Kayi Obbattu

Ugadi is just round the corner. Ugadi is the first day of our calender and therefore celebrated by all communities across the Kannada heartland. It is probably the one of the two festivals that is widely celebrated back home, the other being Deepawali. Traditional Ugadi celebrations are best observed in smaller towns and cities. Bangalore being so cosmopolitan these days Ugadi in Bangalore is just like any other day. But growing up in Mysore and a host of other smaller towns and cities in Karnataka, my memories of Ugadi is all about food, family and gambling. While food and family are the usual suspects, gambling is rather unusual right. But well that was the tradition. I still remember tents and pandals being set up by the road side, in parks and essentially every where there is space enough to hold those tents. Those tents and pandals serve as makeshift gambling dens. It is perfectly legal to gamble and to set up gambling facilities on and around Ugadi. So any body is free to gamble and have a good time on Ugadi. Las Vegas? yes please, they did do it on Ugadi. So after the ritualistic bath, wearing new clothes, pooja, partaking of the prasadas and 'Bevu-Bella' a combination of Neem blossoms and jaggery (which is a our way of paying tribute to both good and bad in life) we indulge in one serious meal. Then off to gambling. We never visited any of those dens but we would play a game or two of cards at home and my father would give us money regardless of who won the game. I love Ugadi and hope this new year fills our lives with all joys and just a touch of Neem.

Here is Kayi Obbattu. Obbattu and Ugadi goes together. But the one with 'bele' or dal is traditionally made the same day. But if you are looking forward to a make ahead Obbattu, it is Kayi obbattu. It is festive, tasty but also good made ahead.

We will need,

Coconut grated 3 cups

Jaggery roughly crushed 2-3 cups (2 would do for me, but FIL likes it sweeter )

Cardamon 2 (seeds crushed and the skin discarded)

Poppy seeds 2 tbsp (toasted and ground)

For the dough:
All purpose flour 1 (may be 1.5 cups)
Salt pinch
Turmeric pinch
Oil 3 tbsp

Method:

• Sift flour with turmeric. Stir in the salt. Dump the flour on to a large plate. Make a well in the center of the well. Pour water into the well a little by little and start combing the flour and the water, making a dough much softer than chapati dough. Knead the dough very well, like while making bread. The dough is ready when it is very stretchy. Pour the oil on top of the dough and cover with a damp cloth and rest it for at least 2 hours
• Combine the coconut, cardamon and the poppy seeds in the food processor and process till the they are well combined and the coconut has become rather homogenous.  Do not add water while processing the mixture. 
• Remove the coconut into a thick bottom non-stick skillet. Throw in the jaggery, cook till the jaggery has melted and the mixture comes together. Remove from heat and set it aside to cool. The sweet filling /hurana is ready to go.
• Pinch small balls of dough and roll the filling into small balls as well.
  
• On a greased plastic sheet, roll out the dough balls into circles of 3" diameter using your fingers. Place the filling and pinch the dough to close the filling.
  
• Using your fingers, roll the stuffed dough ball into 8-9" circles.
  
• Ideally the filling should be uniformly distributed and the flour skin should be as thin as possible, so trying to achieve the ideal is a good idea. Mine is never perfect, but in my quest for the perfect, i end up making decent stuff..
• Heat a griddle. When smoking, grease it with ghee. Place the rolled out obbattu on to the griddle. cook of both sides with oodles of ghee.
• Serve it hot or at room temperature. If storing to be consumed later, cool it completely and store it in air-tight boxes between parchment sheets.