Neureos | Karanji Recipe

Step-by-step recipe with pictures to make Neureos | Nevri | Karanji (Flaky pastry stuffed with sweet coconut filling).

Goan Neureos are deep-fried, flaky pastry stuffed with coconut & dried fruit filling. They are also known as Karanji in Maharashtra, sweet Somas in Tamil Nadu, Gujiya or Ghughra in North India. Somas usually also include gram dal, and Gujiyas have mava (milk solids) in the stuffing.

Other than tiny variations from region to region in India, they are almost the same. These are made for festivals like Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali & Christmas. The crescent shape is redolent of an empanada. You can pretty much say these are an Indian version of empanadas.

December is officially here! Just a few days more and we will bid adieu to 2017. December also happens to be my favorite month, and I’m sure is with most of you too. Apart from the aura that surrounds the month of December who else is a fan of all the sweets & food?

Indian Christmas sweets are totally different from the one I see here in the US. Here its more of cookies, cakes etc, but back home we have a number of sweets that are dainty, time-consuming and some that actually require the combined efforts of a small community. Not kidding!

Like these Neureos | Nevri | Karanji! These are actually a multi-person task. As you really can’t make endless containers of these goodies all by yourself. Of course, if you are adventurous enough, you could take up the challenge !!

I have vivid memories of watching these made. One person would be assigned to make the pastry dough, one made the filling, one did the job of rolling out the dough, one did the stuffing, and shaping and one did all the frying. A team effort !!

I’m so glad that one of the most important sweets of Goan Kuswar (Goan Christmas sweet platter) finally made it to the blog! I actually made these earlier this year, during my Mum in law’s stay.

I wanted to learn it first hand rather than instructions over the phone. Neureos/karanji was my least liked Christmas sweet. We never made it at home, rather always got some made to order. As I said, these require a heck of a time, and my parents had a tough work schedule.

But once I happened to taste these at my In-law’s place, and I was hooked. I didn’t find it surprising when my DH said that they there were a big fan of these treats and that it would hardly last the Holiday season.

In fact, my Mum in law always made extra to make sure everyone at home had more than enough to their heart’s content. These Neureos are truly addictive and hard to resist. The filling taste so amazing, that you may end up eating spoonfuls of the filling itself before you even begin the process of stuffing the pastry.

Other sweets that often make an appearance in Goan Kuswar are Rich Christmas fruit cake , kulkul, shankarpali , kormolas , jujubes, bebinca , dodol, marzipan , guava cheese , milk cream etc to name a few!

If this is your maiden attempt at making these, I hope this post will help you 🙂 Sharing with you all the tips & tricks to get these babies right!

• YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY THESE TRADITIONAL GOAN CHRISTMAS SWEET RECIPES
• How to make Neureos/Nevri – Step by step process
• Neureos | Karanji Recipe | How To Make Karanji

YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY THESE TRADITIONAL GOAN CHRISTMAS SWEET RECIPES

• Rich Christmas fruit cake
• Guava cheese
• Goan Baath cake
• No cook & egg-free marzipan
• Any much more here .

How to make Neureos/Nevri – Step by step process

For the stuffing

1.Heat a heavy bottomed skillet / non-stick skillet over medium heat, dry roast semolina until crisp and fragrant. Set aside.

2.In the same skillet, add ghee, once hot enough, add charoli, sauté for 30 seconds or until it turns slightly darker.

3.Next, add poppy seeds, sauté another minute.

4.Add the desiccated coconut, roast until it turns golden brown.

5.Add the roasted semolina, mix everything well, transfer to another bowl and let the mixture cool completely.

6.Once the mixture has cooled, add powdered sugar, raisins and cardamom powder, mix well. The stuffing for the karanji is ready.

For the pastry shell

1.Combine flour, ghee, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix the ghee with the flour.

2.Add water little at a time, knead to form a smooth and firm dough. The dough should not be too soft nor too hard. Cover with a damp napkin and set aside for an hour.

Making the neureos

1.Transfer the dough to the work surface, divide it into equal portions (about walnut-sized portions, around 15).

2.Take one portion, dust it in flour, roll it out very thin, to a diameter of about 4 inches. Dust flour, as needed whilst rolling. Roll out the rest in the same manner.

