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1
Chana Dal: Dry roast the chana dal till golden brown and aromatic.
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This will take 7-8 minutes on medium heat.
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Soak this roasted dal in lots of water for 3 hours or so.
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4
Coconut: Dry roast the coconut flakes till golden and aromatic.
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This will take around 5 minutes on low flame.
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Keep aside.
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7
Cardamom: Remove the skin, grind the seeds along with a tsp of coarsely granulated sugar in mortar-pestle till you get a fairly fine powder.
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8
Keep aside.
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Cashews and raisins: Heat 1-2 tbsp ghee and fry them till cashews are golden.
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10
Keep aside.
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11
Preparing the Chana Dal: Grind the soaked chana dal to a fine paste, adding as little water as possible.Make loose dumplings of the ground dal and place in a deep, big vessel that fits in the cooker, steam for 20-25 minutes.Open the cooker after a few minutes and let these steamed dumplings cool.
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12
Now, you can either grate these cooled dumplings or crumble them with your fingers.
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13
The former gives a more uniform look to the sweet.
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In a large wok, heat 1 tbsp of gingelly oil (Nalla yennai) or ghee and fry the crumbled / grated dal mix on a low flame for 5-7 minutes.
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Keep aside.
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16
Place 1/2 cup water in a heavy bottom pan.
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Add 1 cup of crushed jaggery to this and let it melt on a high flame, with constant stirring.
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Once melted, lower flame and keep stirring.In 7-8 minutes the mixture will get a deep colour and start thickening.Keep a small plate handy, and pour a drop or so of this onto it, every 2-3 minutes.
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Try rolling this drop between your thumb and index finger.
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If it turns into a ball and makes a sound when you drop it on the plate, your jaggery-caramel is ready for the okkarai.
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As soon as your caramel reaches this stage, turn off the flame.
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Remove the wok from the stove and start adding the ready dal crumble in batches, giving it a good mix to coat evenly.
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Once the crumble is all evenly mixed with the jaggery caramel- it will be soft, sweet and not sticky, but like perfectly cooked basmati rice - fluffy, dry and separate.
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To this, add the roasted coconut, cardamom powder and fried cashews and raisins and mix gently.
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25
Your Okkarai is ready for Diwali.
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26
If you like a richer taste, you can use more ghee to fry the cashews, but 1 tbsp is more than enough.
