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    Home » Sweets & Desserts » Making of Kaja ~ Andhra Special for Deepavali Celebrations!

    Making of Kaja ~ Andhra Special for Deepavali Celebrations!

    Published: Oct 27, 2008 · Modified: Sep 23, 2020 by Srivalli · 35 Comments

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    I wish all my readers a very Happy Deepavali!

    I have mixed feeling on the eve of Deepavali day. Memories gush in bring in the sweet memories of childhood spun around the Deepavali and what it meant as a child. Every year, almost until after college, the enthusiasm was always there. The crisp new dress and the competition on who fires the first bomb never die down. All our colony friends used to bet that they will be the first person to get ready and lit the bombs.

    Thinking of the excitement that used to stem out of it, even now gets me all excited. I was kind of happy that the early morning bug hasn't bit Konda as yet. She was still peacefully asleep when I got up at the dawn. Fireworks started last evening, all those wonderful rockets blustering different colours out there in the clear sky, was a sight to behold. Chinnu was all excited and was cheering for each one that was on display, while Peddu was going deeper and deeper into my arms at each one. Only this morning, he was happy to be seeing them, from a far distance.

    Though I am not as excited as it was as a kid, I went about calling all friends and relatives to wish them on this happy occasion. Everybody had a festive tone on the phone, it's really wonderful how infectious this day is to all. A day to spend with loved ones and wishing everybody all happiness, I guess this is the meaning behind the festival of Lights!

    Konda was all excited when she got up and got ready in record time, to wear her new dress. I remembered my one Deepavali, when I had got up in the wee hours as early as 3 am, to get ready. In the haste, I slipped and had a full bath much before! How I can still remember the sore bum, but the enthusiasm was all high!

    I have shared our Deepavali traditions much in detail in my last year's post. This year, I made sure I learnt how to make Kaja, which is a famous Andhra Sweet. Amma used to make this, along with Athirasams for the Diwali. We skipped making this for the last couple of years, because of its elaborate process. Hubby dear always says, he said yes for the marriage, only after eating the Kesari Bath and Kaja that Amma made for him. He thought being her daughter I would also make both the items well.

    Kesari Bath, of course, I made many times. But Kaja, this was my first attempt on myself. Though I have always been the person who finally presses them to shape, I had never kneaded the dough. I got to Amma showed me how to knead and then I continued. It was indeed a lengthy process. Took almost 2 hours for us to complete. I had plans to make Amma's famous Murukus, but after this exercise, I didn't have the stamina. Amma had plans and she prepared them the next day. She made Star Murukkus, Plain ones, and then Mixture.

    Though Amma was telling me about Kakinada Kaja, I don't know the difference. I made Kaja and another famous one called the Panasa thonalu because they look like jack fruit bulbs. You can make these with the same dough as Kaja, or you have a separate proportion for that too.

    Kaja

    These are sweets made with All purpose Flour, Vanaspathi, and of course Sugar! Once fried, they are normally soaked in sugar syrup. But they tend to be overly sweet. If you don't want so much sweet, you can powder sugar and sprinkle over the fried Kajas.

    I actually wanted to record a video, but since I was also making it, managed only the pictures. Hope the slide show explains the process clearly!

    Preparation Time: 1 hour and more
    Resting Time for the dough - 1 & 1/2 hrs
    Makes - 50 pieces

    Ingredients Needed:

    All Purpose flour/ Maida - 500 gms
    Vanaspathi Dalda - 100 gms
    Cooking Soda a pinch
    Sugar - 1 kg
    Maida - 1 tbsp for dusting
    Gram flour - 2 tbsp for dusting.

    Method to prepare:

    For the dough:

    Shift Soda along with the flour in a wide bowl. Add the dalda and crumble well. Then slowly add water and knead to a pliable dough. It should be of medium softness and not too stiff. Knead till you get that smooth texture on the dough.

    Cover the dough with a wet muslin cloth and let it rest for 1 & 1/2 hours, you can allow it for 2 hrs too. Once 2 hrs is done, knead again and divide into equal size balls of the size shown in the picture. You will get about 6 balls of that size.

    For the Sugar Syrup

    Meanwhile, have the sugar melting over a pan. Remove scrum if any, then bring it to a boil. Cook till you get a consistency of one thread. This you can confirm, by touching the syrup with your thumb and index finger, when you move, you will find one thread forming. Switch off the heat and cover with a lid.

