Indian desserts & sweets from the Indian south that need a revival ASAP

If you’ve heard of these Indian desserts & sweets, chances are you are a true desi sweets fanatic or belong to the part of the country these mithai are from. We bring you the recipes of from the Southern states of India, Maladu from Tamil Nadu, Poornam Boorelu from Telengana and Andra Pradesh, along with Dumroot or Kashi Halwa from Karnataka’s Udupi. While these might not be as popular today, they are still in circulation and do not share the limelight with the likes of the more popular Mysore Paks and Payasams. Do try their recipes below.

1. Maladu

(Serves 12)

• 60 gm chana dal, roasted
• 100 gm sugar
• 60 gm ghee, (plus extra 30 gm if needed)
• 3 green cardamoms
• 6-8 cashews, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Grind the sugar and cardamoms until powdery. Separately, grind the roasted bengal gram or chana dal into a very fine powder. Set both aside.
2. Heat the ghee in a kadhai and once steaming, reduce the flame and golden fry the cashews, drain, and keep aside.
3. Switch off the heat and add the cardamom sugar and dal powder. Quickly mix while the ghee is still hot. To do the binding test, squeeze a small portion of the mixture – it should hold shape. If needed, add a little ghee and try again until the binding thing works out.
4. Let the mixture cool until just warm to the touch and take small ladoo-sized portions and roll between your palms, into balls.
5. Press down the ladoos on a clean plate without pressing too hard.
6. Once completely cool, transfer to an airtight container. You can store the Maladu at room temperature like this for around 1 month.

2. Poornam Boorelu

(Serves 24)

Ingredients

For Covering:

• 30 gm urad dal
• 90 gm raw rice
• Pinch of salt

For Filling (Poornam):

• 160 gm chana dal
• 235 ml water
• 150 gm jaggery, grated
• 30 gm dry coconut, grated
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• 200 ml vegetable oil, for deep frying

Instructions

1. Rinse urad dal and rice separately to remove any starch. Then take two bowls, add double the amount of water to submerge both the washed rice and dal. Cover both with lid and let them soak overnight or at least 4-5 hours.
2. Now, rinse the chana dal and cook it with fresh water in a pressure cooker until soft but still holding shape. Drain the dal and reserve the liquid to make something else.
3. Mash the cooked dal into a smooth paste and set aside to cool completely.
4. Heat a kadhai over medium heat, add jaggery, and stir until completely melted. Then mix in mashed dal. Keep cooking while stirring, until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
5. Add coconut, and cardamom, and stir for a minute. Then take off from heat and let it cool for 10 minutes, until warm to the touch.
6. Use your hands to shape into 24 equal balls.
7. To make the batter, drain soaked dal and rice, then add to a mixer grinder and grind to a smooth batter with a little bit of water. You need a thick batter like those for uttapam and dosa. Add the pinch of salt and mix.
8. Heat oil in a clean kadhai and take a little bit of batter, add to the hot oil to test the heat. If it rises up almost immediately, its perfect to fry.
9. Dip each of the filling balls into the batter to coat well. Then slide them one by one into hot oil and fry until golden brown. Turn the balls occasionally and once done, drain on paper towels.

3. Dumroot Halwa

(Serves 8)

Ingredients

• 400 gm ash gourd
• 200 gm date palm jaggery (Karupatti)
• 60 gm khoya or milk powder
• 60 gm ghee
• 6 cardamom, powdered
• 15 cashews, chopped and dry roasted
• Food coloring (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel the ash gourd first then, finely grate using large holes in the grater. Transfer the grated gourd to a clean muslin cloth or cheesecloth. Squeeze firmly to remove as much water as possible.
2. Dry roast cashews in a heated, dry pan until lightly golden. Set aside and using a mortar and pestle or a mixer grinder, powder the cardamom pods with seeds finely.
3. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon ghee, then add the squeezed gourd to it. Cook while stirring constantly. Watch for signs of browning at the bottom and keep cooking until all moisture evaporates. You'll know it's ready when the volume reduces a lot.
4. Add milk powder and the remaining ghee to the fried ash gourd. Mix thoroughly and cook for five more minutes. Keep stirring and add the powdered jaggery and food coloring, if using.
5. Keep cooking while stirring to prevent sticking, until you have a thick halwa-like consistency. Then add cardamom powder and toasted cashews. Once the ghee separates from the mixture, your dumroot is ready to be baked.
6. Preheat oven to 150°C and scrape the mixture to an oven-safe dish. Use the back of a spoon to spread evenly.
7. Set the timer for 20 minutes. Once 10 minutes pass, increase the temperature to 180°C and bake for another for the remaining time, until the top caramelizes.