Flavours of spring

Gokul Pithe
Ingredients
 Grated coconut -200 gms
 Khoya-450 gms
Sugar/date palm jaggery-2-1/2 cup
Flour-150 gms
Water- 5 to 6 cups
Ghee-40 gms
Sodium bicarbonate- 1/8 tsp

Method:
 Make sugar syrup by heating 2 cups of sugar with 4 cups of water.
 Allow it to cool. Fry the coconut, khoya and 2 tbsp of sugar together in a pan over medium flame. Stir it continuously.
  To make cakes, roll the mixture into balls and flatten between the palms.
 Make batter by mixing flour, the remaining water, sodium bicarbonate and ghee.
 Heat ghee and coat coconut-milk cakes in the prepared batter.
 Deep fry them until they turn golden brown and immerse in the sugar syrup

Til poli
Ingredients
Sesame seeds -2 cups
Grated jaggery - 2 ½ cups
Maida-1 cup
Wheat flour-1 cup
Oil/ghee-2 tsp

Method:
 Roast the sesame seeds and grind them.
 Mix the jaggery and powdered sesame while adding ghee.
 Knead dough mixing maida, wheat flour, salt and oil. Make small balls and roll them into a round shape of three-inch diameter.
 Fill a bit of the mixture of sesame and jaggery in the rolled out dough. Roll the ball into a round flat shape like a chapatti.
 Roast it with some ghee on a tawa.

Ven Pongal
Ingredients
Moong dal (split green gram)- 1/2 cup
Raw rice (chawal)- 1 cup
Milk-1/2 cup
Ghee-3 tbsp
Black peppercorns (kalimirch)- 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera)- 1 1/2 tsp
Broken cashewnuts (kaju)- 2 tbsp
Finely chopped ginger (adrak)- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
A few curry leaves (kadi patta)
Ghee for serving-1 tbsp

Method
 Heat a pan; add the moong dal and dry roast it on a medium flame till the raw smell disappears, while stirring continuously. Keep aside.
Clean and wash the rice, drain and add the milk and 3 cups of water. Mix well and pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles or till the rice and dal become soft. Keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
 Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid. Keep aside.
 Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan, add the peppercorns, cumin seeds, cashew nuts and ginger. Mix well and sauté on a medium flame for a few seconds, while stirring continuously.
 Add the cooked rice and dal mixture, salt and curry leaves, mix well and cook on a slow flame for 5 to 7 minutes, while stirring continuously. n Serve hot topped with 1 tbsp of ghee.

Peanut Gajak
Ingredients
Gurh (jaggery)- 1 or 2 pieces
Peanuts to taste
Ghee-2 tsp

Method:
Melt jaggery with ghee over low heat.
Add peanuts slowly.
Stir for a few minutes.
Pour this mixture into a greased pan and cool over night.
Now, break the set mixture into pieces

This type of a dessert is served in Jharkand, Orrissa and West Bengal.

—Recipes by Gopal Jha, executive chef at Grand Mercure, Bengaluru.