3.Transfer the rolled dough to the mold, fill a tablespoon of the filling (do not overstuff), apply water all around the edge, close the mold tightly, open it, trim the edges and unmold the neureo. Cover the neureos with a clean, damp kitchen napkin while you prepare the remaining in the same way.

Collect all the scraps, form a dough, divide and roll out more dough to make more neureos (we got 6 extra from the scraps). Dust off excess flour before stuffing them.

4.If you do not have a mold, you can do it the traditional way. Place a tablespoon of the stuffing in the center of the rolled dough, apply water all around the edges, bring one edge, and join the other to form a half-moon shape. Seal with a fork or keep pinching to form a pleated pattern.

5.Heat oil in a kadai, deep fry the prepared neureos on medium heat, in batches, flipping in between, until golden. They will continue to cook once you remove them out, so don’t overcook them. Keep the rest of the prepared neureos covered with a damp kitchen napkin, to prevent the dough from drying out.

6.Transfer to a tray lined with an absorbent kitchen napkin to drain off excess oil.

7.Once cool completely they crisp up. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

NOTE

1.This recipe can easily be multiplied for more yield.

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Neureos | Karanji Recipe | How To Make Karanji

Ingredients1x2x3x

Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml

For the stuffing

• 1/4 cup fine semolina/rava/sooji
• 1 cup desiccated coconut approx 90 grams
• 1 tbsp charoli, If you can’t find it, substitute with any other nut of choice
• 2 tsp poppy seeds (khus khus)
• 1 tbsp raisins
• Pinch of of cardamom powder
• 6 tbsp powdered sugar, adjust as per desired sweetness
• 1/2 tbsp ghee

For the pastry shell

• 1 cup all purpose flour (maida) 143 grams
• 1/2 tbsp ghee
• Salt, to taste
• Water, as required to knead the dough

Other ingredients

• Oil, as required to deep fry

Instructions

For the stuffing

• Heat a heavy bottomed skillet / non-stick skillet over medium heat, dry roast semolina until crisp and fragrant. Set aside.
• In the same skillet, add ghee, once hot enough, add charoli, sauté for 30 seconds or until it turns slightly darker.
• Next, add poppy seeds, sauté another minute.
• Add the desiccated coconut, roast until it turns golden brown.
• Add the roasted semolina, mix everything well, transfer to another bowl and let the mixture cool completely.
• Once the mixture has cooled, add powdered sugar, raisins and cardamom powder, mix well. The stuffing for the karanji is ready.

For the pastry shell

• Combine flour, ghee, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix the ghee with the flour.
• Add water little at a time, knead to form a smooth and firm dough. The dough should not be too soft nor too hard. Cover with a damp napkin and set aside for an hour.

To make the Neureos | Karanji

• Transfer the dough to the work surface, divide it into equal portions (about walnut sized portions, around 15). Roll out the rest in the same manner.
• Take one portion, dust it in flour, roll it out very thin, to a diameter of about 4 inches. Dust flour, as needed whilst rolling.
• Transfer the rolled dough to the mold, fill a tablespoon of the filling (do not overstuff), apply water all around the edge, close the mold tightly, open it, trim the edges and unmold the neureo. Cover the neureos with a clean, damp kitchen napkin while you prepare the remaining in the same way. Collect all the scraps, form a dough, divide and roll out more dough to make more neureos (we got 6 extra from the scraps). Dust off excess flour before stuffing them.
• If you do not have a mold, you can do it the traditional way. Place a tablespoon of the stuffing in the center of the rolled dough, apply water all around the edges, bring one edge and join the other to form a half moon shape. Seal with a fork or keep pinching to form the pleated pattern.
• Heat oil in a kadai, deep fry the prepared neureos on medium heat, in batches, flipping in between, until golden. They will continue to cook once you remove them out, so don’t overcook them. Keep the rest of the prepared neureos covered with a damp kitchen napkin, to prevent the dough from drying out.
• Transfer to a tray lined with absorbent kitchen napkin to drain off excess oil.
• Once cool completely they crisp up. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Neureos | Karanji Recipe | How To Make Karanji

Ingredients

Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml

For the stuffing

• 1/4 cup fine semolina/rava/sooji
• 1 cup desiccated coconut approx 90 grams
• 1 tbsp charoli, If you can’t find it, substitute with any other nut of choice
• 2 tsp poppy seeds (khus khus)
• 1 tbsp raisins
• Pinch of of cardamom powder
• 6 tbsp powdered sugar, adjust as per desired sweetness
• 1/2 tbsp ghee

