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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Panchkadai / Panchkadayi


Panchkadayi is the the sweet made with 5 items. It is very tasty sweet dish to satisfy any sweet cravings and filling at the same time. It is usually make it as an offering during puja to Lord Krishna, Lord Ganesha, Goddess Tulsi and Goddess Gowri and also during Dushera. Panch means 5; in short it is made with 5 or more items.


Ingredients
1 cup brown chana
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups jaggery or gur
8-10 cardamom pods
1 1/2 cup thin pova (beaten rice-thin ) or lai (puffed paddy)
black sesame seeds or til

Method
Toast the chana in a kadai or pan on a low-medium flame for around 15-20 minutes till it is crisp. Take care not to burn it. Toast the sesame seeds for 3-5 minutes or till crisp. Cool the chana and coarsely powder it. Melt jaggery in a thick bottomed pan with around 1 cup water. The melted jaggery should not be very sticky like when making ladoo's or chiki's. Heat it to make a thin paank or mixture. Powder the cardamom seeds and add to the jaggery along with the coconut. When the jaggery mixture cools down completely, add chana powder, sesame seeds and pova or lai to the jaggery mixture and mix well. It keeps good at room temperature for 1-2 days or around a week in the refrigerator.