dirt in sugar. Remove the layer with strainer.
3
Boil the sugar syrup until it reaches 1 string consistency.
4
Add kesari colour and mix well . ( optional )
5
Add maida in a plate and make a small space in the centre to add ghee.
6
Mix the dough smoothly using four fingers. Splash water in little amount and knead the dough softly. ( Refer Badhusha Recipe)
7
In a bowl add Plain Kova, powdered sugar 1 tsp, grated nuts, maida 1tsp, cardamom powder 1 tsp, saffron and mix well.
8
Make small rolls using hands and keep it aside
9
Allow the prepared dough to rest for 10mins. Place the dough in kitchen slab or wooden board, press the dough, roll and cut into small pieces.
10
Using chapathi roller make small and thin sheets.
11
Apply water slightly on the inner side and place the kova stuffing. Fold and press the corners to attain the shape. Similarly, make several pieces.
12
In a pan, add oil and place Chandrakala one by one and cook in a constant mild temperature.
13
Once cooked, the Chandrakala comes at the top layer. Rotate the same on the upper portion with a broth spoon to avoid sticking with one another.
14
Cook until the Chandrakala turns golden colour and slightly hard.
15
Place them into the sugar syrup and soak for 10-15mins.
16
Transfer the same one by one in a plate and serve
17
Steps to achieve a perfect Chandrakala:
- Adding milk during preparation of sugar syrup helps in removing the dust particles in sugar
- While kneading the dough, it should be handled very softly and not to knead as how we prepare for chapathi/poori. Smooth handling is preferable.
- Prefer the instructed amount of nuts to avoid loosening from the stuffing.
- If plain kova is not available, we can replace it with sweet kova. In such case of choosing sweet Kova, we can avoid addition of sugar.
- Decide the size of Chandrakala and roll the dough accordingly. Make sure to fold the corners properly, otherwise the contents might leak and the entire oil gets spoiled.
- To achieve perfect shape, once the stuffing is placed and closed, fold the edges and press using nails. Repeat the procedure so the contents are intact.
- Oil should be in mild bubbling stage as it is important for Chandrakala to cook evenly. Adjust the flame from medium to low so that the temperature is maintained constantly.