Basava Kajjam, a divine dessert and one of the ancient recipes from the Land of Telangana. Tiny wheat flour balls cooked in milk and creamy moong dal, sweetened with jaggery and topped with roasted nuts. Any Celebration is incomplete without a nice sweet dish to relish, and this dessert is just the one to brighten your day. The people of Telangana savor a special porridge/pudding kind of preparation made of moong daal, wheat flour, milk, sugar and dry fruits. This delicious dish has a nice rich aroma that is enhanced with the use of fresh ghee.
More about Basava kajjam
Basava kajjam is an age-old traditional dessert prepared using Moong dal, whole wheat flour, milk, jaggery and nuts. And what makes this dessert special is the mini wheat flour balls, we call them as undalu. Traditionally they are shaped as tiny balls similar to the size of split moong dal. Making these tiny wheat flour balls requires huge amount of patience, but trust it is all worth it. Just a tablespoon of this dessert will take you back to your grandma’s kitchen.
This traditional dessert is absolutely comforting, and nourishing, each spoon of this dessert feels like a warm hug. Even though I’m from Telangana, I have never tasted or heard about this dish until my dear friend Chandana has shared her heirloom recipe with me. She was sweet enough to share the details of the recipe and allowed me to share it with you all. Please do checkout her Instagram page, she’s a passionate cook and has immense love for her culinary heritage of Telangana.
She told me that her Grandma used to make this dessert specially for her in her childhood. And that this dessert is traditionally made on festivals like Maha Shivaratri and Bathukamma as an offering to the deity. Also I have done a little research on this regional delicacy, where some people call this dish as BASAVA GARJANAM. With the rustic Telangana dialect, the name could have been slowly settled as BASAVA KAJJAM.
Ingredients needed for BASAVA KAJJAM
- Moong dal
- Whole wheat flour
- Jaggery
- Milk
- Nuts
- Ghee
How to prepare this Dessert?
Initially we need to soak the lentils for about an hour or two, which helps in cooking the lentils quickly. In the meanwhile we need to make a firm dough of whole wheat flour. Rest the dough for 30 min, later make tiny balls/undalu using dry flour and keep aside.
Now we need to cook the wheat flour balls in the boiling water, add soaked moong dal and cook until the wheat flour balls are 90% cooked. Add in jaggery, milk and cook for 5 more min. Later roast some nuts in ghee and add it to the cooked moong dal and wheat flour balls. Basava Kajjam is all ready to Serve now.
Is this dish VEGAN ?
You can make this dish VEGAN-FRIENDLY by substituting the regular cow milk with plant based milk. Skip roasting the nuts in ghee and add them directly while cooking the wheat flour balls.
And if you have GLUTEN INTOLERANCE, I would suggest you to use gluten-free flour to make Undalu/balls.
Checkout more traditional festive foods and more Telangana delicacies.
BASAVA KAJJAM
Equipment
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- ½ cup Split moong dal
- ½ cup Whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup Jaggery
- ⅓ cup Milk
- ¾ cup Water
- ½ tsp Cardamom powder optional
- 2 tbsp Ghee optional
- 1 tbsp Melon seeds optional
Instructions
Prepping
- Wash and soak the moong dal for about an hour.
- Take a mixing bow, add whole wheat flour, add water gradually and knead to make soft dough. (Similar to the Indian roti dough)
- Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 mins.
Make the Tiny wheat flour balls
- Take a wide plate and sprinkle some dry wheat flour on it. Now take a handful of dough at a time, take a tiny amount of dough to the size of moong dal/coriander seed and roll into a ball.
- Now place the rolled tiny wheat flour ball on the plate with dry flour.
- Repeat the process for the remaining dough.Note : You can skip this time-consuming process by rolling the dough into flatbread and then cut into diamonds.
Let's make BASAVA KAJJAM now!!
- Heat a saucepan, add water and bring it to a rolling boil.
- Now add in rolled tiny wheat flour balls, soaked and drained moong dal and give it a good mix.
- Cover the pan and let them cook on a medium flame until the moong dal is fully cooked. This will take around 15 min.
- Now add in milk, grated jaggery, cardamom powder (if using) and cook until everything is cooked thoroughly.
- Heat a small pan, add ghee and once its hot add in melon seeds and fry for 30 secs. Add these roasted melon seeds to the cooked BASAVA KAJJAM.
- BASAVA KAJJAM is done and it's all ready to be served. Dig in and enjoy.
Notes
- You can skip the rolling of wheat flour balls and instead roll the dough into flatbread and then cut into diamonds using knife or pizza cutter.
- If you want a vegan version, substitute the Regular milk with Plant based milk or you can just totally skip adding it. Also, do not roast the melon seeds in ghee, instead add them while boiling the moong dal.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please share your valuable feedback in the comments below. Also you can Tag your photo and share it with #mycurryveda on Instagram @mycurryveda or on Facebook . Also follow @taste.of.telangana on Instagram for more traditional recipes, culture and stories.
