Manoharam Kombu

The first functions for my kids happened here in USA thousands of miles away from my home town. I know I missed all of them there in India, but there were quite many things that I did not want to compromise during these functions were the specials things that we prepare for the functions, our traditional attire, the homam we perform and other rituals. One of the foods that we prepare for the occasion is the 'Paruppu thengai Koodu' and they can be filled with quite many things.

The Kombu adorns in the special occasions like marriage, house warming, seemantham, Ayushomama, Upnayanam etc. In all these occasions, it is shaped as cone and other times, they can be made in the form of balls.

I first prepared the Gunjaladdu for my daughter's Ayushomam and now for my son's Ayushomam, I have prepared Manoharam.



Manoharam Kombu
(Print this Recipe)

You need
6 cups raw rice flour
1/2 cup finely powdered Urad dhal flour
75 g butter (2/3 stick)
Oil for frying
1lb (450gm) Jaggery
1 cup water
1Tbsp Cardamom powder
2 Tbsp ghee (to apply for the cones)

Mix rice flour and urad dhal powder well. Mix butter with it and make a dough with water. Make sure you do not add more water. It should be hard enough to be added in a murukku mold but at the same time it has to be pliable.
Heat oil enough for frying in a kadai. Put a handful of dough into the mold and when oil is hot , press the mold until the kadai is filled half of the oil. Do not press the mold as much as oil holds, rather little less to the oil holds. Fry on both sides until crisp and do not burn. Drain oil in a paper and set aside.
Likewise finish all the dough.

Dissolve Jaggery in just enough water and filter off dirt if any and add the cardamom powder. Once the jaggery has come to a syrup like consistency (when you drop in water it will not dissolve). Now pour this jaggery over the broken murukku. Instead of adding the murukku into the jaggery syrup, when you pour jaggery over the murukku, the jaggery spreads better over all the murukku. This is very important.
When it is warm combine everything. Grease the Kombu with ghee, and add this jaggery mixed murukku and press firmly. Make sure you add as much as you can. Pressing hard is important. Alternatively, you can make balls and serve. At the end, take little rice flour in your hand and pat at the bottom of the kombu, so it does not fall out.

The kombu is now ready for the occasion.