Jangiri is DH's favorite sweet. It is true that he is not a great fan of sweets, but turns out he just loves this one. So I set out to make this one at home for Diwali. Honestly, I wasn't comfortable making jangiri at home. Ok, I know that is not a good line for any self-respecting food blogger to say. But hey, I am a regular home-cook first and then comes food blogging. But being a food blogger has its own perks. I dare to try new recipes with loads of inspiration from my fellow bloggers and I am happy I tried this one. At the end of the day, the thing that made me happy was a thumbs-up from my DH.
Also I have compiled a list of FAQs at the end, for newbies at Jangiri-making like me.
Ingredients:
Recipe Source - Grandma;
Makes - about 40 medium sized jangiris; Measurements in standard (240 ml) cups
Whole Urad Dhal (Gota) - 1 cup
Raw rice - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Lemon juice - a few drops
Orange food color - a pinch
Oil - for deep frying
Method:
The batter:
Wash and soak urad dhal and rice in water for 2 hours. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of water. Use a wet grinder and grind the drained urad dhal to a smooth paste, sprinkling about few tbsps of the reserved water for about 3-4 times. The whole batter should be ready in about 30-40 minutes. The batter would be fluffy and should float to top when dropped in a bowl of water.
The sugar syrup:
Melt the sugar and water over medium heat in a wide bowl. When the sugar dissolves completely and starts to bubble up, remove from heat and add a few drops of lemon juice and orange food color. Mix and set aside.
The piping:
Line a plate with parchment paper. Fill a plastic bag (ziptop) with the batter and make a small slit in one of the corners for piping.
Remove the batter from the grinder to a bowl and mix the orange food color. Take a plate and try piping jangiri patterns on it for practice. Unlike murukku you would have to pipe jangiris directly into the oil. Do not worry if you do not get the patterns right, just go for a mini jangiri version which is just a free form pattern.
The frying:
Heat oil in a wide shallow fry pan for deep frying. The oil should only be an inch in depth in the pan. When the oil starts to emit small bubbles, pipe the jangiris into the oil. Always have the oil in medium heat. Flip and continue to fry until the bubbles around the jangiris are almost gone.
The Sweetening:
When the jangiris are fried and crispy, drain completely with a slotted spoon and transfer to the sugar syrup. Use a wooden spoon and press them slightly for about a few seconds, then flip over. Remove after 2 minutes and plate in the parchment lined plate. Allow a standing time of 1 hour for best taste.
FAQs on Jangiri:
Why is rice added when making jangiri?
Rice is added to give body and a slight crispness to the jangiri.
Why is lemon juice added to the sugar syrup?
Lemon juice is added to prevent the sugar from crystallising.
What is the best way to pipe a jangiri?
Traditionally a thick cloth is used with a hole in the center. This hole is generally secured with an overlock stitch to prevent further tearing. For one time use you could use a ziploc bag with a corner cut, like mehndi cone or a ketchup bottle. Personally the ketchup bottle squeezing did not work for me since the air filled in the ketchup bottle while squeezing does not have a means to escape.
Why is my jangiri light in color?
Not enough food color or not properly fried.
Why is my jangiri soggy/floppy?
Not properly fried. Though the frying temperature of the oil should be low it should not be too low. Like any other fried food, low temperature of the oil makes the food absorb more oil and become soggy.
Another reason the jangri turns out soggy is because the dough is watery. Add couple of teaspoons of rice flour and try again.
Why is my jangiri too crispy?
There could be two possible reasons. One, the jangiri is too thin, meaning the pipe thickness is too thin. Or, It hasn't soaked enough time in the syrup to become soft.
Linking this up to Vegan Thursdays.
Also I have compiled a list of FAQs at the end, for newbies at Jangiri-making like me.
Recipe Source - Grandma;
Makes - about 40 medium sized jangiris; Measurements in standard (240 ml) cups
Whole Urad Dhal (Gota) - 1 cup
Raw rice - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Lemon juice - a few drops
Orange food color - a pinch
Oil - for deep frying
Method:
The batter:
Wash and soak urad dhal and rice in water for 2 hours. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of water. Use a wet grinder and grind the drained urad dhal to a smooth paste, sprinkling about few tbsps of the reserved water for about 3-4 times. The whole batter should be ready in about 30-40 minutes. The batter would be fluffy and should float to top when dropped in a bowl of water.
The sugar syrup:
Melt the sugar and water over medium heat in a wide bowl. When the sugar dissolves completely and starts to bubble up, remove from heat and add a few drops of lemon juice and orange food color. Mix and set aside.
The piping:
Line a plate with parchment paper. Fill a plastic bag (ziptop) with the batter and make a small slit in one of the corners for piping.
Remove the batter from the grinder to a bowl and mix the orange food color. Take a plate and try piping jangiri patterns on it for practice. Unlike murukku you would have to pipe jangiris directly into the oil. Do not worry if you do not get the patterns right, just go for a mini jangiri version which is just a free form pattern.
The frying:
Heat oil in a wide shallow fry pan for deep frying. The oil should only be an inch in depth in the pan. When the oil starts to emit small bubbles, pipe the jangiris into the oil. Always have the oil in medium heat. Flip and continue to fry until the bubbles around the jangiris are almost gone.
The Sweetening:
When the jangiris are fried and crispy, drain completely with a slotted spoon and transfer to the sugar syrup. Use a wooden spoon and press them slightly for about a few seconds, then flip over. Remove after 2 minutes and plate in the parchment lined plate. Allow a standing time of 1 hour for best taste.
Why is rice added when making jangiri?
Rice is added to give body and a slight crispness to the jangiri.
Why is lemon juice added to the sugar syrup?
Lemon juice is added to prevent the sugar from crystallising.
What is the best way to pipe a jangiri?
Traditionally a thick cloth is used with a hole in the center. This hole is generally secured with an overlock stitch to prevent further tearing. For one time use you could use a ziploc bag with a corner cut, like mehndi cone or a ketchup bottle. Personally the ketchup bottle squeezing did not work for me since the air filled in the ketchup bottle while squeezing does not have a means to escape.
Why is my jangiri light in color?
Not enough food color or not properly fried.
Why is my jangiri soggy/floppy?
Not properly fried. Though the frying temperature of the oil should be low it should not be too low. Like any other fried food, low temperature of the oil makes the food absorb more oil and become soggy.
Another reason the jangri turns out soggy is because the dough is watery. Add couple of teaspoons of rice flour and try again.
Why is my jangiri too crispy?
There could be two possible reasons. One, the jangiri is too thin, meaning the pipe thickness is too thin. Or, It hasn't soaked enough time in the syrup to become soft.
Linking this up to Vegan Thursdays.
looks mouthwatering awesome :)
ReplyDeletewell made kirthi....delicious
ReplyDeleteYou nailed them prefectly Krithi, those jangiris are just catchy.
ReplyDeletePerfectly made. They are my favourite.
ReplyDeleteOn-going event: Dish it out: coconut and sugar/salt