Thambittu ( Wheat-Jaggery Dumplings)

One more authentic Karnataka recipe for you guys today..... Thambittu is a sweet dish that is usually made during festivals - Shivratri, mainly. Mostly prepared in the Bangalore/Mysore regions of Karnataka, Thambittu can be made with different ingredients - like wheat flour, rice flour, urad flour etc.... Godi/wheat thambittu being the most popular one among them all.

As a kid, I disliked thambittu, and my mom had to do a lot of forcing - scolding - yelling to get me to even taste it!! I'd try my best to avoid it...I'd cry and make a big fuss, I'd make a pitiable face with tears in my eyes and hope that Amma would just let me go... But nothing really worked, I HAD to eat at least one small dumpling! Slowly, I developed a liking towards thambittu.. thanks to my mom!!! I guess its the kind of taste that's acquired over a period of time.... Whatever, I love thambittu now!

Couple of other reasons I like thambittu..... Its super easy to make... It takes hardly about 10-12 mins!! And, its healthy too!! Very little (negligible, you can say) fat... wheat-which is anyway healthy... some jaggery- which is again better than sugar!! I can have a decent serving of thambittu without any feeling of guilt within me... what more can one ask for?!?!?! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup Wheat flour / Godi Hittu

1 cup Jaggery

1/2 tsp Ghee

1/2 tsp Elaichi / Cardamom powder

Optional :

1 - 2 tbsp Desiccated Coconut / Grated Copra (Kobri/Kobbari)

1-2 tbsp Raisins- Chopped nuts mixture

Method:

1. Dry roast the wheat flour for a couple of minutes, or until the raw smell disappears; Saute continuously.... the flour would get burnt otherwise; The flour should turn light brown in color. Remove from stove and keep aside
2. Take about 1.5 cups of water; Add few drops of ghee, jaggery and boil well until all the jaggery has melted. Adjust sweetness according to taste.
3. Reduce heat to low; Add the elaichi powder, nuts and mix well;
4. Add the roasted flour little by little; Mix continuously so that no lumps are formed;
5. Remove from stove immediately and let it cool; After it cools, grease your hands with a few drops of oil/ghee and shape them into laddus/ laadus. Store in airtight containers and enjoy. It's shelf live is about 3-5 days.

Note: Thambittu is usually a little soft and not as hard as other laddus. Its consistency is somewhere between halwa and laddus.

Prep time: About 10-12 mins

Makes: About 8-10 laadus