Thursday, August 29, 2013

PANCHKADAI (PANCHAKAJJAI)

PANCHKADAI (PANCHAKAJJAI)

In festivals like Krishna Janmashtami , which we celebrated yesterday, it is customary for us Konkanis of the Gowd Saraswat Brahmin community to offer "Panchakadai", also known as "Panchakajjai" or "Panchakadayi" as naivedya or prasad. It is also made for festivals like Gowri Ganesh etc.

In order to make a small contribution to keeping alive our old traditions, today I would like to share how I make this. I hope this will be of some use to young Konkani ladies who may want to make this for our festivals.

The measurements given is for a small quantity. You can adjust according to your requirements.




Ingredients:
  • Fresh Coconut, grated, 1/2
  • Jaggery, grated,  3/4 cup,  or as per taste
  • Bengal gram (Chana dal), 2 -3 tbsp 
  • Sesame seeds (Til), 1 tbsp
  • Cardamom powder (Elaichi powder), 1/2 tsp 
  • Ghee, 1-2 tsp
  • Dry Roasted Cashew nuts, chopped, 6-8
Method:
In a thick- bottomed kadai, dry roast the chana dal till it gives off a fragrant aroma and turns golden Cool it and grind it in a mixer to get a coarse powder.
Next, dry roast the til until it starts to splutter and keep aside.
Add 1/4 cup of water to the grated jaggery
Heat in the kadai till the jaggery melts completely and the syrup is of one string consistency
Add the grated coconut to the jaggery syrup
Boil this, stirring continuously till this mixture thickens
Switch off the gas and let the mixture cool
Now add the powdered chana dal, roasted til, elaichi powder and mix all this thoroughly
Garnish with roasted cashew nuts
Finally, sprinkle ghee to enhance the taste.


2 comments:

  1. Wonderful idea and effort... Congratulations.
    Just wanted to point out that Panchakajjai is called so because 5 items are used. We usually don't add channa dhal or cashew nuts when we make it traditionally for pooja's. But I'm sure your version too is very tasty..

    ReplyDelete
  2. THanks Glad to read and see this Rgds

    ReplyDelete

If you have liked this recipe, I would appreciate your leaving a comment. Thank you !