Deepawali Sweets - Milky Creamy Pal Poli

PAAL POLI

Mother used to prepare this sweet instead of the payasam on special occasions. Since all of us loved the creamy sweet, she prepared it very often along with our evening snacks and how we loved to lick our fingers even after gobbling up three or even four of them! Since it is an exotic sweet, rich with thick milk and dried fruits and nuts, it can be served cold or warm as a dessert in parties.

INGREDIENTS:

Maida or plain white flour – 1 cup

Milk – 4 cups

Sugar – 1 ½ cups

Saffron – a few strands

Edible camphor - one tiny granule is optional

Cardamom powder – 1 pinch

Cashew nuts – 12

Raisins – a few

Ghee for frying the nuts – 1 tbsp

Salt – 1 pinch

Cooking oil for frying

METHOD:

1. Knead maida with a teaspoon of oil, salt and little water into a stiff dough.

2. Boil the milk for ten minutes and add sugar, saffron strands and the cardamom powder. (Its optional to add the edible camphor. Even a tiny bit extra can ruin the taste so be careful. Just one small granule is sufficient!)

3. Let the sugar dissolve and then decrease the heat.

4. Make marble size balls with the dough and roll out into small poories.

5. Fold the round into half, and again fold it to get a triangle shape.

6. Roll out the triangles. They should not be too thin.

7. Keep a shallow dish with the prepared milk handy before deep frying polis.

8. Heat oil and fry the triangular Polis one by one, until they are crisp and golden in colour.

9. Drain out the oil, and dip the Poli in the warm milk

10. When the next one is ready for the dip, take out the previously soaked one and place it on a plate.

11. Soak all the polis and arrange them on the plate.

12. When all the polis is done, pour the remaining milk over the arranged sweets.

13. Decorate the sweet platter with roasted cashew nuts and raisins.