KulKuls | Kalkal | Goan Christmas Snack

KulKuls / Kal kal , a traditional snack from the Goan cuisine and it's mainly made during Christmas time of the year. It's so delicious, crunchy and has an amazing coconut flavor. It's hard to stop eating these once you start to munch on them, such an addictive snack!

These kulkuls/ kal kal reminds me of the seepu seedai from the Chettinad cuisine. Both have such a unique shape and are made with coconut milk. If you have never heard about the seepu seedai before, do check it out here.

Coconut milk 

This recipe requires coconut milk to make the dough. Though you can use water to make dough, i would highly recommend using the coconut milk. Because i tried these with both the water and coconut milk and i liked these more when made with coconut milk.

You can use the homemade coconut milk or the canned ones. I have used canned coconut milk for this recipe. If you prefer to use the homemade coconut milk, use the first squeezed coconut milk for the great flavor.

Shaping the Kulkuls / Kal Kal 

Shaping the kulkuls needs a lot of time and patience. So if you're making it in bulk, i highly recommend using a helping hand. Otherwise you end up questioning  your choice of making this at home :-)

If you're making this snack all by yourself then start off with 1 cup of flour. That's very doable ! Also if you find it really hard to shape them then simple roll the dough intoa  thick disc and cut into squares and fry (just like how we make shakarpara)! Still it tastes amazing ! 

Tips to make perfect Kulkuls /Kal Kal

• While shaping the kulkuls, there may be a few cracks in it. That's totally ok. 
• If you want a smooth looking kulkuls, then replace the rava with the additional flour, that would make it easy to roll and also give smooth finishing. 
•  I personally like to add rava in this recipe, because once it's fried, the little peek of the rava on the top makes it so gorgeous ! 
• If you don't have powdered sugar, then grind 1/3 cup of regular sugar in a mixie until it's smooth and use it.
• I haven't used any flavoring agent because of using coconut milk but if you want you can use cardamom powder 

Now let's check out how to make this delicious kulkuls/ kal kal

KulKuls | Kalkal

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
KulKuls, KalKal,Goan Christmas Snack,Indian Christmas Snack >KulKuls / Kal kal , a traditional snack from the Goan cuisine and it's mainly made during Christmas time of the year.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Rava /Semolina - 1/4 tbsp

Powdered Sugar - 1/3 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp 

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Coconut Milk - 1/3 cup(approx)

Procedure

In a bowl, add flour, rava, sugar and salt. Mix it all together well and then add the ghee.

Mix the ghee with the flour using your fingers. Then add the coconut milk little by little and make a stiff dough. 

Let the dough rest for 10 mins and then make a small balls(like how you roll for paal kozhukattai). Next take a fork and place a piece of dough on it and flatten the dough like in the third pic in the college below.

Then roll the dough from one end of it to the other end. It forms a nice shell shape. 

Do the same for all the dough. Heat the oil for deep frying. Add the rolled dough in batches and cook it on medium-low flame.

Once the kulkuls are brown in color, drain from the oil and place it on tissue paper. 

Cool it completely and store it in air-tight container. Delicious and crunchy KulKuls is ready to serve !

Related: How to make Shankarpali

Notes:

• Make sure to cook it in medium-low flame so that the inside cooks well when the outside turns brown in color.
• It remains crunchy for days if stored in air-tight container.

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Aval/ Mixture / Chivda, a delicious savoury snack made from the mix of flattened rice, nuts and flavored with some Indian spices. It's such an easy snack to make at home in no time !

If you love the traditional mixture recipe then i'm sure that you would love this aval mixture too. In contrast to traditional mixture, this aval mixture can be made in under 20 mins. So do give it a try when you're craving for something crunchy and delicious.

Aval / Poha / Flattened Rice 

In the market, you can find two types of aval/poha such as thick and thin. For this recipe, you need the thick variety of aval. While frying the aval/poha, the thick aval nicely puff up whereas the thin aval don't puff up well. 

