(Amma Cooks) Munthiri Kothu / Roasted Green gram balls ~ Diwali Sweet Recipes

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Munthiri kothu is a festive sweet that finds its roots in the kitchens of Kanyakumari district. Back home, any festival or grand occasion is not complete without this authentic sweet. Why this name, I am not sure. I know that kothu means group and this is made in groups of three but munthiri (which means cashews) I just can't understand why that was put in there. BTW, no cashews are added. Anyone who knows why do tell me.
My association with this sweet is right from my childhood, right from days as old as my memories can take me. Amma makes this sweet for every Diwali and I still remember the Saturdays and Sundays when me and bhaiyya used to roll the green gram balls that makes the stuffing. The soft and sweet stuffing and the contradictory hard shell is a pleasure to much on. Whenever I go to my mom's native my ammamma (grandma) makes it a point that we return back laden with these sweets. Having a bite of this sweet brings back good old memories and is love in every bite for me.
P.S. This sweet even has a wikipedia page on its own. Check what they tell here.

Traditional recipes should never die and we need to keep the ball rolling and so I jot down all the recipes from amma. Some day down the lane, I might try this and my kid might get a chance to taste them. And so here is one...

~*What U Need*~ Green gram - 1 cup Ghee - 1 tsp Jaggery - 1/2 cup Water - 2-3 tbsp Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup Ground ginger - 1/8 tsp Cardamom - 2 Rice flour - 1/4 cup Salt - a pinch Turmeric powder - a pinch Water - 1/4 cup (or to bring to idli batter consistency) Oil

How I Made it:
Wash and dry the whole moong dhal. Heat ghee in a wide pan and roast the dhal till you get a nice aroma and it turns brown in color. Remove and cool. Grind to a coarse powder and set aside. In a sauce pan, heat jaggery with 2 tbsps of water until jaggery melts. Remove from the fire and strain to remove the impurities and set aside. Dry roast the coconut till golden brown. Return the jaggery syrup to the heat and reduce for another 3 mins. Add coconut and powdered green gram and mix well. Remove from heat. When the mixture is cool enough to touch, make lemon-sized balls and set aside. Now place this in a paper with enough space in between the balls, keep under the fan and dry for 1 day. This procedure gives long shelf life. When you are ready to fry them, mix rice flour with salt, turmeric powder, salt and water till you get an idli batter consistency. Heat oil in a deep pan and when hot enough, dip each ball into the batter and fry in the oil. This is usually done in group of threes and hence the name kothu (..means groups). Once evely fried, remove and drain in a tissue paper. Store in air tight containers.

Serve with tea!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!

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