PRAGRI / PRAGREE / SINDHI HOLI SWEET / CRISPY FRIED MAWA PUFFS

Pragri is a Sindhi sweet specially made during the Holi festival. It is somewhat like gujiya with mawa filling but the outer covering is multi-layered, flaky and very crispy. It needs a lot of patience to make this sweet as it is time consuming. The frying has to be done on very low flame. For best results use only desi ghee or dalda. The oil does not give the required crispiness to the layers.

All these years I was living away from India and missed these traditional dishes. This Holi I decided to make pragri at home. I have childhood memories of preparing all these traditional sweets with my grandmother. I would sit next to her assisting her with all the preparations which is why I am able to make all these goodies now. She would explain everything to me in detail while making and give me all the tips. I am really happy that the pragris have come out nice and crispy as they should be. I make the satpura sweet very often. The procedure of pragri is somewhat similar.

Ingredients:
For the outer covering:
Maida ............. 2 cups
Desi ghee ....... 2 tbsps
Water ............ for kneading ( I use cardamom flavoured water)

For the Paste:
Maida ........ 1/4 cup
Desi Ghee or Dalda ... 4-5 tbsps

For the syrup:
Sugar ...... 1 and 1/2 cups
Water ...... 1 cup
Green cardamoms .... few
Saffron ........ few strands
Rose water ....  1 tbsp or Rose essence - 2-3 drops

For stuffing :
Sweet mawa ....... 1/4 kilo ( I used the store bought ready mawa )
To make mawa at home see the recipe - HERE
Almonds  .... few chopped

For Garnishing:
Rose petals ... handful (fresh or dried)
Silver varq .... as needed

For Frying:
Dalda or Desi Ghee
(You may use oil if you want to avoid using these)

Method:

To make the sugar syrup put the water and sugar in a pan. Bring to a boil and add the saffron strands, split green cardamoms and allow it to simmer until it is thick. Switch off the gas and add the rose water or essence as mentioned.

Take the maida for the outer layer, add the ghee and knead with the cardamom flavoured water to make a soft dough. Cover and set it aside for resting.

Make the paste by mixing 1/4 cup maida and 4-5 tbsps ghee.. It should be of the spreading consistency (like butter at room temperature)

Now take the dough and make tiny portions rolling 4-5 at a time.

Roll them out like tiny roundels of the same size

Now with your finger tip spread the paste on each one.

Place them one on top of the other until you finish 4 of them. Cover the 5th one on top without the paste as you are again going to roll them together.

Carefully roll out the bunch of 5 roundels together to make them bigger one about the size of a puri.

Spoon the sweet mawa in the middle  and add some chopped almonds. Using your finger apply a little water or milk around the mawa so that it gets sealed when you fold it.

Fold the pragri carefully pressing the portion around the mawa with your finger. Take care not to seal the edges as they should puff up when you fry it.

Now heat the ghee or dalda or oil for frying. Reduce the flame and drop the pragri carefully. Using a pair of kitchen tongs try to open up the edges of the pragri with light hands. Don't overdo it as it might open up completely.

Turn it few times and fry on very low flame until it is very crispy and golden.

Repeat this process to make and fry all the pragris. Now dip them in the sugar syrup nicely and remove on a plate.

Place them in a serving platter and garnish with silver varq and rose petals. You can store them in a clean dry container after they are completely cold.

GHEEAR / GHEEYAR ( HOLI SPECIAL )

This is a Sindhi sweet traditionally made during the Holi Festival. Sweet shops are loaded with the special sweets during the Festive season. This may not be an authentic recipe of a Halwai, but I am quite happy with the result. Usually the dough is kept overnight for fermenting. But since the weather is cold here I used the instant method by adding a little yeast to it.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour / maida .... 2 cups
Corn starch ......................... 1 tbsp
Yogurt ( sour ) .................. 1 cup
Saffron ......................... a generous pinch
Cardamoms ................ 4-5
Baking powder ........... a small pinch
Salt ................. a pinch ( about 1/8 tsp )
Sugar ............... 2 cups
Yeast .............. 1 tsp ( if making the instant recipe )
Orange food colour
Pistachios & Silver varq for garnishing
Oil ...... for deep frying.

