Delicious and finger licking good Suji Manda Pithas, deep fried semolina dumplings stuffed with coconut and jaggery…authentic and traditional Pitha made in festivals and special occasions in Odisha.
For preparing the dough we need to take water, salt, sugar and cardamom in a heavy bottomed pan and boil till the sugar dissolves.
Add 1 tbsp Ghee, lower the flame and slowly add the Suji or Rawa stirring constantly so that lumps are not formed.Keep stirring till the mixture becomes a thick and lumpy mass and is sticky. This will take around 2 minutes and the hand starts aching due to continuous stirring.
Take it off from the flame and keep it aside till the mix is warm and easy to work on.
Meanwhile add 1 tbsp ghee to a heated pan and fry the fresh grated coconut on low flame till light brown.
Add the jaggery, cardamom and black pepper powder and fry till the jaggery melts and coats the coconut flakes.
Finally add the cashew and raisins and fry the mix for a minute and switch off the flame.
Take 1 tbsp ghee, add it to the warm outer covering mix and knead it to form a dough.
Make equal sized balls from the dough, flatten it on your Palm, make a depression and stuff some coconut filling in it.
Then close it from all sides making a ball, flatten it a little bit with the palm of your hand. If you flatten it more in the shape of a Kachori it is called a Suji Kakara.
Form Mandas with the rest of the dough and stuffing and deep fry them in hot ghee or oil till golden brown.
Recipe Notes
While continuously stirring the Suji or Rawa for the dough you have to mix it fast as there’s a chance of lumps being formed.
Make sure you deep fry the rounders in medium flame till golden brown, continuously monitoring it .If you leave them in low flame for a longer time the crust tends to become hard.