Arcot Makkan Peda....Delicacy of Arcot Nawabs

Arcot is not only famous for history and Biryani..It is famous for Makkan Pedas too.Arcot is a small town which is near my hometown and  I just love eating these Makkan Peda whenever I visit my native place.Though they look similiar to that of the Gulab jamuns they taste much tastier and yummier than that..

Arcot Chettiyar Sweet stall is famous for the Makkan Pedas.They are the oldest of the town and it is about 188 years old :) which is run by an fifth generation owner..who is around 70 years!!The one who had  started this shop(Govindasamy Chettiar) was a family friend of Nawabs..He happened to taste these Jamuns with a dry fruit filling at Nawabs house  and being blown away by the sumptuousness of the Bedas he  started to introduce it in his shop.This was how Makkan peda was introduced in Arcot ....

Even E.V.R.Periyar was a great fan of this sweet..I remember my grandfather telling me that Periyar's followers buy this delicacy for Periyar when they visit him..and Periyar never fails to have this sweet when he visit North Arcot!!

If u happen to visit Arcot( few kms from Vellore)then don't forget to taste the Makkan pedas from Chettiyar Shop..If not just follow my recipe carefully,make it and relish the diwali with this traditional sweet...:))

For the ones who are not aware of what Makkan Peda is...

Makkan Peda is a sweet that is made with unsweetened Koya n Maida..stuffed with a variety of dry fruits ,made into a ball and then slightly flattened deep fried and then soaked in sugar syrup.The juicy texture and the nut content make the taste exotic...

INGREDIENTS:

Makes: 20 Nos.

1 Cup of unsweetened Koya(If u dont have refer Handy tips for the replacement)

1/4 Cup of Milk Powder

2 Tbsp of Maida/All purpose flour

1/4 Tsp of Cooking soda

Few Tbsp of Milk for mixing

Oil to deep fry

For the stuffing:

2 Tbsp of flaked Almonds

1 Tbsp of Broken Cashewnuts

1 Tbsp of Watermelon/Pumpkin Seeds

2 Tbsp of Pistachios

For the syrup

2 and 1/2 Cups of Sugar

2 cups of water

1/2 Tsp of Cardamom Powder

 # (1 cup here I used a cake measuring cup of 130 ml) #

THIS IS HOW I MADE IT....

Add 1 Cup of unsweetened khova to a mixing bowl (I used  milky mist brand.The khoya is available in all supermarkets n departmental stores)

To it add 1/4 cup of milk powder (I used nestle) and 2 Tbsp of Maida

Then add cooking soda to it.

Sprinkle milk (Boiled n cooled) little by little to the mixing bowl and bring all the ingredients together.

Make it into a soft dough.When u roll them into balls there should not be any cracks.If so just add few drops of milk and roll them.

Keep the dough aside for 15 minutes.

In the meanwhile grate Badam,Pistachios and cashews.Mix them all along with the watermelon/Pumpkin seeds(Available in big departmental stores).

Keep them aside.This is the stuffing that we are going to keep inside the peda and deep fry.

Now the dough is ready and the stuffing is ready.

Take a small lemon sized dough and make it flat.keep a small quantity(about 1/4 Tsp) of stuffings inside the flattened dough and close it and make a ball.

Roll them gently(not very hard) and make them into a smooth ball.They should not have any cracks.If so them sprinkle few drops of  milk on it and again try rolling.If the dough sticks to the hand then rub few drops of ghee on ur palm and then try rolling the balls.

Make it into elliptical shape.(Oval)

Make all the balls and then keep them ready to deep fry (Picture is missing)

Take a heavy bottomed wide pan and heat water and sugar together.Heat it till it attains the sticky consistency(If ur sugar has impurities then heat it till sugar gets melted completely,strain it and again keep it in the flame).Then add cardamom powder and mix well the syrup.Switch off the flame and keep the syrup aside

Simultaneously when u boil the sugar syrup heat oil in another pan.Let it get heated in medium flame.

 When the oil gets heated up,drop in the pedas one by one..3 or 4 at a time depending on the pan size.Keep rolling it with the help of the ladle so that it gets browned evenly on all the sides.Don't fry it by keeping the flame in high..U will end up with frying them brown with inside remaining uncooked..

Take out the fried pedas when they turn dark brown.(It will happen within 1 minute of dropping it into oil).The dark brown when immersed in sugar syrup will give a glazy nice finish n texture to the pedas..so fry them till they attin dark brown.

Take them out from the pan..See to it that the oil gets drained completely.U can transfer them to the kitchen tissues and immediately drop them to the sugar syrup..Don't keep them long on the kitchen tissues

Drop the fried pedas to the hot sugar syrup.
The pedas expand on soaking in sugar syrup.So let the pan in which sugar syrup is be wide enough to have all the pedas in.
Let the pedas remain the syrup atleast for 5 hours.U can leave it overnight too.

Serve them cool with few pistachios and almonds flakes topping it..

HANDY TIPS:

• The sugar syrup should be hot when u put the fried pedas into it.Only then the peda will absorb the sugar syrup.
• Fry the pedas in medium flame so that they get cooked well  even inside.
• U can vary the nuts combination.
• Roll the pedas gently.If u roll it hard then u will end up with very hard pedas.
• Instead of using khova,Maida,milk powder,baking powder u can use the readymade gulab jamun mix too..Of course the taste will differ :)
• The pedas taste too good the next day of preparation..
• Fried pedas when added to syrup will increase in size.So take the pan (in which u take sugar syrup) accordingly.
• Roll the balls nicely which will make a glazy pedas when fried.
• If ur balls make crack when u make then add little milk to it and mix it and then try making balls out of it.
• While making cardamom powder(for the sugar syrup) grind the cardamom with little quantity of sugar to make the cardamom grind well.