By Shweta Jindal
Dec 15, 2016 6 min read

Suryakala

This sweet which is also known as “chandrakala” in UP is better known as “Suryakala” in Andhra Pradesh. There they call “Gujiya” as Chandrakala owing to its crescent moon shape.
I always enjoyed this sweet as a child at my “Nanihal” (my grandmom’s place),since that place is famous for all kind of sweets ,especially “Balushahi” and “Chandrakala”. So making these sweet took me back to the warm cherishing moments I spent in India with my grandparents and maternal uncle-aunts.
But in present , I was inspired by my dear friend “Shipra Gupta” for trying them out at home. Here I would like to share my experience making them.

INGREDIENTS:
1. All purpose Flour (Maida) – 1.5 cups
2. Clarified butter (ghee) – ¹⁄₄ cup
3. Water – ¹⁄₂ cup or as needed

For filling :

Grated Milk solids (Mawa/khoya) – ³⁄₈ cup or 120 grams
Sugar powdered or granular – ¹⁄₃ cup
Pistachios (pista) chopped finely – 2 tbsp
Almonds (badam) chopped finely – 2 tbsp
Cashews (kaju) chopped finely – 2 tbsp
Indian raisins (golden or green kishmish) – 2 tbsp
Cardamom seeds (elaichi dane) – 1 tbsp

For Sugar syrup :
10. Sugar – ³⁄₄ cup
11. Water – ¹⁄₄ cup or just to wet the sugar
12. Cooking oil – 2 cups for deep frying

METHOD:
| Preparation Time : 30 -45 mins | Cooking time : 45-60 mins | Makes 16-17 pieces|

We start by preparing the filling of the chandrakala first. For this lets roast the mawa on medium to low heat in a non-stick pan. I used store-bought Mawa, hence I grated it with grater first. If you are using home-made mawa , no need to grate it. Mawa is ¹⁄₄ of the quantity of the Maida taken.
We roast it till it changes color and little dryer than before. Turn off the heat and let it cool in a bowl. In the meanwhile , prepare all your nuts as you need them. I finely chop all the nuts and raisins so that they are mixed easily in a filling.
While the mawa is cooling, prepare the dough.For this take flour in a tureen (paraat) and add ghee in it. Ghee should be enough to make big crumbles of flour in your hands. This gives the outer layer a flaky and crispy covering. Mix water little by little to form a stiff dough. Dough should be stiffer than the dough made for puris. Cover it with wet cloth and let it rest for 10 mins. Also make flour paste by adding 2 tbsp flour in 2-3 tbsp water.
Now mix the sugar , nuts and mawa together with cardamom seeds to make the filling.
Pinch a portion from the covered dough and roll it in a big vague shape. We need two circles – one big and one small to cut out from the rolled dough. So I took one cookie cutter and one cap of a bottle. You may use any bowl with sharp rims or any glass to do the same job.

Tip: While rolling keep in mind that the rolled portion should not be thinner than ¹⁄₂ cm or it will form a thin covering and a thicker coating of more than 1 cm would give the taste of maida in your mouth.

After cutting the circles from the rolled dough, I rolled them again a little to increase their size and adjust their thickness. Keep the bigger circle in your left palm and add a spoonful of filling in the center with the other.
Place the smaller circle on the top and try to seal it loosely on all sides.Then apply flour paste prepared in step 3 all around the circumference of the bigger circle. Don’t apply more than needed, or it will make the dough soft from the edges.
Now fold the bigger circle inside with a thumb. Pinch it in place and then pick the next pinch and place it over the first pinch. Similarly pinch and fold the whole circumference inside to seal all the edge neatly and tightly.
Tip: Apply thick paste and as little as possible to stick them together. More paste will moist the outer layer and hence could swell up more and open up while frying. Apply with an ice-cream stick for best results.
Heat oil on medium temperature for 2 mins. Similarly make all the suryakalas and keep them ready in a plate. I also made one chandrakala or Gujia. The only difference was that I needed just one circle for making Gujia. After placing the filling in the center,lift one half and stick it to the other side using flour paste or water and then make braid kind of layering by pinching and folding the same way.
Drop in 3-4 pieces at a time and let them puff up slowly to come on the top. If they come up instantly, it means the oil is more hot than needed. Let them cook on one side so that they get crispy ,hard and change color.
Flip them gently using a slotted spoon to the other side and let them fry for 3-4 mins on the other side too. If you see any stuffing coming out from any suryakala ,take it out instantly before it scatters in the oil. The temperature should of the oil should not be so low that they get hardened and the filling come out in the oil or they open up.
After 5-7 mins of deep frying ,take them out with a slotted spoon on a paper towel lined plate. Let them cool in air.
I took less oil than required, hence I got brown spots on top and bottom. For even frying they should be dipped in oil from all sides.
When all the suryakalas are fried, start preparing the sugar syrup. We need to prepare the sugar syrup of 2 thread consistency. So add sugar and half the amount of water in it in a wok (kadhai). Why kadhai? Because it helps in tossing the suryakalas easily in the syrup.
To check the 2 threads , pick the ladle up and drop it back in wok, if it falls back slowly and forms a long thread at the end instead of a drop, it means the syrup is ready. Or drop syrup between your fore-finger and thumb and stretch to check the 2 strings.
Now add 2 to 3 pieces in hot syrup , toss them few times and take them out in a plate. You may grease the plate to avoid sticking later.
Let them cool and then enjoy with other Diwali delicacies . 😉 .