For the pastry shell

• 1 cup all purpose flour (maida) 143 grams
• 1/2 tbsp ghee
• Salt, to taste
• Water, as required to knead the dough

Other ingredients

• Oil, as required to deep fry

Instructions

For the stuffing

• Heat a heavy bottomed skillet / non-stick skillet over medium heat, dry roast semolina until crisp and fragrant. Set aside.
• In the same skillet, add ghee, once hot enough, add charoli, sauté for 30 seconds or until it turns slightly darker.
• Next, add poppy seeds, sauté another minute.
• Add the desiccated coconut, roast until it turns golden brown.
• Add the roasted semolina, mix everything well, transfer to another bowl and let the mixture cool completely.
• Once the mixture has cooled, add powdered sugar, raisins and cardamom powder, mix well. The stuffing for the karanji is ready.

For the pastry shell

• Combine flour, ghee, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix the ghee with the flour.
• Add water little at a time, knead to form a smooth and firm dough. The dough should not be too soft nor too hard. Cover with a damp napkin and set aside for an hour.

To make the Neureos | Karanji

• Transfer the dough to the work surface, divide it into equal portions (about walnut sized portions, around 15). Roll out the rest in the same manner.
• Take one portion, dust it in flour, roll it out very thin, to a diameter of about 4 inches. Dust flour, as needed whilst rolling.
• Transfer the rolled dough to the mold, fill a tablespoon of the filling (do not overstuff), apply water all around the edge, close the mold tightly, open it, trim the edges and unmold the neureo. Cover the neureos with a clean, damp kitchen napkin while you prepare the remaining in the same way. Collect all the scraps, form a dough, divide and roll out more dough to make more neureos (we got 6 extra from the scraps). Dust off excess flour before stuffing them.
• If you do not have a mold, you can do it the traditional way. Place a tablespoon of the stuffing in the center of the rolled dough, apply water all around the edges, bring one edge and join the other to form a half moon shape. Seal with a fork or keep pinching to form the pleated pattern.
• Heat oil in a kadai, deep fry the prepared neureos on medium heat, in batches, flipping in between, until golden. They will continue to cook once you remove them out, so don’t overcook them. Keep the rest of the prepared neureos covered with a damp kitchen napkin, to prevent the dough from drying out.
• Transfer to a tray lined with absorbent kitchen napkin to drain off excess oil.
• Once cool completely they crisp up. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Shankarpali | Shakkarpara is a sweet and crispy, deep-fried, diamond-shaped, Indian cookie. Since they are bite-sized they make a great snack.

Continuing with my series of traditional Goan Christmas sweets here on the blog, let’s talk about these s weet diamond cuts ! Shankapali is yet another treat that’s prepared during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, and Christmas.

It also happens to be one of the things that are served in the Kuswar i.e Goan Christmas sweet platter distributed to family and friends. But really, these can be prepared any time of the year, for they are perfect to snack on if you aren’t counting calories 😀

• HOW TO MAKE SHANKARPALI | SHAKARPARA?
• IF YOU ENJOYED THIS SWEET SHANKARPALI RECIPE AND ARE LOOKING FOR MORE TRADITIONAL GOAN CHRISTMAS SWEETS,
• STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE SHANKARPALI | SHAKARPARA
• HOW TO MAKE SHANKARPALI?
• Shankarpali | Shakkarpara | Shakkar Pare Recipe

HOW TO MAKE SHANKARPALI | SHAKARPARA?

There are many ways in which shankarpali is prepared in India. It is known as shakarpara or shakkar pare in North India and in that version, the dough is made with plain flour and ghee. The deep-fried shakkar pare are then dunked in a thick sugar syrup which coats the shakarpara and forms a whitish layer when it hardens.

In Western India, these diamond cuts are known as shankarpali. In the Maharashtrian version, water, sugar, and ghee are heated. The flour is then mixed into this solution to make a dough. It is then rolled, cut out and deep-fried.

I’m sharing the Goan version today which I absolutely love! To make these crispy shankarpali, you will need 6 ingredients,

• Flour
• Semolina (rava/sooji)
• Ghee
• Icing sugar
• Salt
• Milk/water.

You can use wheat flour instead of refined flour to make wheat shankarpali.

