Monday, July 13, 2009

Peanut and Jaggery balls(Kadalai urundai)

Some 15 years back if someone had asked in my neighbourhood "Do you know Priya?", the immediate answer would have been "Oh!that girl who just lives on ghee and kadalai mittai(peanut squares)". They would have also added with a sigh "She just troubles her mother by falling sick frequently". How can one fall sick by eating ghee and kadalai mittai.? Well, I used to get giddiness atleast once in a fortnight due to overeating of the above mentioned items..

Nothing can match the taste of the peanut squares that I used to get for 25 paise a piece in the near by potti kadai(small shop)..It was hard, but not so hard to cause a tooth ache, it was sticky but not too sticky that you got to do all sorts of mouth exercise to remove it..

And the ghee....I used to sneak into the kitchen when ever possible and eat 2 spoonfuls when nobody is around..And my most preferred combination was bournvita powder, ghee and sugar...Just awesome....

When I was staying in the hostel during college days, my grandmother used to make kadali urundais and pack it for the hostel..Though it did not tatse like the store bought ones, it was equally tasty in its own right...After college days, I pretty much lost connection with kadali mittai/urundais..When I saw JFI-Peanuts, I had a chance to recollect those bygone days...Now, at 30, I really don't have a desire to eat the kadalai mittais.(though I am tempted to try the bournvita-ghee-sugar combination) But just to relive those memories, I got the recipe from my grandmother and made the kadali urundais at home for the first time with guidance from mother-in-law.

Ingredients

Shelled Peanuts: 1 1/4 cup Jaggery/Gud: 1 cup(broken into small pieces) Cardomom powder: 1/4 tsp Water: 1/4 cup
Procedure

1. Roast the peanuts in a pan/kadai in low/medium flame for 10 to 15 minutes. 2. To check if it is done, remove 4 to 5 peanuts and rub with the fingers. If the skin comes out easily, its done. Also just eat one or two peanuts to see if it is roasted. 3. Once roasted, remove the skin from the peanuts. This is the most time consuming job. We did it by taking a handful and rubbing with the fingers. Then separated out the peanuts from the removed skin. (During this process the peanuts might split. But that is OK.) 4. In a kadai add jaggery, cardomom powder and water. Keep in medium flame and melt the jaggery. The consistency of the melted jaggery is the most important thing. If it is thin, we can't make balls, if it is to thick, the ball would be very hard. The correct consistency is when you drop a few drops of melted jaggey in a small bowl of water, it should immediately form a small ball. If you take out the ball and throw in the bowl, it should make a sound while hitting the bowl. (This process of melting the jaggery takes around 10 to 15 minutes) 5. Once the jaggery reaches the correct consistency, put off the flame and pour it over the peanuts. Mix with a flat ladle immediately. Make small lemon sized balls as soon as you are able to touch the mixture without feeling very hot.(within 2 minutes of mixing) 6. Allow the peanut balls to cool and store in an air tight container.

Note: The consistency of jaggery is very important and its better to get the help of elders at home if doing for the first time, like I did. You are blessed if you get readymade roasted peanuts with skin removed. Then 70% of the time is saved.

This is my entry to JFI-Peanuts hosted by Pavani, originally started by Indira of Mahanandi.

12 comments:

  1. Thats an interesting post Priya,enjoyed reading ur child hood memories,by the way,me and my brother too sneak the kitchen and eat bournvita :P

    And u have an awesome blog here:)

    My grand ma makes tthis perfect,i have not yet tried of my own,buy from store and eat though :)

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  2. Oh dear bournvita was my favorite too, i love to eat it spoonful, i used to sneak in kitchen to have it..hehe..nice to see that I am not alone :)
    perfect for the event dear!

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  3. Any form of peanuts and jaggery whether it is as laddos or chikki, is an all time favourite with us. These look very good.

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  4. Thanks Raks and Aparna.
    Thanks Parita. I think most of the kids eat Bournvita than drinking them. :-)

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  5. Priya, Old memories came back to me of patti's kadalai mittai. Cant forget the hostel days. and the way you wrote this blog is too good. :)

    Cheers,
    Priya

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  6. hey priya,
    Your post made me nostalgic for reasons more than one :) reading the comments I felt most of us were so much the same as kids :)
    Peanut laddos were one of my fav's infact chikki's too!
    I have'nt made it at home, thanks for the recipe it's a keeper.
    TC

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  7. Yum.. Yum.. Peanut balls look crunchy and delicious. Thanks for sending them over to JFI: Peanuts.

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  8. Thanks Darshana(I prefer to call you that way. :-) ) I was pleasantly surprised to see your comment..

    Thanks Suparna and Pavani.

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  9. The kadalai urundai looks yum, been a long time since I have had this too !

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  10. hey some over cooking goes and gives bitter taste and how to prevent it! that jaggery!

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  11. I tried it for the first time and it came out excellent :)
    Thank you soooo much for the perfect description.

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