Get your just desserts this Deepavali

A few years ago, a baker Lakhan Bhounsle, while trying out something new, created a ‘ Kajjaya caramelised banana cheesecake’ as he felt Bangaloreans preferred offbeat and experimental desserts, even on traditional occasions! 

However, the humble ground rice and jaggery sweet kajjaya, ( athirasam in Tamil; ariselu in Telugu) is a Deepavali special, uncomplicated in its make up, but tricky for beginners who struggle to get the exact rice batter consistency. No wonder there are scores of made-to-order outlets supplying them in a host of varieties such as the sesame kajjaya, dry-fruit kajjaya, red-and-white rice kajjaya or even the new, millet kajjaya. Take a look:       

Ready-to-fry kajjaya batter: Subbamma Stores

Nearly 50 people spill out on to the bylanes of Gandhi Bazaar, outside Srinivasa Condiments, popularly known as Subbamma Angadi, for readymade kajjaya and kajjaya batter. The tiny store stacked with food products belies the thousands of kajjaya and 300 kilograms of batter that flies off their shelves daily.

Flagged off by a home-bound cook, Subbamma in 1947, for a monthly rent of ₹5 at the Harikathe Bhajana Samaja building, the retail business from this same cubbyhole is still going strong as her grandsons — KV Anantha Rao and KV Ramachandra — quietly celebrate the 75 ^th year of Subbamma’s legacy.

Ask for the precise ratio of rice and jaggery combination for their most sought-after Deepavali sweet and the brothers laugh. “As boys we watched our grandmother intuitively estimating the proportions. We have not deviated from her path to this day. Subbamma Angadi follows her culinary wisdom with recipes derived from proficiency,” says Rao. Subbamma’s great grandson, Raghavendra Karthik, who now supervises the kitchen, joins the discussion. “We are unadventurous with the kajjaya recipe as it is offered for Deepavali pooja. That is why our readymade kajjaya batter is in great demand closer to the festival. People can fry them without any hassles,”

After all, explains Karthik, rice is not the best binding agent. The art lies in soaking the rice overnight, grinding the batter to perfection and mixing it with unadulterated  bellada  paaka (jaggery syrup). “We use only dose-akki (rice used for dosa ). Frying them just right in refined oil gives the kajjayas a soft and crispy texture. Readymade kajjayas cost ₹35 for a packet of four, and half a kilo of batter that is good for 12 to 15 kajjayas costs ₹75.”

Kajjaya prepared at Subbamma Stores for Deepavali in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: Bhagya Prakash K

Subbamma came to Bengaluru from Kallur in Hindupur, after her husband’s death in the late 1920s. She began her venture by selling masala powders door-to-door and over the years her avarekai mixture,  hurigaalu (fried beans) and  hurittu (a millet mix) became so famous that even literary giants Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, DV Gundappa and GP Rajarathnam are known to have enjoyed them.

Call 080-26677493 for details

Sesame kajjaya: Sridhar BR

Come Deepavali and it rains kajjayas, prepared and sold by BR Sridhar, who took to the profession from his father Belur Rangaswamy Iyengar. Sridhar later started SSSS Catering services (named after his family — Srimathy, Sneha and Santhosh) from his home in Rajajinagar. Soft rice and jaggery kajjaya seasoned with sesame is his forte during Deepavali, apart from his signature laddoos packed with generous helpings of dry fruits, cashew and badam barfi; and haalbai with coconut, using 70% sugarcane juice and 30% jaggery.

“My liberal use of cashew for laddoos and other sweets earned me the sobriquet of ‘Godambi’ Sridhar,” laughs the expert who dishes out a host of savouries and masalas too. What is the secret of his version of kajjaya? “We use a 5:6 ratio of rice and jaggery. Rice is soaked in water a day earlier, and then powdered before it is soaked in jaggery syrup. Cardamom is added before it is fried in ghee and oil. It is an art, I can only show you how it is made, it is difficult to explain.”

Sridhar’s 45-year-old culinary expertise is an inheritance, as he observed his father who worked for the Belur Devasthana for nearly four decades as a cook. “My father was known as Puliyogare Rangappa as his puliyogare and sakkara pongal had devotees thronging the temple. He made 50 kilograms of puliyogare every day, and during festivals it would double. It was my grand-aunt, Coffee Kamalamma, who taught me the nuances of cooking. After completing my PUC at Belur, I came to Bengaluru because of Kamalajji, my guru,” says Sridhar, adding that her recipe for kobri obbattu is beyond compare.

Call 98440 34205 for details

Organic foxtail millet Kajjaya: Grameena Angadi

Ever heard of Siridhanya Kajjaya? It is a millet kajjaya introduced by Grameena Angadi at all its outlets in Bengaluru as a Deepavali special this year. “The moment we announced the availability of a millet kajjaya on social media, there were pre-orders for 500 packs, and by Deepavali, we expect to sell a thousand,” says B. Gangadhara Murthy from the village handicrafts cooperative Grameena Karakushala Udhyama, who is also manager of Grameena Angadi in Jayanagar T Block East.

Kajjaya at Grameena Angadi, Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: Bhagya Prakash K

Doing away with middlemen, Grameena Angadi sells everything organic, from handicrafts and textiles, to food products and groceries, empowering rural artisans, farmers and cottage industries. “We always prepared kajjayas using red-rice and Rajamudi rice for their extra-health benefits. This time round we requested one of our organic product suppliers, Ishta Naturals, to consider making millet kajjayas. They readily agreed and their dietician counselors zero-in on navane (foxtail millet) for its healthy properties. The millet powder binds well with jaggery to make kajjayas,” says Murthy.

After all, not every flour binds well with jaggery when fried in oil. “Dry fruits can be added on demand, and the kajjaya will be fried in cold-pressed sunflower oil,” says Murthy who has been selling millet- based rava, vermicelli, flakes and noodles for the past 12 years. “The alternative-to-rice concept brought in a new-wave of thinking and that is when organic farmers were brought in to source foxtail laddoos and a host of millet-based snacks. We are trying our hand at korle or brown top millet sweets too,” he adds.

As every year, Grameena Angadi makes Deepavali more special by stocking hand-made deepas ( diyas) made with pure clay and baked in kilns by traditional artisans from Haranahalli near Shivamogga. “They don’t absorb oil or leak,” says Murthy.

Call 96068 19123 for details.