Bombay Kaja | How to make Bombay Kaja | Diwali Sweets ~ Step by Step Recipe

Amma decided to make her regular Deepavali fare in both Sweets and savories, though she was upset that she couldn't make the Ribbon Pakodas and Mixture. The kajas turned out very well, though the Rava laddo was still soft. Knowing that I got to take sweets and savories for my colleagues, I told Amma that I will have to make some kajas myself. So we ended up scouring the books. I had the Samaithu Paar / Cook and See books with me, so checked them out and landed in Bombay Kaja. The recipe sounded very simple as it didn't require any resting time and just suited me fine.

Also there was no mention of butter, shortening or much ghee. The original recipe was with 7 cups of All purpose flour/ Maida. We reduced it to 1 and 3/4 cup.

So we settled to make it. For the next four days you will be reading about the Deepavali dishes that we made.

Ingredients Needed

Maida - 1 & 3/4 cup
Baking Soda - a pinch
Ghee (solid and firm) - 1 tbsp

For Pathir

Rice flour - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp

Oil for deep frying

For Syrup

Sugar - 1 & 1/4 cup
Water - just enough to cover the sugar

How to make Bombay Kaja:

For the dough:

Sieve the maida with baking soda in a wide bowl. Add the ghee and rub well. Slowly add water and knead to a stiff dough. Let it rest for a while with a wet cloth. By the time we got back to the dough, it was almost 15 - 20 mins.

For the pathir:

In a bowl, add the rice flour and ghee, beat well. When you add more ghee it becomes more flaky.

For the Sugar:

Add the sugar with just enough water to cover. Heat it till the sugar melts. If there are any impurities, remove. Then continue cooking to rolling boil. After 5 -7 mins, take a drop and check if it's reached 1 thread consistency. When you touch between thumb and index finger, you should get a single thread. Switch off the flame.

Rolling out the dough

Divide the dough into small balls. Cover the other balls with the cloth. Pinch out small balls, the size will have to be smaller than your regular pooris. Dust with flour and roll out. Roll out into small discs, spread the pathir, fold into half moon shape, again spread the pathir and make into triangle shape. Press on the sides to make sure it doesn't open up. Continue with the rest and keep it ready to be fried together.

Heat a kadai with oil. When the oil gets hot, simmer. Add the rolled out kaja and cook on both sides.

When it turns colour and cooked on both sides, drain using a spatula and put into the sugar syrup. Let it be for 5 mins, remove to another plate.