You start with incorporating the hot melted ghee in the flour and semolina, an important step in achieving the flaky texture in the end product. Once that’s sorted you mix in other ingredients, knead a soft and smooth dough. Let it rest.

During this phase, the semolina will absorb liquid, water in this case and the dough will have a perfect consistency. Divide the dough into portions, roll out each portion, and cut it into diamond shapes. Then these get deep fried over medium heat until golden brown.

These shankarpali are just right, not overly sweet, crisp and crunchy, yet soft and melt in the mouth. And that’s how a good Shankarpali should be, for you to enjoy it!

You can also make a savory version of shankarpali known as khara shankarpali | tikhat shankarpali | spicy shankarpali | namakpare. Skip the sugar and add spices like chilli powder, cumin, ajwain seeds, hing, and salt to taste.

Little E enjoyed these being made by his Grandma. And since he’s learning all about shapes and numbers and so on, he kept saying, look, Grammy, that’s a diamond shape 😀

Here’s yet another recipe treasure from My Mum-in-law, and I’m happy to have it up here on the blog to share it with you guys, right in time for Christmas! Also, you can use the same recipe to make kulkuls and kormolas , though I will be doing a short post on those two soon, mainly just for a stepwise pictorial to make the shapes or else everything else remains the same.

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS SWEET SHANKARPALI RECIPE AND ARE LOOKING FOR MORE TRADITIONAL GOAN CHRISTMAS SWEETS,

You will find a bunch of them here

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE SHANKARPALI | SHAKARPARA

1.In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, add semolina and salt.

2.Add the hot melted ghee and immediately mix, rub the ghee into the flour to resemble breadcrumbs. If you hold a portion of the flour-ghee mixture with your fist, it should hold its shape. If not, add another 1-2 tablespoons of hot melted ghee.

3.Now add powdered sugar, mix well.

4.Add water little by little to knead a soft dough. Do not knead a tight dough as the semolina will absorb water and make it firmer. Cover with a damp kitchen napkin or cling wrap and leave it aside for 30 minutes.

5.After the resting time, divide the dough into 6 portions. Take a ball and roll it out to a diameter of 7-8 inches, little thicker than a roti. Cut diamond-shaped pieces with a knife, as shown in the picture below. Meanwhile also, heat oil on medium heat in a heavy bottomed kadai.

6.Drop one piece in the oil, if it comes up instantly, the oil is ready. Drop in few pieces, fry on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Do not let them brown too much, as they will continue cooking in the residual heat and become darker. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a tray lined with an absorbent napkin. Fry all the pieces in the same way, in batches, depending on the size of your kadai.

7.Once cool completely, store shankarpali in an airtight container(s). It will stay good for 2-3 weeks.

HOW TO MAKE SHANKARPALI?

Shankarpali | Shakkarpara | Shakkar Pare Recipe

Ingredients

Measuring cup used, 1 Cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (maida)
• 3/4 cup fine variety semolina/rava/sooji
• 1 cup confectioner’s/powdered/icing sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt or to taste
• 6-7 tbsp melted hot ghee (clarified butter)
• 225 ml water/milk/coconut milk, or as required to knead the dough (I used water)

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, add semolina and salt.
• Add the hot melted ghee and immediately mix, rub the ghee into the flour to resemble breadcrumbs. If you hold a portion of the flour-ghee mixture with your fist, it should hold its shape. If not, add another 1-2 tablespoons of hot melted ghee.
• Now add powdered sugar, mix well.
• Add water little by little to knead a soft dough. Do not knead a tight dough as the semolina will absorb water and make it firmer. Cover with a damp kitchen napkin or cling wrap and leave it aside for 30 minutes.
• After the resting time, divide the dough into 6 portions. Take a ball and roll it out to a diameter of 7-8 inches, little thicker than a roti. Cut diamond-shaped pieces with a knife, as shown in the picture below. Meanwhile also, heat oil on medium heat in a heavy bottomed kadai.
• Drop one piece in the oil, if it comes up instantly, the oil is ready. Drop in few pieces, fry on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Do not let them brown too much, as they will continue cooking in the residual heat and become darker. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a tray lined with an absorbent napkin. Fry all the pieces in the same way, in batches, depending on the size of your kadai.
• Once cool completely, store shankarpali in an airtight container(s). It will stay good for 2-3 weeks.

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Regards,

Freda