Kasaar ~ an offering for festivals
A simple and easy offering or parshad made with pantry staples that is great to distribute to a large group of people after prayers. Kasaar can even be customised with fruits and nuts to your liking.
Servings: 34
Equipment
- A heavy bottom pan or Kadhai
- Mortar and Pestle
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Aata (whole wheat flour)
- 1/2 tbsp Ghee (Clarified Butter) or more
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar or according to taste
- 1-2 pods Cardamom pounded
- 1-2 nos Fresh Fruits like banana, mango, apple, pear (optional)
- Mixed nuts like Almonds, cashews, raisins (optional)
Instructions
Roasting the flour
- Start by placing a heavy bottom kadhai or big saucepan on medium heat. Now put ghee in the hot kadhai and let it melt.
- Till the ghee melts, measure the amount of aata or whole wheat flour. Once the ghee is melted, tip in whole wheat flour and start stirring to incorporate the two ingredients.
- You may see lumps at first but soon you will see that the texture is more uniform because the melted ghee will get distributed evenly. Keep stirring the mixture to avoid overcooking. This should take some 2 minutes.
Adding flavour and texture
- Pound the cardamom roughly in a mortar and pestle and transfer to the kadhai. If you are using nuts, this is the time to add them.
- Roast the mixture for for another 7-10 minutes till you see it turn an even golden brown. Once you are satisfied with the 'toastiness' and colour of the flour, take it off heat and let the mixture cool. If you don't want the mixture cook to a darker colour, you may transfer it to a plate to cool down. See notes below.
Sweetening
- After letting the flour cool for 5-7 minutes, add granulated sugar and mix to incorporate. You can adjust the amount of sugar according to your tastes.
- Prep the fresh fruits. Wash the mangoes and apples. Dice the apples and peel the mangoes. Cut the mango is bite sized pieces or follow instructions here on how to dice a mango. Peel and cut the banana.
- Add these fresh cut fruits to the roasted Kasaar and mix them so that they are coated with the flour and sugar.
- Serve Kasaar in small bowls or pattals.
Notes
- Roasting Tip :You may adjust the heat if you see the mix getting brown too quickly. The hotter your Kadhai is, the more often you will have to stir it. Do not leave the mixture unattended for too long as it may get cooked unevenly. Cooking the whole wheat slowly by stirring constantly yields better results. The aim is to get the mix to an even golden brown colour without burning. The entire process of roasting the flour should take no more than 8-10 minutes. If you take the Kadhai off the heat but let the mixture sit in, the mixture will absorb more heat and become darker. If you are letting it sit in the Kadhai then it's advisable to switch off the heat earlier than usual, maybe around the 7 minute mark.