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“Naivedyam: Varai- Nachani- Khajoor Godu Muddo in Haldi Paan (Indian Barnyard Millet- Finger Millet- Dates Sweet Dumplings in Turmeric Leaves)” … ponsa godu muddo is a traditional GSB Konkani Saraswat sweet dish prepared when ripe jackfruit is in season … this is my satvik version of muddo that can be consumed during upvas/ fasting … turned out soft~ delicious~ aromatic; tastes awesome served topped with ghee/ fresh or loni/ butter … Yummilicious …
** Jackfruit dishes always fill the home with an awesome aroma when its being steamed and if done in turmeric leaves then the aroma reaches a mile away. Ponsa muddo as I mentioned is a traditional dish from southern parts of Idia especially from Mangaluru where every home prepare it as per the celebration.
** During the months of Chaturmasa there are prepared the most as plenty of turmeric leaves are available and if not it is prepared on banana leaves. Patholi is another dish often prepared in similar lines and difference is minute as in Patholi a filling of sweetened churan of coconut- jaggery is laid while muddo is sweetened dumpling.
** I prepared these delicious aromatic sweet jackfruit muddos with Varai- Nachani for a change. Varai is millet also known as Indian Barnyard Millet, Sama ke Chawal, Samo, Bhagar, Moraiyo in a few other languages. In konkani we call it Varai and is extensively used during upvas/ fasting day as where rice is prohibited.
** For sweetening I have used equal portions of jaggery and dates/ khajoor and I must say it turned out delicious. Do give this a try, if for any reason you do not want to use any leaves for steaming purpose you can prepare them in idly vati too, I have done so many times and shared it here, just browse through for info.
** Here is the method of preparing “Varai- Nachani- Khajoor Godu Muddo in Haldi Paan (Indian Barnyard Millet- Finger Millet- Dates Sweet Dumplings in Turmeric Leaves)” … this is a recipe of my own prepared on a hunch ... do try it out if you love having millets, they turn out soft and tasty …
** Ingredients :
Varai/ Indian Baryard Millet/ Bhagar : 1 cup
Nachani/ Finger Millet Flour : 1 cup
Ripe Jackfruit/ Ponosu/ Phanasche Gare/ Halasina Hannu : 25- 30
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : 2 cups freshly grated
Jaggery/ Goda/ Gud/ Bella : 1 cup grated/ powdered
Khajoor/ Dates Syrup : 1 cup (readily available in stores)
Shengda Namak/ Rock Salt/ Vratwala Namak : a pinch
Cardamom Powder/ Ellaichi Powder/ Yella Pitti : 1 tsp
Ghee/ Toop : as required.
Turmeric Leaves/ Haldi Paan : as required
** Clean, wash and soak Varai/ Indian Barnyard Millet in plenty of water for minimum 6 hours or overnight. Drain, once again wash well with fresh water again and let drain off excess water as much as possible. It is necessary to drain off water well, so leave it in colander to drain off the water for about 20 minutes.
** Clean, remove the center seed of the ripe Ponosu/ Jackfruit bulbs if any and keep it aside, you can use it for curries. Chop the flesh portion of jackfruit into fine pieces. You should have about 3-4 cups of chopped pieces in all.
** Add drained varai into a mixer grinder along with freshly grated coconut and ¾ of the finely chopped jackfruit pieces and grind to a rava textured paste. Add water only if necessary usually you do not need any. Lastly add jaggery powder and continue to grind until well blended again adding water only if required. Remember the varai tastes best if ground slightly coarse and not fine, so take care of it.
** Note : If using Jaggery blocks or if the jaggery needs to be strained then heat half a cup of water and add jaggery cut into pieces and let it melt. Remove and let it cool after which you can strain it through a fine sieve and use.
**Add ground mixture into a wide mouthed bowl. Add finger millet/ nachani flour and dates/ khajoor syrup and mix well. Add remaining finely chopped jackfruit pieces along with a pinch of shengda salt, cardamom powder and mix well adding more water as is required to bring to a thick dropping mixture.
** Note : I have used readily available dates/ khajoor syrup from stores. You can soak in warm water, grind to fine paste, sieve and use it too.