In general , chivda is made from the white aval. But in my house we prefer red aval more than white aval because of its flavor. Hence i have used the same red rice aval in this recipe instead of buying white aval especially for this recipe and it tastes awesome. So you can use either white or red aval/poha for white aval/poha

Other Ingredients

For the nuts, I have used the skinless peanuts and cashews for this chivda. Skinned peanuts also work fine for this recipe. 

In addition to the nuts, i have used the raisins because i love the sweetness from the raisins while munching the mixture. You can use black or golden raisins in this recipe. But if you don't like the sweet in your mixture then skip it.

I have used only 1/4 tsp of chili powder for this recipe. It's very mild and you don't even notice it in the mixture. If you're a spice lover you can add 1/2 to 3/4 tsp of red chili powder for this recipe. 

Finally, you can add more or less of any nuts as per your liking. So keep this recipe as a guide and make the way you like your mixture. 

Now let's check out how to make this super delicious Aval mixture. 

Aval Mixture | Poha Chivda

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Aval mixture, Chivda, Poha mixtur, Poha chivda Aval/ Mixture / Chivda, a delicious savoury snack made from the mix of flattened rice, nuts and flavored with some Indian spices.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

To deep fry

Aval/Poha - 1 cup

Peanuts - 1/2 cup

Pottukadalai/ Roasted gram dal - 1/3 cup

Cashews - 1/4 cup

Raisins - 1/4 cup

For Tempering

Oil - 2 tsp

Sesame seed - 1 tbsp

Asafoetida powder - 1/8 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Procedure

First let's deep fry the ingredients listed under "To deep fry" one by one. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan, add the pottukadalai/roasted gram dal in a metal siever and dip the metal siever  in the hot oil. Roast till they are golden brown. Drain it from the oil and put it on a paper towel.

Next roast the peanuts in the same way. 

Next deep the cashews till golden brown and raisins till it's puff up.

Finally deep fry the Aval/poha. Fry the aval/poha in small quantities since it's puff up well and fill the siever the immediately. Place all the deep fried items on the paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Next in a pan, heat the 2 tsp of oil, add the sesame seeds, once the sesame seed starts to crackle, switch off the flame and then add the asafoetida powder, turmeric powder and red chili powder. 

Finally add all the deep fried items and salt. Toss it all well together.

Delicious and crunchy Aval Mixture/ Poha Chivda is ready. Let it cool completely and then store it in an airtight container.

Related: How to make Madras Mixture

Notes:

• It stays well for up to 10 days in room temperature.
• Use dry spoon every time to take it out so that it stays crispy till it lasts.
• Sesame seed is optional so if you don't like it, you can skip it.

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Shakarpara using leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup| Shankarpali Recipe

Shakarpara / Shankarpali, a delicious, crunchy and mildly sweetened deep-fried biscuits. It's usually made with all purpose flour/ wheat flour and sugar, but today let me show how to make this yummy treat with the leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup/ any sugar syrup.

Mostly after deepavali/diwali festival, many wonder what to make with the leftover sugar syrup from the gulab jamun. If you ever wonder like that, here is the solution for using that sugar syrup. 

Though, there are many options available to use that sugar syrup, making Shakarpara is one of the easiest and delicious options that would be ready in minutes. 

Leftover Gulab Jamun Sugar Syrup

Gulab Jamun soaked sugar syrup is thick and has wonderful flavor, so without much effort, we can make flavorful shakarpara using this syrup. 

Depending on how thick your sugar syrup is, you may need less/more  sugar syrup to make the dough. So keep this recipe as reference and add as you need.

My sugar syrup has a cardamom flavor(since i used that for flavoring in  gulab jamun) so it gives such a nice cardamom and milk flavor(from the jamun) to the shakarpara. But you can use any flavored sugar syrup, just remember that the shakarpara also would have the same flavor.

Also you can make this shankarpali using the same method for any leftover sugar syrup. 