Method:
1. In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, corn starch.
2. Add the sour yogurt and sufficient water to make a smooth batter. Add the colour. Leave it covered overnight for fermenting.
OR

If you want to make it instantly, add yeast. I have just crumbled the fresh yeast directly into the dough. If you are using dry yeast, take a little lukewarm water, add half a tsp of sugar and put the yeast granules. Leave it for 5 minutes in a warm place for proving. When it becomes frothy it is ready to be added. Mix it into the dough. Leave the dough for 15 - 20 minutes, covered in a warm place and it is ready for use.

3. Meanwhile prepare the sugar syrup. Take sugar in a pan and add one cup water.
Bring it to a boil and add the cardamoms and saffron. Remove the impurities and boil until it is thick.

4. Pour the batter into a plastic bottle that we use for sauces. Or alternately you can also use a plastic bag making a tiny hole in it.

5. Heat oil in a flat bottomed frying pan. It should not be too hot. Pour out the batter to make a big round gheeyar, like you make jalebis.
6. Fry on low / medium flame to make it crisp turning it a couple of times very carefully.

7. Dip them into the hot syrup, remove into a plate and garnish with crushed pistachios and silver varq.
 I have not used silver varq as it is said to be harmful for health.

THANDAI / THAADAL

Thandai ( Thaadal in Sindhi ) is a very refreshing drink made with almonds, poppy seeds, cardamoms and many other ingredients which are soaked overnight and ground adding water and milk the next day. It is then strained and taken chilled.. Traditionally in olden days we had special thick earthen containers with rough surface ( like sand paper ) and a heavy wooden pestle to grind this ( just like a pestle and mortar) In Sindhi we call it " Dando - Kundo."  (see the image at the end of the post)
I have memories from my childhood helping my mom and grandma in doing this and it required a lot of time and patience. In my moms place we never added milk but added more almonds to get the richness. This drink is specially made in summers and on the festivals of Maha Shivratri &  Holi.

Ingredients:
Almonds .. 12 - 15
Pistachios .. 10 (optional ) Not in the recipe but I add them.
Green cardamoms .. 6-7
Musk Melon seeds .. 1 tbsp (peeled)
Poppy seeds (khus khus) ... 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds .. 1 tsp
Fennel seeds (saunf) . 1 tsp
Black pepper corns .. 1 tsp
Saffron .... few strands
Rose petals .. handful (use desi pink rose with fragrance. If you don't have you may use a tsp of rose syrup or a drop of rose essence)
Sugar .... 1/4 cup (or as you like it)
Milk ... 1 cup (can add more if you like)
Water .. as needed for grinding, straining and diluting)

The colour of the soaked ingredients is due to the saffron. If you want to keep it white then don't add it while soaking.Just add to the drink after it is ready just for flavour and garnishing.

Method:
1. Soak all the dry ingredients together in a bowl (except milk and sugar) with enough water to cover them.
2. Grind them in a mixer adding water. Strain in a jar using a muslin cloth or a strainer.
3. After straining you may grind the residue second time adding more water to extract everything properly.
4. Now add the sugar and the required quantity of milk ( and water if needed) and mix well with a spoon. Alternately you may also add the sugar while grinding.
5. The consistency of the drink depends on your liking and preference.
Refrigerate and serve it chilled or add some ice cubes.
This quantity should make about 8-10 glasses.

Note: You can grind the ingredients with water and store in a refrigerator for 2-3 days. Add milk and more water before serving as shown in the above picture.

You can see the Sindhi Dando Kundo that was  used for grinding Thaadal in this picture above.
Dando Kundo Image Source - Google.