** Cover and keep it aside to rest for 20-30 minutes. This helps the nachani to soften and settle well and is an important step that should not be skipped. Check the consistency of the mixture as it may dry a little bit on settling, if you find it too dry then you can add some water and bring to required texture.
** Note : The mixture on resting soaks well and absorbs moisture, if too dry you can add some water later after checking if necessary while preparing. We need the texture to be such that, there should be absolutely no trace of water leaving through the sides as we are going to use turmeric leaves here for steaming and not vati/ molds. Molds hold in water intact while steaming and leaves will not do so. While steaming the mixture should not leak out through the openings, which will not only turn into a mess but may remain uncooked within the center of too. You can also use banana leaf for steaming.
** Cut edges of required number of haldi paan/ turmeric leaves, wash, wipe dry and if the leaves are too big in length, you can cut them horizontally into two pieces. Line up the cut leaves in a row on platform or table the darker inner side of the leaves facing on top toward you. Apply a little bit of melted ghee on each leaf and spread it as a thin layer (optional), I do it as it gives a good soft glaze to the muddo.
** Take a handful of the mixture and place it on the center of the leaf and then gently spread it pressing evenly into a thick layer on the leaf leaving out only about ½ inch gap on all sides of outer edges of the leaves. This is to ensure that when you fold over the leaves, into half moon type shapes to prepare muddo/dumpling, the mixture should be enclosed/ sealed well. You can check it out in my other posts for reference.
** Now fold over the leaves lengthwise and press gently so that they become compact. Do not apply excess pressure, which may then result in the mixture coming out of the leaves. Heat a pedavan/ Idly steamer with plenty of water. When it comes to full boil, lower the heat and gently keep the prepared muddo in turmeric leaf in a single layer, taking care to see that they are kept with the opening side upwards.
** When you have kept one layer of prepared sealed muddo, cover the steaming vessel lid and steam on high for 10 minutes. Then open the lid and place the second layer on top of the first one changing its angle a bit say about at 40 deg angle, cover and continue to steam all for another 5 minutes on high heat and then lower the heat to minimum and continue to steam for another 15-20 minutes or until done.
** The above steaming method ensures that all muddos get evenly steamed otherwise especially if you need to steam more say 2-3 layers of muddos. If you place them in rows all together topped on one another and steam in one go then the center ones will not get proper steam due to which they may not be cooked.
** When steamed and done remove the lid and let cool and bit. Then gently with the help of tongs remove each steamed muddo and gently place them on a plate in a layer and allow to cool to room temperature. If there still more muddo to be steamed then repeat the above procedure all over again and until all are done.
** “Varai- Nachani- Khajoor Godu Muddo in Haldi Paan (Indian Barnyard Millet- Finger Millet- Dates Sweet Dumplings in Turmeric Leaves)” is done and ready to be offered to God if prepared as Naivedyam and thereby served to all. Tastes best served topped with melted ghee/ toop or fresh homemade loni/ butter. In olden days these muddos were served as snack for evening tea when children came home hungry from school, though you can serve it for morning breakfast too. However, serve it along with any other dish is accompaniment for breakfast as they are sweet and should be consumed in limits if served during breakfast. I always do so, you can check my next post where I have shared combo breakfast.
** Our ancestors had this habit of serving combo breakfast items and I have followed that from my Amma, this helps in balancing sweet dishes making breakfast healthier. I have shared many and you will find them in blog if browsed through along with an article on it. Do try these when ripe jackfruit is available and so are turmeric leaves and enjoy them with your family and friends, I am sure it will be loved by all. Children are sure to love it and it is one the best ways to make them eat both fruits and millet in a healthier way.
** In case turmeric leaves/ haldi paan are not available you can use banana leaves or badam leaves. You can also prepare them in jackfruit leaf weaved baskets which is referred to as khotto in Konkani. If desired you can prepare it in a larger bowl known as ramdana (konkani) like that of cake, the method remains the same except timings, just be sure its steamed well. All you will need to do is cut them then to pieces and serve. Just browse through my Blog and there plenty of choice that you can try out from.
** You can check out through the common link shared below for more ponsa muddo dishes and for reference on cooking methods ....
** Sharing links below to similar recipe but prepared in different molds along with a common link to all the ponsa/ ripe jackfruit steamed recipes ….
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