Karanji Recipe (Authentic)

Ingredients

For karanji stuffing

• ½ cup desiccated coconut – unsweetened
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
• 8 to 9 almonds
• 9 to 10 cashews
• 9 to 10 golden raisins
• ½ teaspoon cardamom powder or 4 green cardamoms, crushed in mortar-pestle
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar, add as required
• 1 pinch nutmeg powder or grated nutmeg
• ½ tablespoon ghee

For outer cover of karanji

• 2 cups all purpose flour (maida) – 250 grams
• 2 tablespoon ghee
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup milk + 1 tablespoon, or as required

More Ingredient

• oil as required, for deep frying

Steps

Making sweet stuffing

1. Use a small frying pan to heat the ghee.
2. Roast the desiccated coconut in it, stirring often, until golden.
3. Transfer the coconut to a plate and set aside.
4. Roast sesame seeds in the same pan until they pop and change colour, then set aside with the roasted coconut.
5. Grind almonds, cashews and raisins in a dry grinder or coffee grinder to a semi-fine powder or mixture.
6. Chopping these dry fruits is another option. If preferred, roast them before chopping or grinding to a powder.
7. Put the dry-fruit mixture with the sesame seeds and coconut.
8. Put the powdered sugar, nutmeg powder and cardamom powder into the stuffing mixture.
9. Combine everything thoroughly and set the stuffing aside.

Making dough for karanji

1. For the dough, heat the ghee first, only lightly.
2. Put flour in a bowl or pan, add the hot melted ghee and salt, and mix only lightly with a spoon.
3. Knead with milk added in portions until smooth. Keep the dough tight and firm as well as smooth; do not make it soft like roti dough.
4. Cover with a moist kitchen towel and set aside for 15 to 20 mins.

Rolling, stuffing and shaping karanji

1. Split the dough into two parts and roll each into a log. Cut each log into equal slices.
2. Roll each dough slice between your palms to make a round ball.
3. On a dusted board, use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a circle 4 to 5 inches in diameter.
4. Put 1 to 2 tablespoons stuffing in the centre or on one side of each circle, leaving the edges empty.
5. Do not overfill: it makes shaping difficult and the karanji may break during frying.
6. Use your fingertips or a pastry brush to wet the entire outer edge with water.
7. Gently bring both edges together to join them, then press the edges gently.
8. Start pinching the pressed edges with your fingertips.
9. Shape all the karanji this way. Keep them covered with a moist cotton kitchen towel before frying to help prevent the dough drying out.

Deep frying karanji

1. In a pan or kadai, heat deep-frying oil until moderately hot. Gently place the prepared karanji in the hot oil.
2. Fry only a few karanji at a time without crowding them.
3. Once a side is golden, turn gently and fry the other side. Turn again when that side is golden.
4. Continue frying, turning as needed, until crisp and golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.
5. Store in an airtight container once cooled. Serve the karanji warm or at room temperature.