Sweet somas or Karanji is a most famous during Vinayakar Chaturthi and Diwali festival among all Indian families. Somas is a deep fried sweet snack with filling, filling can be made with different types. I have used roasted gram, coconut and cardamom for filling.

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Sweet Somas recipe / somas recipe / Karanji Recipe

It is also known as somasi in Tamil and Kajjikayali in Telugu and Karanji in Maharashtra because of the filling. Let me share the recipe…

Making of Somas / Karanji –

Ingredients:

• Maida / All-purpose flour – 1 ½ cups
• Rava / Semolina / Sooji – ¼ cup
• Water – ½ cup
• Salt – ½ tsp
• Ghee / Clarified butter – 1 ½ tsp
• Roasted gram / Pottukadalai / Porikadalai – ½ cup
• Grated coconut – ½ cup
• Sugar – ½ cup
• Cashew nuts (broken into smalle pieces)  – ¼ cup
• Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
• Oil – 1 cup (for deep frying)

with water

Maida/App-purpose flour, rava/semolina and salt together

kneaded dough

Roasted gram, roasted coconut together

Roasted cashewnuts

Powdered sugar, roasted ingredients, cardamom powder mixed together

Flattened dough

shaped to a circle

Cricle

with the filling

getting sealed

with fork

getting deep fried

done

Preparation:

• Take a bowl, add maida/all-purpose flour, rava/semolina, salt, mix it well. Pour water little by little and start kneading the dough to stiff consistency.
• Drizzle a tsp of oil over the kneaded dough, knead for few seconds and cover it with a damp cloth.
• Meanwhile, dry roast the roasted gram, remove from fire and spread it over a plate.
• Add ¼ tsp of ghee and roast the grated coconut, until they turn brown in color, spread it along with roasted gram.
• Add the leftover ghee and roast the cashew nuts until they turn golden brown in color. Remove it from fire and transfer it to a bowl.
• Grind the sugar to fine powder, transfer it to a bowl
• Grind roasted gram, roasted coconut to a fine powder and add it to the sugar.
• Also add cardamom powder and roasted cashew nuts along with ghee to the mixture and mix it well.
• Take a small portion of the dough and flattened it to a circle shape, keep a tea spoon full of filling in the center of the flattened dough.
• Dip your finger in water, apply it along the edges of the dough, now fold it to a half circle, then give a gentle press with fork along the sides.
• Heat oil in a kadai, gently add them one by one and fry until they turn golden brown on both sides.
• Drain the oil and remove it from fire.
• Serve once it reaches room temperature.

Store in an air-tight container once it reaches room temperature, so that it stays fresh for a week .