    For Making the Kaja

    Dust the dough with maida and roll the first ball to a disc of 1" thickness. Remove to a plate. Then roll out the second ball to the same size.

    On the second rolled out disc, apply melted dalda and gram flour. Spread evenly all over. Now take the first disc and place it on the second. Press firmly.

    Again repeat the brushing with dalda and gram flour on the top. Then starting from the top, fold it inside, as shown in the picture. Do the brushing and dusting. Fold again, repeat, and fold till you reach the end.

    Then cut into small pieces of 1 inch size. Then dust them again in maida, press them down on the vertical side, then roll them out to get a long strip as shown in the picture.

    Heat a Kadai with oil. Since the dough is mixed with Vanaspathi, it does not drink much oil. Once it's hot, drop in the rolled-out kajas gently and cook in sim. The entire batch has to be fried in the sim, so add enough to cover the oil. Turn to the other side to cook evenly.

    Once they are done, drain the kajas and drop them into the sugar syrup. Gently press in so that, it soaks the sugar. Let it soak for 2 mins, then remove and spread for it to cool.

    Fry all of them the same way and allow to cool before storing them. These normally stays good for about 7 - 10 days.
    Note: Heat the Sugar syrup in between the whole process a couple of times, for it to be absorbed well. If the sugar syrup is not enough, add some more sugar and water, bring to the same consistency before adding the fried Kaja.

    While I was still making these, Athamma said Chinnu will like something Savory and made the Salt Diamonds as I call them. She made it almost the same way as I did. When he came back from school, he saw the box of these and went about completing it by evening, anyway it was a small serving.

    I feel exhausted typing so much, will be back with the recipe for Panasa thonalu later.

    Deepavali is celebrated on Tuesday in Andhra, so we are having two days of celebrations!

    Have a lovely day!

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    Making of Kaja ~ Andhra Special for Deepavali Celebrations!

    Cuisine Andhra Pradesh
    Occasion Deepavali
    Dish Type Deep Fried Dishes
    Author Srivalli
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cooking4all or tag #cooking4all!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. anudivya says

      October 27, 2008 at 8:13 pm

      Happy Deepavali Srivalli. And to your family too. Have lots of fun with friends and family.

      Reply
    2. Divya Vikram says

      October 27, 2008 at 11:46 pm

      I miss all the celebrations in India..Am eagerly waiting for next month to come!!HAppy Diwali to u and your family!!

      Reply
    3. Happy cook says

      October 27, 2008 at 6:21 pm

      Happy Deepavali to everybody at home srivalli.
      I love that first piciture, it is beautiful.

      Reply
    4. indosungod says

      October 27, 2008 at 6:47 pm

      Happy Deepavali! Valli. The spirits of happiness of everyone around festival time is just contagious.

      Reply
    5. Uj says

      October 28, 2008 at 12:34 am

      Happy Deepavali Srivalli.. Kaja looks yummy :)Hope you have a great time with your family

      Reply
    6. Sagari says

      October 28, 2008 at 1:07 am

      delecious treats srivalli ,love them all

      Reply
    7. Alka says

      October 27, 2008 at 8:01 pm

      Happy Diwali to u and ur family
      The recipe is lovely and yeah we remember the salty variety as diamond biscuits 🙂

      Reply
    8. Anonymous says

      October 27, 2008 at 8:20 pm

      WOW! so much patience.. Hatsoff.. May I know where do you live and work now? Hope I would get so much patience like u if I plan for something similar..

      Reply
    9. kamala says

      October 28, 2008 at 2:13 am

      Your post brings back all the diwali memories till college..Happy Diwali Valli.

      Reply
    10. Shama Nagarajan says

      October 28, 2008 at 2:19 am

      we love this sweet........happy diwali....cheers

      Reply
    11. jayasree says

      October 28, 2008 at 3:53 am

      Happy Diwali to you and ur family.

      Delicious. mouthwatering treat. Slideshow of making kaja is as good as a video.

      Reply
    12. Uma says

      October 28, 2008 at 4:41 am

      mmm. delicious treats for deepavali! Love these all!

      Deepavali Subhakankshalu Srivalli!

      Reply
    13. Srivalli says

      October 28, 2008 at 1:31 am

      Thank you all for wishes and your lovely comments.

      Wish you all a very happy Deepavali

      F, I too liked the first picture..

