Sukhiyan. A simple snack featuring the healthy goodness of green gram, jaggery and coconut hidden inside a crispy yellow shell. Pair it with your afternoon tea to welcome an amazingly delicious evening.
As a food blogger and food photographer, I spent my days looking for new inspirations and up-to-the-minute trends in recipe creation as well as food photos. I think over the years, I’ve tested tons of recipes, and of course, the best creations always reach you through the blog.
Ranging from simple weeknight meals to elaborate entertaining ideas to the much loved fusion trend, I love each and every recipe I’ve shared with you. Transforming a simple dish into an elegant masterpiece - that’s what food photography does. Believe it or not, for me, every single picture on the blog hides a story celebrating the love for food and photography.
I hope now you are armed with the know-how to make the most of fresh seasonal ingredients and create delicious meals for your family. To inspire you with your next creation, I just want to introduce you to a very classic Kerala style snack recipe - sukhiyan or sugiyan featuring deep fried green gram and jaggery balls.
The basic idea is making a sweet mixture of green gram and jaggery coated in a simple batter that’s deep fried to create these golden beauties. Honestly, I always relate green gram or whole moong dal to savory recipes. However, if you want to explore the sweeter side of these healthy goodies, this is the perfect recipe.
Green gram or moong dal, jaggery, coconut and cardamom- a decadent combo of ingredients to create yummilicious sukhiyan. The key ingredient is moong dal, preferably whole moong dal. The very first step is to rinse dal really well before soaking them overnight.
Soaked green gram makes the cooking process super easy. Just cook them in a pan with a little water, and dal will be cooked really quick. However, remember the cooking times may vary.
The next step is melting jaggery. If you are after an elaborate post on ‘how to melt jaggery’, click here. You’ll only need about ¾ cup grated jaggery which is melted with ¼ cup water. The idea is to have enough jaggery to coat the green gram.
Now, to make the green gram filling of sukhiyan, combine together jaggery, coconut and cooked green gram in a pan. Cook the mixture for a few minutes. Then mash green gram lightly with the back of a spoon or potato masher.
Once the mixture is cooled, make balls out of the mixture. When the mixture is cooling, you can make the batter which forms the outer yellow covering of sukhiyan. The batter is a simple combo of all purpose (plain) flour, turmeric powder and water seasoned with a little salt. If you don’t want to use plain flour, rice flour is a great alternative.
Turmeric powder gives the vibrant yellow color to these classic snacks. The batter may not look yellow, but once you fry the balls, the outer layer slowly turns golden. Amazing, right? So, make sure you don’t add too much turmeric to get the golden hue.
Now, the final step. Coat the green gram balls in batter, and fry until golden. And there you go. Golden tea time snack the whole family will love.
More traditional Kerala snacks recipes:
- Pazhampori (Banana Fritters)
- Parippu Vada / Masala Vada (South Indian Lentil Cakes)
- Chicken Cutlet
- Fish Cutlet
- Egg Puffs
- Chicken Puffs
- Vattayappam (Steamed Rice Cake)
Sukhiyan | Battered Sweetened Green Gram | Video
Ingredients
Soak green gram:
- 1 cup green gram or whole green moong dal
- Salt to taste
- Water
Melt jaggery:
- ¾ cup grated jaggery
- ¼ cup water
Green gram mixture:
- ½ cup grated coconut
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom cardamom powder
Batter:
- 1 cup all purpose flour plain flour
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric turmeric powder
- A pinch of salt
- Water
Sukhiyan:
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
Soak green gram:
- Rinse green gram 3-4 times. Soak overnight or at least 8 hours. Drain. Place dal in a frying pan over low heat. Season with salt. Pour in a little water. Cook, covered, for 5-6 minutes or until green gram is tender but not mushy. Set aside.
Melt jaggery:
- Place grated jaggery in a saucepan. Add water. Place the pan over low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until jaggery is melted. Leave to cool slightly. Pass through a sieve to remove impurities. Set aside.
Green gram mixture:
- Place a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add melted jaggery and grated coconut. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add cooked green gram. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the mixture is dry.
- Stir in ground cardamom. Using the back of a spoon or potato masher, mash the mixture lightly. Leave to cool. Set aside.
Batter:
- Place flour and ground turmeric in a bowl. Season with salt. Add water little by little to make smooth lump-free batter with pouring consistency.
Sukhiyan:
- Meanwhile, heat oil for deep frying in a large pan.
- Make small balls out of the green gram mixture. (I made 21). Cover the moong balls in batter and deep fry in oil. Fry in batches if needed. Drain on an absorbent towel.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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