Hesaru Bele Payasa (Moong dal kheer) for Maha Shivaratri

When we were kids, Shivaratri was a festival we looked forward to especially to the night long fun with friends in the name of Jagarane. One of my elementary school friends lived in a street that used to get very active during Shivaratri. Hearing her brag about it every time, I had convinced my parents to let me go there once. Lot of kids of different ages congregated in the evening and after dutifully saying some prayers, we all  split into different age groups and played games. The night started with very active games but as everyone became tired and sleepy, it mellowed down. There was a collective snack area with cucumber slices, puri/puffed rice, sweets, savories etc from different houses available to all of us. We ate, played and slept by 1 or 2am returning home after sun rise.

As kids, we were not keen on the Upavasa or fasting part of Shivaratri, at home nammamma kept fast the whole day breaking it by eating only a sample of prasada in the night after pooja.

Shivaratri is celebrated when India is already into Summer and as befits the Lord, the offerings are very simple unlike most other Indian festivals where food takes the center stage. Typical fare on Shivaratri day would consist of gojjavalakki (tamarind poha), payasa (kheer), kosambari (salad) and tambittu (sweet made with rice powder, jaggery). I made only hesaru bele (moong dal) payasa and kosambari (salad with cucumber) for the naivedya (offering to God) today.

Moong dal is known for its cooling effect on the body, boiled to tender in milk and mixed with jaggery, it is one of the easy to make and delicious sweets and happens to be my daughter's favorite. Kosambari is a very popular salad and can be made in many different variations. The kannadiga kosambaris usually have raw soaked lentils (either moong dal or chana dal) with either finely chopped cucumbers or grated carrots along with fresh grated coconuts and a seasoning to bring out the flavors.

What do you need to make Hesaru Bele Payasa? 
1 cup hesaru bele/moong dal
3 cups milk (I used whole milk)
1/2 cup water
1.5 cups of grated jaggery or brown sugar
1 small piece of cinnamon
1 Tsp cardamom powder

Seasoning: 
1 Tsp ghee/clarified butter
1 Tblsp raisins
1 Tblsp broken cashew nuts

How do you make Hesaru bele payasa? 

• Wash the dal in running water, bring it to boil in 1/2 cup water and 1 cup milk on medium heat.
• Boil the dal  along with the cinnamon piece until it is tender and just starts to open up.
• Add the remaining milk and jaggery, let the mixture boil for about 15-20 minutes until the milk thickens and a uniform consistency is formed.
• Add the cardamom powder and switch off. 

• Prepare seasoning - heat the ghee, add raisins and cashew pieces and fry till raisins plump up and cashew turns light brown. 
• Mix the seasoning in to the payasa, it should of pouring consistency.
• Serve hot or cold, it tastes great both ways. 

We had ours with the cucumber kosambari after the naivedya this evening. 

Here is a beautiful description of Shivaratri by Swamy Chinmayananda:  
“Have you observed nature? She specializes in destroying, but her destructions are always constructive destructions; the bud is destroyed when the flower blooms, the flower fades when the fruit emerges, the fruit decays when the seeds are scattered and the seeds decay when the plants sprout! The process of constructive destruction IS ‘SIVA’. Thus Sivarathri means the EGO is destroyed in the discovery of the Divine!


Sattvaa wishes every one a very Happy Maha Shivaratri

Kalakand - Perfect sweet for celebrations

There was (is?) a bakery/sweet shop in Rajajinagar I block in Bengaluru called Eishwarya sweets, he had an upstairs kitchen where he prepared fresh, delicious sweets and savories. I had tasted kalakand for the first time here with BH. The store has morphed a lot and the last time I saw, it still was on the same street, but looking very different and modernized :-). I also like the kalakand you get at Asha sweets in Malleswaram, Bengaluru (very close to the famous Malleswaram 8th street), it is a narrow, small shop always crowded and has one of the best kalakand I have tasted. Years back during my IISc days, I used to get rasgollas packed in earthen pots and take it home to Mysore for my little nephew. I visited the store with daughter & a friend last summer and fell in love with their delicious Badami haalu (almond milk).

Kalakand is BH's favorite sweet, and we usually end up getting some fresh kalakand along with other goodies every time we visit India. The simplicity of the sweet is in the number of ingredients it uses - just two if you don't count the lemon/lime juice for making the paneer. The process is time consuming but the end result is extremely gratifying. There is not much chance you will miss the consistency like the traditional burfis, so it is a beginner friendly recipe. The milky richness makes it a perfect dessert for any occasion.

So here goes a perfect bite of Kalakand to wish BH many many Happy returns of the day as he turns another year wiser & older. 

What do you need to make Kalakand? 
6 cups whole milk for paneer
6 cups whole milk for the khova
Juice of 1 lemon/lime
1 cup sugar (adjust if you like it more or less sweet)
chopped unsalted pistachio/slivered almonds for garnish (optional - I didn't use it)

How do you make Kalakand? 
Making Paneer:

• Take 6 cups of milk in a thick bottom pan, bring it to boil.
• Add the lemon juice and let the milk curdle. 
• When you see milk & whey separating in the pan, switch off the stove and let it settle for 2 minutes. 
• Pour the curdled milk into a cheese cloth (I used a new thin white towel) and let the water drain away.
• Wash the mixture by running water on it to remove the lemony flavor, squeeze the cloth tightly and hang it for about 5 minutes. 
• Crumble the paneer and keep it aside.

Making Khova:

• Take 6 cups of milk in a thick bottom pan on medium heat. 
• Frequently stirring the milk to ensure it doesn't burn, until it reduces to about 1/3rd of the original quantity. 
• Keep breaking the layers of milk that forms at the top and mix it in. 
• The process took an hour and half for the quantity I made today. 

Making kalakand:

• When the khova is ready, add the crumbled paneer and sugar.
• Frequently stir on low heat until all the water content evaporates. It took 15 minutes for the quantity I made today.
• Pour into a plate in a thick (atleast an inch) layer and spread it evenly.
• Garnish with nuts, I didn't do it as we like the pure taste of the milk with no make up.
• Let it cool completely before cutting into pieces. I made 12 pieces of 2X2X2 inches.

Tips:

• Use whole milk for the rich taste.
• If you like the hint of lemon juice in kalakand, skip washing the paneer with water.
• Do not take short cuts and use store bought paneer in this recipe. The dish gets the tasty glow from fresh paneer. Actually making paneer is a very fulfilling experience and I hit that high note every time I open the cheese cloth and see the perfect ball of paneer staring at me :-), take a look at it below..