As we enter the new year, the first festival of the season is on its way. It’s called Lohri in the North, Pongal in the South, Makar Sankranti in the Western parts, and Uttarayan in Gujarat, but all the same in the end, a celebration to welcome the end of winter and the coming of warmer days. It marks the transition of the Sun in Capricorn and is celebrated as When celebrating Makar Sankranti, sweets are must-have for every household and in Rajasthan, Churma is one of the favourites.
According to legend, Churma was invented completely by accident when a chef from the Guhilot clan of the Mewars spilt sugarcane juice on some freshly cooked baatis which made themes oft, sweet and soggy. The Guhilot women really took to this new type of baati and started soaking them in a mixture of water and jaggery or sugarcane to make the otherwise hard balls soft and moist. Eventually, the soggy baatis began to crumble and they mixed in cardamom, dry fruits and nuts and sugar to make the churma we know today.
This delectable sweet is usually served with dal and baati, but can be eaten alone or even made into laddoos.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 4 tbsp semolina (rawa/suji)
- Milk as required
- ¾ cup jaggery
- ¼ tsp green cardamom powder
- Cashew Nuts
- Almonds
- Raisins
- Ghee
Method:
- In a bowl, mix the flour and semolina together.
- Melt the ghee and add about half a cup to the mixture.
- Add some milk and knead into a stiff dough.
- Divide this dough into equal sized balls.
- In a kadhai, add a few inches of ghee and heat it on a medium flame.
- Fry the dough until evenly browned on all sides.
- Let them cool on a paper towel and then grind them in a mixer until they turn into a fine powder.
- Add some jaggery powder, cardamom nuts and raisins as per your taste and mix well.
- Drizzle with more melted ghee and serve warm.
