Modak and Karanji

Modak and Karanji are sweet, coconut-filled, deep fried pastries commonly made in the month of September in India. They are said to be a favorite of Lord Ganesh.

Many a time, I have had modaks that are either so hard that you might just need a hammer to break into it or too chewy that you get a good jaw workout for free ! This recipe, however, makes the most amazing modaks . The cover is crispy, flaky and yet strong enough to hold the filling. And the filling has just the right amount of sweetness. Pop one of these in your mouth and you will be amazed at how the cover just dissolves to give way to the sweet coconutty goodness.

Karanji and modak are essentially the same thing assembled in different ways. It takes much longer to make modaks than karanjis because of the small size. So usually in many households, including mine, we make the customary 21 modaks and for the rest of the dough and filling, we make karanjis out of it. Karanjis are also be made during diwali or any special occasion.

Upma ( Indian Polenta )

Upma is a savoury dish made from semolina and could be easily be termed as Indian Polenta*. This is a very popular South Indian breakfast dish. You can also have it in the afternoons with a cup of hot chai.

There are people who like sweet dishes for breakfast and then there are those who like spicy and savoury dishes for breakfast. I belong to the latter group, though I will make an exception for a little Sheera . I cannot imagine waking up in the morning to doughnuts and assorted jam filled danish pastries. Don't get me wrong, I love these things, but not early in the morning and definitely not as breakfast. Whenever we travel and have to eat the continental breakfast served in our hotels, I know that day I am going to be hungry. I do have a big sweet tooth but I like my sweets only as desserts.

So if you are like me, you will love Upma. It is mildly spicy and savory, it is very nutritious too. I love it when the Upma is all fluffy and the cooked grains are not clinging to each other forming a tight mass of ball that when you take a bite you find yourself groping for a glass of water to help you swallow it down. The trick to achieving the right consistency is the ratio of water to semolina, as given in the recipe below. Also do not skip the roasting-the-semolina step, if you do omit this step the taste of the Upma will be a little off.

This is my mom's recipe. Adding tomatoes to Upma is not the traditional way to make it, but I had it this way once at one of my aunt's house, Rita Maushi makes delicious food and her Upma was really tasty. She is a great cook among many of her other talents. Try this recipe and you will have the most delicious Upma ever. Enjoy a bowl of warm Upma in the morning and suddenly life will seem so much better !

I found this interesting article on Wikipedia and I thought I will share it with you all ,
" Rava is often translated as Semolina in cook books and by various authors on the Internet. While this is not wrong, it is not entirely accurate either. Semolina is most commonly made from Durum wheat, which is thicker and yellow in color with a higher protein and gluten content than Rava. Rava on the other hand is specifically semolina made from soft wheat also known by the trade name of Cream of wheat or farina (food), which is a softer white cereal . " And I always thought of suji and rava as semolina.




Upma