Ukkarai

A traditional dish made in Tamil Nadu during Diwali, or as Deepavali, as the southern parts of India knows the festival, ukkarai is a crumbly jaggery and lentil sweet that is renowned for both its taste and texture.

Ingredients
1½ cups moong dal
1 cup channa dal
3 cups jaggery
1 cup ghee
15 cashew nuts
A pinch of salt
A pinch of camphor
1 cup fresh coconut pieces
Cardamom powder from 8 cardamom pods

Preparation
Wash and soak all the lentils together for about two hours
After two hours strain the water and grind to a fine paste
Heat ghee and fry coconut pieces, cashew nuts and keep aside
Fry the ground lentils till dry and keep aside
Heat the jaggery adding ¼ cup of water
When jaggery melts, strain through a strainer and reheat
Simmer and when the syrup forms a string consistency, add the prepared lentil and mix well
At this stage, the lentil mixture starts to crumble and becomes soft like _puttu_
Add 1 tbsp of ghee, mix and let it cool
When it gets to a crumbly texture, that is the right stage to remove from flame
Add fried coconut pieces, cashew nuts and cardamom powder
The traditional Diwali sweet ukkarai is ready to be served


(The author is a food blogger who blogs @www.hottavasandovens.blogspot.in)