Kakinada Gottam Kaja | Indian Dessert Recipe | Celebration treat

Day's flew away so fast that we don't even realise until we have stucked up some number in our calendars but this time i am referring foodie monday blog hop, which i have been participating in almost every monday has just reached 50 bloghops.Isn't that cool, i always  felt it was few days back i have joined the foodie monday group (i was from 4th blog hop) and now it's a golden jubilee blog hop. To celebrate this event we foodies have decided to take up traditional sweet as a theme this week. For 25th Blog hop celebration i made hyderabadi special Khubani Ka Meetha.
And for today's blog hop i was thinking of easy recipe which is quick and traditional like kheer, jalebi or something hyderabadi. But yesterday somehow i found time and prepared "Kaja/Khaja" which is quite famous in both telangana and andhra pradesh.Hyderabad being a capital of both states, we enjoy all the delicacies from both of them...yum. 
Kakinada is the city in Andhra pradesh where Khaja/kaja are perfectly made and are popular...so it's Kakinada Kaja. We have two variations in it, one is Madata Kaja and another is Gottam Kaja. Madata Kaja is folded round fried pastry is dipped in sugar syrup and Gottam Kaja is cylindrical /pipe shaped hollow fried pastry is dipped in sugar syrup.
Gottam kaja is easily made and enjoyed at home if you remember few things in mind . These are hollow and juicy inside and bit crispy on outside. Check out the ingredients and steps for enjoying this yumminess.

Level: Easy

Cook time: 20-30 mins
Prep time: 20 mins
Resting time: 3hrs

Makes:21-24 (2-3 inches in length)

1 cup:250 ml
1 tablespoon: 15ml

Ingredients

All purpose flour/Maida: 1 1/2 cup
Gram Flour/ Besan: 2 tablespoons
Butter/Ghee:2 tablespoons
Baking Soda/Cooking soda: 2 pinches
Sugar Syrup
Sugar: 3 cups
Water: 1 1/2 cups
Cardamom: 2 crushed

Directions

1. In a bowl add All purpose flour, gram flour, butter/ghee and baking soda. Now rub it until the ghee is spread all over the flour mixture. Now add water little by little to form a soft dough. Grease your hands with ghee and knead it for 3 -4 mins and cover the dough with lid and let it rest for 3hrs minimum(went to shopping so mine was kept for 5 hrs ).
2. Knead the dough again once or twice and Divide the dough in 3 equal parts.
3. Dust the worktop with flour and take one part of the dough and make a long thick string around 15 cm and with light hand tap on it. Divide in to 7-8 equal parts. 
4. Indent in the middle with your finger in small portion.
5. With rolling pin with light hand just roll once.
6. Repeat 3-5 steps and Make kaja for rest of the dough.
7. Heat oil (when you drop a small dough piece it should come up with in 2 secs) and place the kaja 3 or 4 a time and fry till it turns dark golden colour on medium high heat.
8. Drain the excess oil and dip it in sugar syrup and press them for 30 secs.(Pressing makes the sugar syrup to get in to kaja to make it juicy..so its mandatory)
9. Do steps 7 to 8 for rest of kaja's and let them soaked for minimum 30 mins.
10. Optional Step: Drain the excess sugar syrup and roll it in powdered sugar. 

Making of Kaja (Video clip)

Sugar Syrup:

In a bowl add sugar and water and bring it to boil and let it boil until you get one thread consistency and turn of the string.Sugar syrup should be similar to gulab jamun syrup consistency.

Tips
How to check one string consistency easily: 
one way:Dip the spoon in the syrup and lift up, the last drop from spoon will be stretched and fall off. then the syrup is ready.
2nd way: Take small amount of syrup in spoon and let it cool and then dip the index finger in it. Press the index finger with thumb finger and put the fingers apart slowly, if the you get a string then the syrup is ready to use.

 Kakinada Kaja is going to be part of  50 #foodiemonday #traditionalsweets #bloghop recipes

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