Chandrakala/Stuffed Sweet Festive Pastries

ere is another recipe from me that gives me an intense sense of nostalgia.

The start of 'navaratra' marks the beginning of the festive season in India. Navaratra culminates in Dussehera after which comes the much awaited Diwali with Dhanteras and Chhath between and immediately after. These followed by Christmas and of course the welcome of the new year. Festivities in India are associated with pomp and fervor, family, dressing in your finest, prayers and worship, time off from school, carnivals, guests and of course food, lots of food. How is that for nostalgia!

Navaratra - as the name suggests (nav - nine, raat - night) - is celebrated for nine days. The tenth day is celebrated as Dussehera. In hindu philosophy the woman is considered as the epitome of power and strength. In hindu mythology Goddess Durga has been considered the embodiment of that cosmic power. As legend has it, when Lord Rama was building his army against the demon king Ravana, he summoned this eternal cosmic power for nine days by worshiping the nine incarnations of goddess Durga. Blessed with this divinity, he vanquished Ravana on the tenth day which came about to be known as the day of 'Dussehera' or the vanquishing of the ten-headed (as the demon Ravana is said to have had ten heads).

Even in modern times, the tradition is pretty much intact - worship the forms of goddess durga for nine days and burn an effigy of Ravana on the tenth. Just with the added pomp of festivities and food. Among food, sweet dishes are the most common. The one home-made sweet dish that comes to mind thinking dussehera is 'chandrakala'. It is a traditional indian exotic pastry stuffed with khoya and nuts. Simply put, it is basically rolled out dough stuffed with a mixture of khoya and chopped nuts, deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup. A little tricky to make hence it is not made at home in many households but my mom being the expert cook she is, always made it during dussehera. In many parts of the country, chandrakala is made is different shapes like half moon etc but the essense of the dish still remains. This is my attempt to recreate the way I grew up eating it. If hubby's feedback is anything to go by, they came out absolutely unbelievable. 

Ingredients:

For the cover -

All purpose Flour ......................... 2cups

Unsalted butter ........................... 2 tbsp melted

Ghee ....................................... 6 tbsp, melted

Yogurt ...................................... 2 tbsp mixed with 1 tbsp milk

Baking soda ............................... 1/8 tsp

Water ...................................... 1 tbsp less than 1/4 cup 

Oil for deep frying

For the khoya filling - see notes

Khoya/mawa (milk solids) .............. 1 cup grated

Sugar ....................................... 1/4 cup or to taste

Nuts ......................................... 2 tbsp

Green cardamom powder ............... 1/4 tsp 

For the syrup:

Sugar ....................................... 1cup

Water ...................................... 1cup

Cardamom powder ....................... 1/4 tsp

Lime Juice ................................ 1/2 tsp

Saffron ..................................... 1/2 tsp 

Nuts for garnish

Method:

1. In a medium mixing bowl add butter and ghee ,mix with a spoon for a minute.

2. Add in the yogurt milk mixture and mix well.

3.Sift soda and flour together, and slowly pour the ghee mix over it till combined.

4. Add water little at a time (be careful not add too much) to make it a soft yet firm and smooth dough. If needed add a little more water. Knead it for 7-8 minutes to make it smooth. Set aside covered for 10 -15 minutes. For the filling, heat khoya in a pan for a minute, mix the rest of the ingredients and take off the heat. Cool to room temperature.

5. Divide the dough into 18-20 equal balls. Roll each dough piece like small puri. Place about 1 tsp khoya stuffing in the center of the poori and seal it from all sides, press slightly. Pinch the edges to seal (like a dumpling). Make sure the edges are completely sealed otherwise the filling will leak when frying.

6. Repeat the filling process for all the dough balls. Keep them covered.
 
7. In a pan, mix water and sugar and let it boil for 10-12 mins. When the sugar melts completely, add cardamom powder and lemon juice. Switch off the flame. Keep it warm.

8. Heat oil in a wide heavy bottomed pan. Check the temperature by adding a small piece of dough, it should immediately come up.

9. Drop 4-5 chandrakalas in oil. Keep the pan on medium to medium low and fry them till golden brown, turning once.

10. Drain properly and immediately add the hot chandrakalas into the  warm syrup.Let it sit in the syrup for a minute or two.

11. Remove from syrup and arrange on a plate. Sprinkle the nuts. ENJOY them and all the compliments!

Notes:

1. A relatively inexpensive and quick, yet equally good way to make mawa is to use ricotta cheese. In a heavy bottom pan, on medium heat melt 1 tbsp ghee, add 15 oz ricotta cheese and cook while stirring till it thickens and starts to caramelize at the bottom, about 25 to 30 minutes. There you have it, your quick and easy mawa :) It can be stored refrigerated for up to a week.

2. The temperature of oil is very important. Too hot oil will burn the outside and not cook them through, too cold and they will not be crispy enough.
3. Balushashi is a similar sweet dish with a minor difference in that Chandrakala is stuffed whereas balushahi is not.
4. The sugar syrup should be of one string consistency, to check the consistency take a little bit of sugar syrup in small bow,l pour some drops of water it should not dissolve but form a fine thread.

Wishing  all my readers and fellow bloggers A very Happy Navaratri!

Pin It