Kariyalu/Kajjikayalu

Referred to as "Kariyalu" or "Garijelu" or "Kajjikayalu" in different parts of andhra pradesh, this is a traditional sweet that is a must at many occassions/festivals. There are many different stuffing options including sesame, jaggery mixture, kova/mawa,some people add powdered nuts mixture or poppyseeds too . "Karanji", "Gujjiya" are similar north indian sweet things.

Last saturday, there was a tradional style baby shower at one of our friend's place. I wanted to make something that is somewhat easy and what best than these...

Ingredients:
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3 Cups All purpose Flour / Maida

3 Cups Finely grated dry coconut powder
1 Cup Fine Sooji / Semolina / Rava
1.5 Cups Sugar
5 tbsp Ghee
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
Oil to fry

Process:
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Roast the coconut powder and sooji separately with some ghee. Mix them together,add the sugar and let the powder cool. Meanwhile add salt to maida, some ghee and adding little water, knead and make a medium stiff dough. Take some dough, shape it like a ball, flatten out and roll it out with a rolling pin like you would for a puri. Probably a little more thinner. Scoop the coconut mixture place it on the rolled out dough. Then fold the dough over from one side to the other to form a semi circle shape. Press with dough where the two sides attach with finger tips so that the filling is somewhat packed. leave about half inch and cut out the extra dough if any. Fold the edges and seal it well. (if not the stuffing will fall out during frying). Deep fry these in oil. Let them cool and air dry completely.
Enjoy !

Tips:
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Its personal preference as to how big or small you want to make this. I like to make them small, so that its 1 serving. The pictures show oversized ones coz I made these for the traditional "Baby Shower" :)
Make sure the surface where you put the uncooked kariyalu is coated with oil to avoid sticking.
Make sure you seal it well, otherwise it might open and all the stuffing gets loose in the oil.

This goes to theDeep Fried or Steamed Sweets Event hosted by Mythreyee at Paajaka.com