January 04, 2007

CHANDRAKANTHALU/CHANDRAKANTHA SWEET




As always, a new beginning is always sweet.So here is how I started my new year:With fresh chandrakanthalu.Chandrakanthalu are a traditional sweet made with yellow moong dal,mostly in Coastal Andhra ,and usually for Sankranti which is the Harvest Festival for people in Andhra,falling in mid-January every year."Chandrakanthalu" literally means "rays of the moon", and rightly so:Inside the crispy brown shell,
,you will see a nice,off-white colour to it.So without much ado,here is the recipe:

Ingredients:2 Cups yellow split moong dal(Pesarapappu)

2 Cups sugar

1 Cup fresh(preferable) or dry coconut,shredded/grated

5-6 pods of green cardamom(Elaichi)

Oil,to deep-fry

Method: Soak the dal for 30 mins in water.Drain and grind coarsely,without using much water.

Smear a plate with ghee and keep it aside.

Now put the sugar into a thick bottomed pan and add 1/2 cup water and put on heat.Let the sugar ,melt and form a one string syrup.Add the ground dal into this sugar syrup.Make a powder of the cardamom and keep aside.

Once you add the dal to the sugar syrup,you have to keep stirring so it does not stick to the bottom and burn.Anything in sugar syrup tends to burn quickly.Once the mass thickens and forms a mass around the mixing spoon,add the elaichi powder and coconut along with 2 teaspoons of ghee.Mix well and immediately pour into the prepared tray or plate.Smoothen with a flat spoon and let it cool for 2 mins.Mark into squares with a knife ,wiping the knife every so often.

Let the pieces cool completely.Now Heat oil in a deep pan and deep fry these pieces till golden brown.Care has to be taken while frying because they tend to stick to the bottom of the pan,so keep stirring all the while when frying.Once they start to brown,keep a close eye and take out as soon as they turn a nice golden brown.As they already have sugar,they will tend to burn easily.Drain on paper towels and serve immediately or at least on the same day.They do keep well for at least 4 days but are best eaten immediately.

Yield:About 64 pieces,1 cm thick and 1 inch square.


My Notes:I used dry coconut in this.I have made these numerous times now, and find that even of the soaked dal is ground fine,these turn out fine.So don;t worry if you have ground the dal too fine.Only thing to keep in mind is that the texture should be like a halwa when you take it into the prepared plate.While frying,some pieces may develop cracks over the surface but that does not affect the taste in the least.So,enjoy!These would go perfectly well with a cup of authentic andhra filter coffee, or even Asha's Masala Chai.



16 comments:

Seema Bhat said...

Vini, Chandrakanthalu looks yummy. I love the rich color of this sweet.Thanx for sharing
Seema

FH said...

Looks delicious.I have heard of 'Chandrakala" sweet in B'lore ,must be this is it! But I have never tasted it though.Thanks for this.

USHA said...

Hi Vini,

Awesome sweet, you know one i'm from Andhra(Rayalaseema) only, but heard about this from my telugu friends even.

Ok might be it is familiar in coastal side.....Whatever Vini..thanks for sharing such a tasty sweet with us....with good explanation.

Bong Mom said...

Looks delicious. Almost like the Moong Dal burfis in my blog but in our case we boil the dal whereas you grind it
Great start to the New Year

swapna susarla said...

hai vini
so here u are,
chandrakantalu..looking so tasty...i am missing them..:-(
nice picture..

Mythreyee said...

thats a wonderful recipe to try. thanks for sharing.

Anjali Koli said...

Vini this is a new twist I'm learning frying the moong dal halwa. Looks yummy. Will try soon. Thanks

Dr. Soumya Bhat said...

Hi vani.I have never seen or tasted this .Its entirly new to me.I like to try something new.Thanks for sharing.

TNL said...

This is so new to me....and what a nice name for it...looks great, Vini.

Trupti

Anonymous said...

Hi Vani,
Your sweet looks very yummy. I have never heard of this sweet before.I am not very good at making sweets, especially the ones which need to be cut into cakes. I never get the consistency!!:-(( but, your description of the process makes me want to try it since it looks like it is a pretty fail proof recipe. Thanks for sharing, Nalini

Viji said...

Viji, the sweet looks so yummy. Something new for us and good presentation. Tks for sharing. Viji

Anonymous said...

I have had this before at a friends place and I loved it!!!! Thanks for sharing it :)

www.mykhazanaofrecipes.wordpress.com

archana said...

What a lovely name for a sweet ! ! I have never heard of this before, have book marked it for trying. Thank you for the recipe.

Suma Gandlur said...

Vini,
I have this recipe from a long time from Malathi Chandur's book. I thought it was difficult since I need to add only a little water. Your recipe gave me confidence.It is now, under my must try list.
And also I noticed lot of baked goodies in your blog.wow!!!
I am a new blogger and got to explore your blog for the first time today. I am going to add your blog to my list of fellow bloggers for sure.

Vini K said...

Seema,Asha,Usha,thanks a lot.Do try this one.

Sandeepa,Swapna,Mythreyee,thanks dear.Swapna,shall I send you courier?

Anjali,Soumya,Trupti,thank you.try it.

Nalini,this is not too difficult.try it,i am sure you iwll be abe to get it right.

Viji,Rooma,thanks dears.

Archana,do try this.Very yummy.

Suma,welcome to my blog.Thanks for adding me to your blog.I will do the same.I have heard of Malathi chandur but never read anything by her.Will visit you soon!

Viji said...

Hi Vini,
Its a new sweet dish to me.I will try it soon.Thanks for sharing.