NARKOL SANDESH

 

GOOD OLD DAYS TAKE YOU BACK TO NARU-NIMKI-MIHIDANA-MOYA!

I feel too sad that I had learnt to prepare muri-khoi-chirer moya few years back; now seems I have forgotten that little trick required in the end to bind the grains & cooked jaggery together. I prepare very good Bengali Style muesli but just failing to do a moya / laddu of them. I prefer to prepare the deshi muesli because I can do it with very less amount of sweet! I talk to the mother regular but forget to ask her about the right tricks of moya making, it is the last step I am forgetting. She is a champion with regards to doing moya-naru; the father loved them too much and those was his regular snack. Naru; coconut laddu is what I guess I have learnt to prepare well. Of the few other Bengali TRADITIONAL HOMEMADE SWEETS, I think I can do pretty well this REDUCED MILK & COCONUT SWEET! I did not really do it the traditional way but the end result is as it is; the taste remains the same. Although I took a faster route; it still would require pretty good time. I did it last month and it took about one and half to two hours for the mixture to get ready! Our families use moulds to shape the SANDESH / SWEETS; I am not having the good quality mould and lazy enough to work on it!

MY EATING TRAIL; IT'S ENORMOUS!

What I am eating since the last 24 hours is enormous. My problem is I cannot avoid the carb intake. I have to have my parathas, potatoes, rice and the list is endless. It was a Sunday yesterday; as per the intermittent fasting rules; I started eating post 1 pm and thereafter, it went on! I had no plan to go out of the home. I went for a walk as I wished to get something for the man. I always enjoy having something after the completion of my workout. I had that choice meal; they serve you like that, everything dumped together! I had got a lamb chop meal for the man. No other human would have rice after a brunch, I did. I had my rice with a bharta, bhindi bhaja and dal, bliss!

In between, my God family ate some Dragon Fruit for their lunch! 

I had a garlic roll & self made cake with my evening tea; made & served paratha & chicken for dinner to the man. I had the light chicken curry, dal and few pieces of dragon fruit for my dinner! I would want a fruit salad of my choice any day!

My stomach took few hours of rest and again I made a porota & oven cooked, less oil sabudana cutlets for my lunch today. Its a full on carb filled  lunch but I wanted it. I eat what makes me happy!

After 2 hours of that heavy lunch, I made myself a poached egg in the microwave. I think I saw a food channel making it, somewhere in Facebook! I was eager to see if it works! Now having it with a butter-bread!

It did work. I had taken together water & vinegar in a bowl and had gently broken an egg in it. I microwaved it covered, at low for 11/2 minutes. That was a fun activity! I enjoyed a firmer yolk with a soft white layer. You need to cook less time for a runny yolk!

I wished to write less today and share my food adventures with you more! I enjoy exactly this; to stay at home, experiment with food ingredients and eat them. I did something with the dragon fruits, wish to blog about it!

The man is back home early today. Every Monday, he has his Covid-19 test. He is having his Tuna Sandwich lunch now at 6 pm. He has no interest in food; I find it difficult to handle. Tomorrow is a nationwide holiday for HARI RAYA HAJI, let me share a FAMILY BENGALI SWEET RECIPE on the occasion!

WHAT IS THIS NARKOL SANDESH?

WHAT IS NARKOL? NARKOL IS COCONUT; AMONG BENGALIS! WHAT IS SANDESH? IT IS A DRY VARIETY OF SWEET AMONG US! WHAT IS NARKOL SANDESH? NARKOL SANDESH is a HOME STYLE COCONUT SWEET in Bengal. These are not sold in sweet shops; I have remotely seen CHANDRAPULI been sold in few neighbourhood shops. We were never allowed to eat that because the sweet was made at home in moulds. I do not have proper moulds, neither I am artistic or have that patience. The best I can get you is this simplistic shape. I did not have time to experiment; get a vegan & gluten-free version of it. Before that, the authentic BENGALI COCONUT SWEET had to get a place in the blog. The only non-authentic thing in the picture is the garnish of the pumpkin seeds; we do not do it, we do no garnish in this case. Moreover, in the stepwise pictures; you would see I did not prepare the kheer / reduced milk before hand and then proceeded with the recipe, as does the family veterans and serious Bengali Cooks. What I did also took a lot of time, but less than what it takes in my mother's kitchen. There is no one who would take these forward after me; let it be in the Blog!

INGREDIENTS :

FULL CREAM MILK : 1 LITRE

SHREDDED COCONUT : 2-3 COFFEE MUG

SUGAR : 5-6 TBSP [I USED BROWN SUGAR] [IN EITHER CASE USE MORE IF REQUIRED]

GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 11/2 TSP

GHEE / CLARIFIED BUTTER : 2-3 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

We will put the milk for boil and keep the heat at minimal. Every 3-4 minutes, we would give a stir to avoid sticking at the bottom!

When the milk is boiling, we will blend the shredded coconut to a paste adding 1/2 coffee mug of water to it!

Here, I did not follow my family of boiling the milk to a thicker, creamier texture for the purpose. When it has boiled for 14-15 minutes; I had added the coconut paste, sugar, green cardamom powder. I gave a stir.

This would get the milk curdled after few minutes but we need not worry. We will add a table spoon of ghee, give a stir and keep boiling the mixture at minimal heat!

When the liquid dries up a considerable amount; we will increase the heat and continuously stir; else the bottom would burn.

We will add the rest of the ghee and give a stir; the sides should come out and the consistency has to be sticky!

I had turned it onto a plate and cool a bit. We will knead it when its still a little warm. Thereafter, shape them as we wish!

If you have good quality mould, patience & artistic skills; use them and make these look better! The taste remain the same!