HAPPY SRI KRISHAN JANAMASHTAMI !

Author Rekha Gupta

Krishan Janamashtami is a significant festival that marks the birth of ‘Bhagwan Krishan’ : eigth avtaar of ”Bhagvan Vishnu” that is celebrated with great fervour across India . Mewa Pak is specially prepared in our home to be offered as ‘bhog’ (offering )to Bhagvan Krishan. Amongst the 5 sweet offerings traditionally made and offered on this pious occasion, Mewa Pak is a definite must. The fact that it is a fast, no-fuss recipe , yet super rich in ingredients and flavour, makes it a much sought after sweet. Try it once and you will want to savour this delicacy every now and then. Mewa Pak is made with an assortment of dry fruits and lotus seeds , roasted and then cooked in sugar syrup and finally set as a Barfi .Now who wouldn’t enjoy a handful of crunchy dried nuts set in sugar . C@Rg

As you all know, I use unrefined sugar, which is rock sugar (dhaga mishri). It’s the rawest form of sugar with all the nutrients intact but sans all the impurities. It has medicinal properties and its taste is completely different as its not biting sweet and hence easy on the palette. You are free to use regular refined sugar as well for this recipe.

U S P – My dishes have to be healthy and tasty both hence there can be no short cuts.

MEWA PAK

INGREDIENTS

• Cows Ghee – 3 tbsp
• Almonds: 1 Cup
• Cashew nuts: 1 Cup
• Pistachios: 1 cup
• Fox Nuts (Makhana): 1 Cup
• Raisins: 1 Cup
• Melon Seeds: 1 cup
• You may reduce any of the above to 1/2 depending on your perrsonal preference, but this proportion works perfect for a balanced taste.

For Sugar Syrup-

Rock Sugar / Sugar : 6.5 cups

Water for Syrup: 1.5 cups

STEPS

1. Roast or lightly saute all the dry fruits in separate pans , as each one takes different time to roast.( This step of roasting nuts is a must as it enhances the flavour and aroma , besides increasing the shelf life of the product). I personally prefer to to roast the nuts one by one, as the entire procedure hardly takes more than 20-25 mins and you keep an eye on each of them.

2.Heat a heavy based steel pan on low flame , start by dry roasting the Melon seeds ,continuously stirring these till they change colour to a slightly light pink and a few of them start to crackle & dance . Test by tasting if crunchy then remove in a bowl and keep aside. (takes about 10 minutes).

3.In the same pan on low flame , add 1 tsp ghee and add the Cashews and stirring continuously till these turn light golden in colour.( appx time: 5 mins.) Remove and keep aside.When cool ,cut them in two halves.

4.In the same pan on low flame ,add 1/2 tsp ghee again,now add Pistachios and stirring continuously till they are crunchy. (Time taken : less than 5 min.) Remove and keep aside, when cool cut these in two halves.

5.Add 2 tsp ghee again,now add Fox nuts (makahna) and stirring continuously, till they turn pink in colour. Test by breaking one in between your fingers , it should snap into pieces with a crunchy sound .( appx time-:10 to 15 min.) Remove on a napkin and lightly crush them by rolling a rolling pin over these, making sure to have 2-3 smaller pieces and not more.

6.In the same pan on low flame, add 1 tsp. Ghee again,now add Raisins and saute for just 1 minute , remove and keep aside..

7.Lastly add 1 tsp Ghee again,now add Almonds and saute them for appx 7-8 mins and when they are crunchy , and a few crackle ,remove and keep aside.When cool thinly sliver the almonds . C@Rg

SUGAR SYRUP

1. Meanwhile side by side ,on another flame in a heavy steel big pan keep Rock Sugar + Water to cook on low flame and cover it . When the Rock Sugar dissolves completely ,open the lid and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes to get a 1.5 string consistency . Test a cool drop in between your fingers and thumb ,it should be more than one string but less than 2 string consistency.

2. When the Syrup is ready , flame on low, add all the roasted nuts together and keep stirring so that the syrup is coated evenly over all the Nuts. CRITICAL STAGE: Keep stirring continuously for 3 – 5 minutes ( otherwise nuts can burn at the base) and when it looks like syrup and nuts have come together like a soft loose dough ( you see NO extra syrup at the base) it’s ready to set. C@Rg

3. Pour the mixture onto 2 greased thalis ( big plates ), tap the plates to even out the mixture

4 Immediately make cut marks, then let it cool completely on room temperature.

5 When cools , lift the pieces carefully , ( important points : 1 st- if the pieces break, then on top of sim flame rotate the thali / plate for 10 sec.then the pieces lift easily . 2nd – If the mixture has not set means there still is extra sugar syrup in it , so transfer it to the pan again and cook on medium flame for 3 to 5 minutes then pour it on a new greased thali and leave it to set.) and Enjoy.

Do offer bhog to bhagwanji before relishing these sweets. 🙏

Author Rekha Gupta