Tips to make delicious and crunchy Shankarpali/Shakarpara

Though it's such an easy recipe, here are a few things to take care of for making delicious shankarpali.

1. Make sure the dough is stiff like the poori dough. If your dough is too soft, then it absorbs a lot of oil.
2. Cook the shankarpali in low-medium heat. If you have the number system in your stove, keep it in between 3 and 4 once the oil is heated.
3. It takes time to cook and get that golden brown, so be patient while frying. If you increase the heat, the outside turns brown easily but the inside would be raw.
4. Finally, once it's out of oil, it's soft in the middle. Let them cool completely for that crunchy bite.

That's it. Now let's check out on how to make this delicious and crunchy Shankarpali/ Shakarpara.

Shakarpara using leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Shakarpara,Shankarpali,leftover jamun syrup,leftover gulab jamun syrup recipe, Shakarpara / Shankarpali, a delicious, crunchy and mildly sweetened deep-fried snack.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Wheat Flour/ Aatta -1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Leftover Gulab Jamun Sugar Syrup- 1/2 cup(approx)
Baking soda - a pinch
Oil - for frying

Procedure

First in a bowl, add the flour, baking soda and ghee, mix it all together well with your hand until the ghee is incorporated into the flour. Then add the sugar syrup as needed.

Mix it well and make a dough. The dough should be like  poori dough. Divide the dough into four equal parts.

Next roll each portion into a thick disc using a rolling pin and then cut the dough into small squares. Do the same for all the dough. Heat the oil for frying and then add the squared dough in batches.

Cook it on low-medium flame until it's golden brown. Drain the shankarpali from the oil and place it on the paper towel. Do the same for the remaining. 

Cool it completely and then store it in an air-tight container. Delicious and crunchy Shakarpara/Shankarpali is ready.

Related: How to make Traditional Shakarpara

Notes:

• No need to knead the dough for long time. Stop kneading once it all comes together.
• It stays well for upto 10 mins in room temperature.
• Use dry hands every time so that it stays crunchy.

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Coconut Pastry, a delicious snack made with puff pastry and sweetened coconut filling. Whenever i crave for the Indian famous Dilpasand / Thengai Bun, this is my short cut to satisfy my craving. 

This coconut filling recipe is the same as the Dilpasand / Thengai Bun, but instead of making dough for the bun, i have used the puff pastry for the outer layer. It tastes so delicious and you can't stop by one.

Coconut filling 

In today's recipe, i have used fresh coconut because i knew that it would be gone in minutes and there would be no leftovers so i didn't worry about it going bad.

But you can very well use coconut flakes or desiccated coconut (see my coconut bun post where i used coconut flakes for the stuffing ). Make sure to adjust the sugar depends on  whether you're using sweetened or unsweetened coconut. 

Puff Pastry 

I have been using the "Tenderflake" puff pastry(not sponsored/ad) ever since we moved to Canada and so far it's good for making the savoury and sweet as well.  

When this coconut pastry is right out of the oven, it's crispy(i know which is totally contrary to the coconut bun) but still it tastes amazing.  But if you really want the soft outer layer like a coconut bun, just leave it for a couple of hours or overnight so that the outer layer of the pastry becomes soft. 

Shaping the Coconut Pastry

In today's recipe, i have just folded it in half (you can see it in the step by step pictures) and cut it into squares. But you can make it as bite sized pastry like how i did in this mini apple turnovers. So it all depends on how you want or what occasion you're making. 

I personally make bite sized pastries for a get-together or someone visiting our home or when i'm making more that last for a couple of days.

Ok, now let's check out on how to make this delicious coconut pastry. 

Sweet Coconut Pastries | Coconut Pastry

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Dessert/Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coconut Bun, Thengai Bun, Coconut Pastries, Coconut Pastry Coconut Pastry, a delicious snack made with puff pastry and sweetened coconut filling.It tastes like coconut bun/Thengai bun.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Puff Pastry - 1 sheet

For Stuffing

Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup
Tutti frutti - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cashews - 5
Raisins - 2 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Water - 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

First heat the pan with ghee, add the cashew and raisins, roast till the raisins are puffed up. 

