NARKOL NARU(COCONUT BALLS)

NARKOL NARU / COCONUT BALLS are too pious for us; specially made during the festive season. It is first offered to God before we consume. There are a couple of variety, the ones made with jaggery,  sugar & milk being the most common.

Whenever I sit to make this prosperity balls, it brings back a lot of memories. Nowadays with shredded coconut available in the market, it has become easy to make these sweet, coconut balls. But this was not the scene 30-35 years back. It was quite a complex process.

Our maternal grandpa had 13 coconut trees surrounding his garden. In our country, there are specially trained people to get those coconuts down the trees and get rid of the the hard outer cover. After this, my grandma and other elderly ladies took charge of the whole process, from breaking the coconuts to making of the balls. Later, our mother too did it the same way. The red balls are made with jaggery and the white ones I have made with semi-solidified milk & sugar. 

INGREDIENTS : (for the coconut balls with jaggery)

Shredded Coconut: 250 gm
Sugarcane Jaggery : 125 gm (I used a healthier variety of Coconut Rock Sugar)
Camphor : 1 small tablet powdered (can use 1/4 tsp green cardamom powder instead)
Water : 1 small tea cup sized

METHOD :

Put a wok on the gas top. Once heated, pour the water and the jaggery. Let the jaggery melt at medium heat. Once it melts, lower the gas. 

Meanwhile, you can blend the shredded coconut to a fine paste with very little water; I did not. 

Keep stirring the jaggery, else it may burn. When the jaggery would get a bit sticky, add the shredded coconut. Mix very well, add the camphor tablet. Keep on stirring till the water from the coconut starts drying up and get sticky. When the mixture will seem coming out from the sides of the wok, it's ready.

Transfer into a  plate. Let it cool a bit but not fully. Apply little oil on your both palms. While the coconut mix is still warm, take little by little on your both palms and shape into smooth, round balls.

Please note, the camphor is to add a distinct flavour to the coconut balls. You may skip it if you don't want.

INGREDIENTS : (for the coconut balls with sugar & milk)

Shredded Coconut : 250 gm
Milk : 200-250 ml

Milk Powder : 2 tbsp

Sugar : 6-7 tbsp [ I used healthier Brown Sugar]

Ghee : 1 tbsp
Camphor : 1 tablet powdered (can alternate with 1/4 tsp green cardamom powder)

METHOD :

Put the wok on your gas stove. Mix together the ghee, milk & milk powder well. Pour it on a wok and put the wok on the gas top. Keep stirring while its boiling. Within 10-12 minutes, it will turn creamier while we stir continuously.

You can blend the shredded coconut into a paste with little water; I did not. Add the shredded coconut to the wok. Add the camphor powder. Keep stirring till the mixture gets sticky.

Transfer into a plate. Let cool a bit. Shape into smooth round balls while they are still warm. Applying oil on your palms will help to shape them better.