Chandrakala

Chandrakala is a very elegant and royal Indian sweet usually made during Diwali and Holi in North India. With a lot of variation it is also made in Maharashtra and south Indian States. It is quite similar to the humble Gujiya but richer in taste and looks. Unlike the Gujiya, it is round in shape and hence the name Chandrakala.

The outer covering is made of maida and the filling is a mix of dry fruits and mava. It is fried and then dipped in sugar syrup. It is also rightly called Rasbhari Chandrakala because when you bite into it you can taste the sugar syrup and sometimes it might drip down also. Making Chandrakala is an art, but with a little patience you can sail through this process easily .

Yield: 25 to 30
Prep time: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients for Chandrakala

For the dough
500 grams maida (All purpose Flour)
150 grams (3/4 cup) ghee (clarified butter)
Water as required

For the filling / stuffing

400 grams khoya/mava
1 tablespoon ghee
2 teaspoon Powdered sugar
2 tablespoon Cashew nuts cut into small pieces
2 tablespoon kishmish (Raisins)
2 tablespoon badam (almonds) cut into small piece
4 tablespoon grated Dry coconut
2 tablespoon Chironji
2 tablespoon khuskhus (poppy seeds)
1 teaspoon Elaichi (cardamom powder)

For the Sugar syrup
500 grams sugar
300 ml of water
A few strands of saffron

Ghee for frying
Pista finely chopped and Silver Varq for garnishing

Directions for Chandrakala

You may also view our VIDEO on making of Chandrakala!

The dough

Melt the ghee. Pour on the maida.
Mix well and by adding water, make a semi soft dough.
Cover with a wet cloth and keep to rest for at least 20 minutes.

The filling

Dry roast lightly – Cashew nuts, almonds, chiroonji, khuskhus and coconut one by one and keep in a bowl to cool.
Heat ghee in a pan and roast the khoya lightly. Let it Cool.
Now mix all the ingredients of filling together.

Sugar syrup

Combine sugar and water in a broad pot or pan . Once it starts boiling lower the heat and let it boil for 5 minutes.
The syrup should be of ½ string consistency. (That is, if you rub between your thumb and first finger it should not form like a string but should feel a little sticky)
Add a few strands of saffron and set aside.

How to proceed

Knead the dough and divide it into 50 to 60 portions. Make balls and flatten them.
Roll them like very small poori’s. (2 poori’s are required for 1 chandrakala)
Put a spoon full of filling and moisten all around the edges with water and maida paste.
Cover with another poori. Press to seal so that the filling does not come out while frying.
Now twist the edges with your thumb and first finger.
Fill all the poori’s like this.
Heat ghee on medium heat and slide the prepared chandrakalas in batches of 5 to 6 depending on the size of the frying pan.
Once they start to puff up reduce the heat to low and fry till light brown.
Drain and dip in the prepared syrup.
After five minutes turn so that the other side is also coated with the syrup.
Take out from the syrup on a plate.
Similarly fry all and soak in the syrup.

Garnishing

Decorate each chandrakala with a small piece of silver varq on top and sprinkle a little chopped pista.
Your Royal looking and very tasty traditional sweet is ready to be served.

Enjoy….