Then add the sugar, coconut, and water. Mix it all together and cook till the sugar is completely melted.

Next add the tutti frutti and cardamom powder. Mix it all well and let it in the flame for 2-3 mins. Switch off the flame and let it cool completely.

Preheat the oven @ 420 F

Take a one sheet of puff pastry and roll into thin sheet with a rolling pin.

Then add the coconut stuffing on one side and close the puff pastry from the other side such that the coconut stuffing is sealed well. 

Next, take a fork and press it on the outer edges of the pastry(it helps to seal the edges well and also make a nice design on the border.) Then transfer the pastry sheet into a parchment lined baking sheet and cut the pastry into squares as shown below.

Brush the top of the pastry with some milk and put it in the oven and bake it for 15- 20 mins or until the top turns golden brown.

That's it, Delicious Coconut Pastry is ready to serve.

Related : How to make Bakery Style Vegetable Puffs 

Notes:

• Depends on the sweetness of the coconut add more or less of sugar.
• Adding tutti frutti truly enhances the taste of the pastry. You can use store bought or home made tutti frutti

 

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Madras Mixture | Tamilnadu Mixture recipe

Madras mixture / Tamilnadu Mixture, a delicious South Indian savoury snack. As the name suggests itself, it has a mixture of various South Indian snacks put together ! Hence, it doesn't have any "fixed" recipe, every sweet stall/household has its own mixture recipe. 

In general, the mixture has kara boondi, omapodi, roasted aval/poha, roasted peanuts and curry leaves. In addition to that, sweet diamond cuts, seval , ribbon pakoda, kara sev, broken pieces of murukku and chips  and cashews are also added.  

In today's post, i'm sharing the basic mixture recipe using kara boondi and omapodi/plain sev as main ingredients. As i have already said, there is no defined recipe for making the mixture, you can add more or less  ingredients as per your liking. 

What's the use of making homemade mixture without playing around with the ingredients as per your liking, right? 

As i have already shared the recipe for omapodi and kara boondi in separate posts, here i haven't shared the detailed recipe, so please look into the respective posts for those recipes. Before moving into the recipe, here are some beginners tips.

• I would highly recommend adding the curry leaves, it gives such a nice aroma to the mixture.
• Fry the aval/poha at last, it makes the oil cloudy.
• You can use both skinned/un-skinned peanuts for the mixture. Both taste equally good.
• If you're making it for the first time, i would recommend to start off with a smaller portion. So that you can make it easily without overwhelming yourself.

That's it, Now let's check out the Mixture recipe.

Madras Mixture | Tamilnadu Mixture

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: Snack | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Madras mixture, Tamilnadu Mixture, Mixture recipe Madras mixture / Tamilnadu Mixture, a delicious South Indian savoury snack.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Omapodi - 2 cups

Kara Boondi - 2 cups

Peanuts - 1/4 cup

Roasted Chana dal / Pottukadalai - 1/4 cup

Cashews - 2 tbsp

Aval/Poha - 1/4 cup

Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Curry leaves - 2 spring

Procedure

First let's make some omapodi.

Let it cool and crush into small pieces.

Next make kara boondi. As both omapodi and kara boondi recipes are already in my blog, i haven't shared the detailed recipe here.Next in the same oil, fry the peanuts until it's brown.

Similarly fry cashews, roasted chana dal and curry leaves one by one. 

Let them keep it in tissue paper for a while to absorb all extra oil. Finally fry aval and put it in tissue paper.

Once all are deep fried, put them all in a large bowl along with red chili powder and salt. Toss them well so that it's all mixed together well.

That's it, Tasty Madras Mixture is ready ! Store it in air tight container once it's completely cooled down.

Related: How to make Kai Murukku/Suthu Murukku

Notes:

• Stay well for up to 10-15 days at room temperature
• Adjust the chilli powder as per your liking or even you can skip it too.

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