Popular Goan Christmas dessert DODAL
Dodal is a very popular dessert for Christmas in Goa, a southwest part of India. Actually, Dodol is believed to have been introduced to Southern India and Sri Lanka by migrants from Indonesia. It has also been attributed to the Portuguese, who occupied parts of the country during the 16th and 17th centuries but still, we don't know why it has been a very special dessert in the roman catholic community around Goa. Growing up in Goa surrounded by some Catholic families, I learned some of their festive food mostly without meat.
In my list of easy and 100% vegan is DODAL. Today I shall show you how to make it. This recipe is traditionally made with fresh homemade coconut milk but I have no possibility to get or make that here so I used coconut milk from the shop.
ingredients:
2 cups thick coconut milk
2 cups thin coconut milk
1 cup coconut jaggery
1 cup rice flour
1/3 cup cashews
5-7 cardamom pods
2 pinches of salt
to separate the thick milk from the thin, make a small hole low down in the carton. collect the thin milk that drains out first. when you see thicker milk coming out collect that separately. avoid shaking the carton both before and during this procedure.
crush the cardamom.
chop some cashews in halves and some in small pieces.
Dissolve the coconut jaggery in the thin coconut milk.
Once the jaggery is dissolved strain the liquid using a strainer.
gradually add the rice flour while stirring constantly to avoid any lumps forming.
added 2 pinches of salt.
Pour the mixture into a saucepan. I used a nonstick pan which was more convenient to avoid burning.
Start cooking the coconut milk/ jaggery mixture on low heat with constant stirring.
when the mixture starts getting thicker add 1 cup of thick coconut milk. keep stirring while cooking on medium heat around 5-6 minutes
Again when the mixture becomes thicker add the next cup of thick coconut milk and keep stirring.
to make this recipe use a long handle spatula to avoid the hot mixture splashing on your hand.
Add the cardamom powder.
then the small cashew pieces. continue cooking.
soon the mixture will start to loosen from the sides of the pan and releasing oil. cook until it thickens a little more about 3=4 minutes. remove from heat
Pour the dodal into any type of form. I used a square glass one.
I used some cashew halves to decorate. Let it cool at least 2 hours.
when cool, cut it according to the desired shape- slices or squares.
It is soft, mildly sweet, and melts in the mouth. dodal is one of the most popular Goan Christmas sweets either homemade or store bought.
The sought-after Goan Christmas dessert DODAL
thank you for stopping by.