Godambu Kaachiyathu (A Wheat Based Beverage Tempered with Fried Onions, Cashews and Raisins) and a little News!

This year’s Ramadan has been very busy and all my cycle is completely jumbled up. Late breakfasts, late sleep, early waking up and to add to it, lack of sleep too. I couldn’t keep track of my blog or other blogs and have to wait for few more days to get everything back to routine. For the time being, I will share with you one of my most favourite beverages – Godambu Kaachiyathu or Godambu payasam. This is a very simple recipe, very easy to make and tastes quite delicious. Like Musaara Varakiyathu, this is also prepared by grinding skinned wheat and coconut, sweetened with sugar and then tempering it. Tempering makes it all the difference. The taste of ghee, fried shallots, fried nuts and raisins is simply YUM. I guess pearl barley also should work for this recipe as the recipe asks for grinding wheat.

Godambu Kaachiyathu is normally prepared during Ramadan for Iftars. It’s quite a heavy drink so one cup will keep you feeling full for quite a long time. I sometimes have a cup of this for seheri (Early morning feast taken before fasting) as well. Many of Malabar sweet dishes call for the addition of fried shallots. This may be very unfamiliar to many out there or rather weird. But the fried shallots impart a very special flavour that is unique and aromatic and that goes well with any traditional Malabar sweet preparations. You can omit adding fried onions if you think you would hate it, but I still suggest trying it once. I liked the taste of fried shallots even when I had it for the first time, so I tell you, give it a shot. Else You may just add fried cashews and raisins by omitting shallots. And if you are really health conscious, you can simply omit the tempering part completely. The taste will be compromised, but still, it will taste good. My mom also suggested, that this beverage can be made completely out of cow’s milk without adding coconut. You may try that version if you dislike coconut too. Here are couple of other dishes that we add fried shallots or onions: Kadalapparippu Ada , Tharikkanji, Kalathappam etc. This is unsweetend Kalathappam, but even for the sweetened versions we use fried shallots or onions.

Godambu Kachiyathu as many other beverages is served in glasses and is consumed hot or warm. You can refrigerate the leftovers, reheat in microwave or hob and have it the next day too. It can be made thin or thick as per your liking. Below given is the way we like it.

And before going to the recipe Let me also share the happy news of winning a place - Reader's Choice Award in the Food Photography competition held by Leitus Culinaria. Thank you all for the vote and continuous support.

 

Godambu Kaachiyathu (A Wheat Based Beverage Tempered with Fried Onions, Cashews and Raisins)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

¼ cup skinned wheat, soaked overnight and drained

2 – 2 ½ cup whole milk (Adjust to your liking)

2 cups water

¼ cup – ½ cup regular white sugar

4-6 cardamoms crushed

1 cup freshly grated coconut

For tempering:

1-2 tsp of Ghee (Clarified butter)

1 tsp finely chopped shallots

3tsp Whole cashews

3tsp raisins

Preparation:

 

1.Grind wheat and coconut with 1 – 1 ½ cup of milk until smooth.

2. Hold a large sieve on a medium size non-stick sauce pan and pass this mixture through sieve. Squeeze until all the liquid is extracted. You will get a residue consisting of coconut and wheat in the strainer. Pour water into this leftover residue and squeeze again to collect all of the milky liquid in the saucepan. Discard residue.

3. Add remaining milk to the ground mixture in the sauce pan leaving aside ½ cup of milk. Place the mixture on a low-medium heat and cook until it starts boiling, making sure that you stir the mixture continuously.

4. Once it starts to boil, add salt, sugar and crushed cardamoms and gently cook for 2 minutes. At this point of time if you like your drink to be thicker, you can boil for further few more minutes. And if you want it thinner, you can add ½ a cup more of milk that was reserved earlier. Godambu Kachiyathu will get thicker as it sits, so don’t make it too thin as well.

5. In a separate Wok or kadai or a small pan, add ghee. When hot, add cashews and fry till golden. Pick them up using slotted spoon and add it to the prepared hot mixture. Similarly fry raisins till it puffs up and add it to the wheat mixture. Then in the same ghee, add the chopped shallots and fry until golden brown. Add it to the wheat mixture along with the tempered ghee. Stir well and close the lid. This process is called tempering or ‘Kaachal ’ in our place.

Serve it hot, war or even cold. But normally it is served hot, as soon as it is prepared.

This recipe goes for 'Joy from Fasting to Feasting ' hosted by Lubna