Bora (बोरं)

Wishing the followers and readers a very Happy and prosperous Diwali from Amu’s Recipes. This time I am posting a lost recipe from Konkan region called – Bora, which was commonly made during Diwali in Konkan.

Bora is a recipe from Konkan region of Maharashtra. These are made during Diwali in rural areas of Konkan. As narrated by my grandmother, in olden days, while Diwali faraal was made for home consumption , Bora were made for distributing to under-privileged people who used to visit home for alms.  Even though these were made for distribution, children at home used to love this snack like anything.  The children while going out for playing used to fill up their pockets with Bora and eat these between breaks. 

Serving:  40-45 Pieces

Approx. Time:  30-40 minutes 

Ingredients

1 cup Rice Flour

1 tbspn Sesame Seeds

½ cup scrapped fresh Coconut

¼ tspn Cardamom Powder

A pinch of Salt

1 tbpsn Ghee (for Moan)

¾ cup Jaggery

¼ cup Hot Water (Approx.)

Oil / Ghee for frying

Method

To make Jaggery Syrup:

Heat some water till it starts boiling. Turn off the flame. Then take Jaggery in a mixing bowl and add approximately quarter cup of hot water in it. Jaggery starts melting. Stir the mixture to make Jaggery Syrup. Set it aside for cooling to be used while kneading the dough. 

To make Bora:

Take Sesame Seeds in a pan and dry roast it for 2-3 minutes on medium flame. Transfer it in a bowl. Similarly dry roast Rice flour for approximately 3-4 minutes on medium flame and transfer it in a separate bowl. Also dry roast scrapped Coconut on medium flame till it becomes dry and starts releasing aroma. Set it aside for cooling. 

Take a mixing bowl and add the dry roasted Rice flour, dry roasted Sesame seeds, dry roasted scrapped Coconut, Cardamom Powder and Salt.  Mix it well. Simultaneously heat Ghee in a pan and pour it on the mixture. Again mix well. Now start adding  Jaggery Syrup to the mixture. Knead it into a dough of medium  to hard consistency. Rest the dough for 20-30 minutes. Then make tiny balls of the dough with the help of palms of your hand. 

Heat Oil or Ghee in a frying pan. Once the oil/ghee is hot, turn the flame to low and deep fry the balls till it changes the colour to golden brown. Transfer the balls on an absorbent paper. Store it in an air-tight container. It has a shelf life for 1-2 weeks. 

Notes

1. In an alternate method, equal quantity of Rice flour and wheat flour is used to make this recipe instead of using only the Rice flour.
2. Instead of making Jaggery Syrup, you may add grated Jaggery to the mixture. However in this case you may have to use warm water to knead the dough.
3. Moan of Oil may be used instead of Ghee. 
4. Few people also skip usage of Coconut. Instead an additional teaspoon of roasted Sesame Seeds is used. 

Stepwise Pictures

Mawa Modak

Mawa Modak is not a traditional recipe, but it is an interesting twist to the conventional shape of traditional Maharashtrian sweet - Pedha. Traditionally, Mawa Modak / Pedhas were made by reducing milk. Full fat milk is cooked on low flame till it is reduced to 20-25% of its original quantity. The resultant product is called Mawa / Khava / Khoya / Milk Fudge. But nowadays it is made from readily available Mawa. This is a simpler version, and can be prepared in few minutes. Please do prepare this sweet for Ganpati Bappa and take his blessings.

Serving:  18-20 Pieces

Approx. Time:  10 minutes (Preparation) 10 minutes (Cooking) 

Ingredients

250 gm Mawa (Milk fudge / Khoya / Khawa)

200 gm Sugar

1 tspn Kesar Elaichi Syrup (Syrup of Saffron & Cardamom Powder)

1/2 tspn Nutmeg Powder

Method-I (Traditional Method)

Combine the Milk fudge and Sugar in a bowl and set it aside for 3-4 hours. The Sugar gets dissolved in Milk fudge to certain extent. Transfer the mixture of Milk Fudge and Sugar in a non-stick pan. Cook the mixture on low to medium heat, stirring continuously. The mixture will become liquid in the beginning. Cook till the mixture thickens (approximately ten minutes) and begins to leave the sides of the Pan. While stirring the spatula in the mixture, you will feel the thickness of the mixture. Turn off the flame. Add the Kesar Elaichi Syrup and Nutmeg Powder and mix well. Transfer it in a separate dish and set aside till it thickens. Stir until it cools down and is not too hot to knead. 

Now knead the mixture if required. To make Modak, take a small lemon sized ball and give it a cylindrical shape. Ensure that the Modak mould is stuffed entirely, especially the top of the mould. Press the mould gently. Thereafter, open it gently remove the Modaks from the mould. Store it in a container as it has shelf life of a week

Method-II (Microwave Method)

Take the Sugar in a grinder and make fine powder. Once done, pass the Sugar powder through a siever. Then combine the Milk fudge and Sugar in a bowl and set it aside for 3-4 hours. The Sugar gets mixed in Milk fudge to certain extent. Transfer the mixture of Milk Fudge and Sugar in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave  it for a minute. Remove the  bowl from microwave and stir the mixture. Then place the bowl back in the microwave and again microwave it for a minute. Repeat the same process 2-3 times till the mixture thickens. Then add the Kesar Elaichi Syrup and Nutmeg Powder to the mixture and mix. Take the mixture in a separate dish and set aside for cooling till it become warm enough to touch.

Now knead the mixture if required. To make Modak, take a small lemon sized ball and give it a cylindrical shape. Ensure that the Modak mould is stuffed entirely, especially the top of the mould. Press the mould gently. Thereafter, open it gently remove the Modaks from the mould. Store it into a container as it has shelf life of a week. 

Notes

1. If the mixture of Milk fudge and Sugar is over cooked then it becomes hard. In this case you may add some milk to the mixture and re-heat it for some time. 
2. Alternatively, if the mixture has loose consistency, then add some powdered Sugar to the mixture. If the mixture is already very sweet, then you may add some Milk powder or Cashew Powder / Almond Powder to adjust the consistency.
3. The Kesar Elaichi Syrup gives colour to Modak. In case of non-availability of the Syrup, you may add Saffron soaked in milk to the mixture. Addition of yellow food colour along with the Saffron gives nice colour to the final product. 
4. The cooking of Sugar and Milk fudge together instead of cooking the fudge separately increases the shelf life of Modak. However, if you like soft Modaks you may cook the Milk fudge in the beginning and then add Sugar Powder and other flavours at the end. 

Stepwise Pictures