      Thanks Anon, but I am sure you already have the same..:)

      Reply
    14. Priya says

      October 28, 2008 at 9:03 am

      Tempting treats Yaar...wishing u a happy deepavali too...am drooling on the first pic...too delicious..

      Reply
    15. RAKS KITCHEN says

      October 28, 2008 at 9:07 am

      Happy Diwali Srivalli,Kaja looks so yummy,if I were there,I would have visited ur home!

      Reply
    16. Padmaja says

      October 28, 2008 at 9:55 am

      Valli
      Happy Diwali to you n family!!!
      Those Kajas remind me of Kakinada, famous for its kajas...they look so yum!!

      Reply
    17. Vcuisine says

      October 28, 2008 at 4:39 am

      Happy Diwali Valli. Looks like a treat. Viji

      Reply
    18. Adam says

      October 28, 2008 at 10:47 am

      Happy Deepavali! Even though we don't celebrate it, I love looking at all the cool recipes people have for this holiday. I really like the Kaja, and would probably hurt my butt hurrying to make those too 🙂

      Reply
    19. Jayashree says

      October 28, 2008 at 6:00 am

      Hope you had a wonderful Diwali.

      Reply
    20. ANJALI J. says

      October 28, 2008 at 12:42 pm

      Wish u a very Happy Diwali.
      Lovely dishes.. will try them.

      Reply
    21. Mandira says

      October 28, 2008 at 1:39 pm

      looks delicious srivalli! Happy Diwali to you and your family...

      Reply
    22. arunshanbhag.com says

      October 28, 2008 at 2:39 pm

      Srivalli:
      Beautiful post and I enjoyed your write-up and reading of your Diwali memories! Transported me back to my own childhood - so carefree and beautiful!

      Wishing you the best for this Diwali Season!

      Arun

      Reply
    23. Asha says

      October 28, 2008 at 11:38 am

      Thank you Sri, you too have a wonderful and prosperous year and enjoy Deepavali with your family. My best wishes to you! 🙂

      Reply
    24. Laavanya says

      October 28, 2008 at 12:09 pm

      The goodies all look great Srivalli... 🙂 very tempting first picture.

      Reply
    25. sra says

      October 28, 2008 at 1:43 pm

      You have some patience! I love kajalu. Of course!

      Reply
    26. Sireesha says

      October 28, 2008 at 9:20 pm

      Wishing you and your family a happy diwali Srivalli!

      Reply
    27. Uj says

      October 29, 2008 at 3:08 am

      Kaja looks yummy. Happy Deepavali Srivalli..

      Reply
    28. Sharmila says

      October 29, 2008 at 6:05 am

      Khaja is made in Orissa too .. I love it but have never tried making it.Your snaps look so good ... and the write up is great as usual. 🙂
      Happy Diwali!

      Reply
    29. SMN says

      October 29, 2008 at 9:41 am

      Hey Valli wish you and ur family very happy Diwali and same to same we in karnataka call it as Peni. Check out in my blog.

      Looks yum we do this way also just the shape is diffent,.

      Reply
    30. Priya says

      October 29, 2008 at 5:40 pm

      Srivalli,

      Happy Diwali. We make something called as Khaja which also uses maida flour. Wow, this is amazing to hear a similar name from A.P. You also seem to be very active with regards to your postings, almost one a day! Keep up the great work.

      Reply
    31. TBC says

      October 29, 2008 at 12:51 pm

      Happy Diwali to you and you family, Srivalli! 🙂

      Reply
    32. Anonymous says

      October 29, 2008 at 2:02 pm

      Hi Valli,
      your kajas look yummy. By the way , we call this sweet as "Beniyum" in tamilnadu.

      Reply
    33. Srivalli says

      November 01, 2008 at 9:19 am

      Thank you everybody for stopping by. Its a pleasure to have your feedback!

      Reply
    34. Madhavi says

      June 23, 2010 at 11:11 pm

      kaja looks very nice.......looks yummy

      Reply
    35. Learn Hindi-Bengali-Music Online with Talkingbees says

      June 08, 2011 at 10:33 am

      So Nice. I am going to try it tomorrow.I was eating a khaja and thinking and got your site .

      Reply

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    srivalli

    Hi! Seasons change, yet there are some timeless recipes you can enjoy anytime. If you are sport for it, you are in the right place!

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