SWEET SOMAS

This is one of the famous South Indian sweet that can be made using various fillings, either sweet or spice

INGREDIENTS:

Maida - 1 cup
Rava/ Sooji - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

For filling
Fried gram dhal/Udaitha kadalai - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Poppy seed/ Kasakasa - 1/4 tsp
Coconut - 2 tsp (grated finely)
Cashew - 4 (chopped finely)
Badam - 4 (chopped finely)

METHOD:
1. In a bowl add maida, rava, salt and ghee and mix well. Add little water and knead to a dough as we prepare for pooris. Rest it for 30 minutes.
2. In a tawa, roast kasakasa, udaithakadalai, coconut, badam & cashews each separately.
3. In a mixer, add kasakasa and udaitha kadalai and grind to a powder, add cashew and badam and whip gently. Do not over grind.
4. Transfer to  a plate, add roasted coconut and cardamom powder and mix well.
5. Add sugar to the mixer and grind to powder and add to the above mix.
6. Mix all the contents together and set aside.

7. Make balls of desired size using the dough.
8. Using a rolling pin, flatten a ball into a thin layer, place a spoon of filling in the and grease half semi circle with little water and close with the other semi circle of the layer.
9. Otherwise, the sealed somas can be pressed with fingers so that the filling doesn't come out. 
10. Using a Somas cutter, trim the sides.
11. Collect the scrapes and it can be rolled with other balls.
12. Prepare all the dough balls with stuffing and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
13. Heat oil in a tawa, drop a small portion of the dough, if it raises in the oil immediately, then the oil is ready for deep frying.
14. Drop 2 or 3 somas at a time and wait till it puffs up well and lower to medium flame so that it gets cooked well. Before dropping in oil, check whether the filling is properly sealed.
15. After the somas turns into golden brown, remove from oil and place in a tissue, so that excess oil is drained.
16. Tasty and crispy Sweet Somas is ready.

See for Pottukadalai Urundai made with left over filling, in this blog

Note:

• Coconut is optional. If you prefer to use it roast it well until golden brown so that the shelf life of Somas will be more.
• To remain crisp, the balls should be rolled thinely otherwise the somas will become soft.
• Rava is added to get crispness.
• The left over inner stuffing can be made used to prepare ladoos or stuffing for parathas.