Somas:(Country Style)

Sweet Recipe.Kajjikaya in Andhra. Karanji in Gujarat. Somas in Tamil Nadu. Traditional Sweet Recipe.

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

All purpose flour 2-3 cups
Baking soda ¼ spoon
Salt as per taste
Warm water 1 cup
Ghee or clarified butter 1 cup
Working Flour few spoons
Working oil or ghee few spoons.

For Filling/Poornam:

Sooji/Bombay rawa 6 spoons
Poppy seeds 6 spoons
White Sesame seeds ¼ cup
Finely grated Coconut ¼ cup
Finely chopped Cashew nuts ¼ cup
Sugar ¾ cup
Ghee few spoons.

For Somas:

Refined Oil – for deep frying.

Method:

For Dough or Crust:

Add salt and baking soda to warm water. Let it dissolve well.

Bring all purpose flour in a large bowl. Make a well….now run the above solution to it. Slowly throw in the flour and prepare a smooth dough. Add ghee or butter while making the dough or as a finishing touch. Keep them refrigerated for 20 minutes(well covered).

For Filling:

Heat a deep wok over low-medium range. Toast gently sesame seeds and set aside.

Toast Bombay rawa and set aside too.

Now in a clean bowl, bring toasted sesame seeds, toasted rawa, poppy seeds, grated coconut, chopped cashew nuts, sugar and ghee. Mix them real good and set aside.

Making Somas:

Now make equal parts out of the dough. Maybe each varies into small lemon size.

Knead them gently using limited working flour or ghee.

Now take a spoon full of filling mixture and place right at the centre of the above chappathi/kneaded sheet. Cover them to one side(like a semi-circle) Gently twist the edges without having any gap. Repeat the same for as much as ‘Somas’ needed.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Gently fry the ‘Somas’ in it. Maybe till the outer crust is crispy and turns to golden color. Fry only few at a time, never load the oil.

Leave the fried ‘Somas’ over kitchen tissues for few minutes.

Repeat the same for each batch. Allow them to cool and then store in a air-tight container.

Serve warm or later as a Tea time snack. Can be taken as a dessert after meals too.