CHOORI / CHURMO

Choori or Churma  is the prashad we offer to Lord Shiva. Mom made the best choori, very crisp and crunchy. I have got all the tips from her and I am glad the choori has come out perfect, just like hers. Choori laddos can also be made following the same process and you can add dry fruits to them.

Ingredients:
Wheat flour ... 2 cups
Ghee / oil ... for frying and adding to the flour.
Sugar ..... 1/4 cup ( or as you like it )

Method:
1. Take wheat flour in a deep bowl and add about 1/4 cup ghee or oil. Mix well and it should form a muthia / ball when you press it in your fist. Then the quantity of the ghee added is enough. This is the test. If you add less ghee the choori will not be crisp.
2. Now knead this adding water little by little to a very stiff dough.
3. Make muthias with the dough pressing the dough in your fist as you can see in the pictures.
4. Heat oil in a pan and fry the muthias on a very low flame to make them crisp and golden brown.
If you fry on high flame the inside part will remain raw.
5. Let them cool and then you grind them in a pestle and mortar or in a mixer.
6. Mix the desired quantity of sugar as per your preference. I have added 1/4 cup.
7. Pour a little hot oil or ghee over this and mix well.

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.