Sughiyan - A green gram sweet

Yesterday while carrying out my periodic inspections on pantry, I found two balls of jaggery.... and I just had to use it... I looove most of the things sweet... And my darling hubby is a great fan of deep fried snacks... 
First combination that came to my mind was that of sughiyan... sweet and deep fried... :) Decision was made... 
Before moving to the recipe, theres just one more thing to be said...
This was the first time I was making this on my own, and also the first time I was eating this with my hubby... I had just finished making it when he reached... And he exclaimed.. " You made modakam!!"... Apparently, this is called modakam in some parts of Kerala....


With the below quantities, I made 8 medium sized balls.

Ingredients:

Green gram - half a cup
Jaggery melted - half a cup
Coconut grated - half a cup
Cardamom powdered - a teaspoon
All purpose flour - half a cup
Salt - a pinch
Baking powder - a pinch (optional)
Turmeric powder - a pinch (optional)
Cumin seeds - a pinch (optional)
Oil for deep fry

Method:

Cook the green gram until soft. Drain and keep aside. Pour the melted jaggery into a pan. When its hot, add grated coconut and stir well. After couple of mins, add the cooked green gram. Keep stirring until the mixture is 95% dry. Our idea is to make small balls out of this mixture. The moisture should be just enough to bind them into a ball. When ready add cardamom powder, mix and let it cool. 


To make the batter: 
Mix the flour and salt (Also the optional ingredients, if you choose). Add water to make a thick batter without lumps. Adding turmeric gives a yellow tint, skip if you are not keen on yellow. Adding baking powder makes the covering soft, when cool and crisp when hot. This was told by a relative. I have not validated this statement myself. And cumin seeds were added for two reasons...one i love the flavour when its deep fried, two it helps prevent gas..

When the mix is cool enough to handle, make balls of any size you like. Heat oil in your deep fry pan. Dip the balls in the batter, make sure its fully coated and then fry till golden brown. Turn around the balls to ensure its cooked evenly.
And we are done ! 

Tips/Variations:

Most varieties of jaggery have some salt in them, thats the reason i dint add salt to the mix. You could taste it add a pinch if required.
You could substitute jaggery with sugar, but both varieties taste considerably different.


Enjoy :)