Sweet Somasi

Wishing all my Tamil and Kerala readers a Happy New Year and Vishu. May this year bring you all that you want and a little more. My new year celebration yesterday was very simple - actually I just made a whole big tray of Pongal and went to the temple here for the puja and aarti. So many people had bought so much food and it was a complete feast with chakkara pongal, ven pongal, kesari, puliyodharai and so many other delicacies.

On  my personal front, life has been crazy hectic for the past few weeks. I've taken up a new job and my schedule and routine is gone for a toss and everything is changing fast around me. But, I know I have to move quickly with all the change and get accustomed to my new routine and plan all my things so that at the end of it, its all harmonious. Well, that's my plan anyways. We'll see what happens.

This recipe has been sitting as a draft for a long time and I thought today would be a perfect day to post this. What day is not perfect actually to talk about Sweet Somasis. My forever memory of somasis are during Diwali season. My mom would never make these but my neighbors did every year and we always got our share to eat year after year. And this had become a sweet I would look forward to every Diwali. Even when I was almost suffocated with all the sugar, I would still pick these up and eat.

This was my version of the somasi filling - a coconut and nut based filling. This can also be made with many different fillings - people stuff them with a coconut and jaggery filling, a coconut-kalkand-nuts filling, a coconut -rava-sugar-nuts filling and many other varieties.

Let's get started with making the filling. Take about 2 cups of assorted nuts - I used Pistachios, almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts. Add all the nuts to a food processor and pulse for a few times until you get a coarse powder of the nuts.

Like this. A few big pieces are fine too - as that will be the pieces you actually bite into.

Also, pulse about 1/2 cup of raisins or even chop them up fine and add to the powdered nuts. So, you can see here that I have a little more than 2 cups of all the nuts and raisins.

And for the coconut, I decided to use the sweetened coconut flakes. These work really good for the sweet stuffing and you don't have to add any extra sugar. If you are using regular coconut, just scrap the coconut into thin shreds and cook with sugar. For 1 cup of coconut, add about 1/2 cup of sugar. Add both together in a pan and cook for a few mins, the sugar will melt and carmelize the coconuts. Remove and them mix with the nuts.

Since I was already using the sweetened coconut, I added 1 pack of the coconut flakes to a pan. Set the heat on low-medium.

Add all the powdered nuts with the raisins in here and mix well with the coconut. The sugar in the coconut would slightly melt and bring together everything to a slightly sticky mass.

Now, there in a couple of mins, the stuffing is ready! Set aside and let this cool down.

Now for the outer cover, here is the ingredient list.

2 cups Maida
1 cup Rava
1/2 cup melted butter
Pinch of salt
Water - few drops as required

Add the maida, rava and salt to a electric mixing bowl or a regular mixing bowl. Using Kitchenaid for this if you have one, is the perfect way to go as the dough hook makes a soft and pliable dough very easily.

Add the melted butter to the flour mix.

Using a dough hook, process the dough adding water a little at at time. Add as little as required to make a tight dough but still making sure that all the flour is incorporated completely in the bowl.

You see the dough coming together. This dough will be very soft and pliable. If you are mixing with hand, just make sure you knead well for about 5-7 mins or until you get a soft, pliable dough.

Move the dough to a mixing bowl and let it sit for about 20 mins.

Then make small balls out of the dough - make sure they are all approximately equal sized.

Roll out each ball similar to a roti to make a thin cover.

Using something that is of a perfect round shape, I used just a regular dabba cover with sharp edges. Place on the rolled out layer and press to get a perfect round shaped cover.

Remove all excess dough from the sides.

And there, you have a perfect little round cover that is ready to be filled.

Take a small ball of filling - roll it up into a tight ball using greased hands.

Place the filling in the center of the cover.

Fold one half over the other to form a semi circle. Using a fork, press down and seal the edges.

You can use a pizza cutter to make sure that the edges are smooth and not jagged. Cut off a little excess and make sure that the entire semi circle has an even edge.

Now these are ready to be cooked. Traditionally these are deep fried in oil. Which even in the modern day, tastes the best! But, this time I fried half the batch and baked the other half. Because I was sharing with some friends who were off the deep fried stuff.

See how even the edges look because you used that pizza cutter? Just say yes, even if  you don't think so. Please.

If you are baking these, pre heat the oven to 375F and bake for about 15 mins or until the top turns golden. Brush all the somasis with warm oil before you move them to the oven.

Once they look done, brush again with a little oil or butter on top.

And this batch is done. Ready for you to grab one. Go ahead - no one is watching.

And these are the somasis that were deep fried. Trust me, I know its not as healthy as the baked ones - but these taste the best. Way better than the baked ones. The baked ones were good - but too crisp on the outside - these had that perfect crispy and chewy texture on the outside. So, if you can afford the deep fried indulgence, go ahead, say a prayer and just do it.

Sorry I don't have great pictures this time - which was why this was in the draft mode for a long time. But, hey, its a good recipe and I don't want the lack of great pretty pictures to stop me from sharing this with you.

Enjoy. Peace Out.