Ghaas Mando - A Konkani Sweet Dish

This is a typical Konkani Sweet Dish that gets made during festivities. One of our aunt's mom was an expert in making these. They are the melt in your mouth kind and bite sized. Just pop one into your mouth and experience the bliss. I can never eat just one. I had absolutely forgotten about this sweet until recently I saw it in The India Food Court. The author Prathibha has given a beautiful step by step pictorial for making it. She made it appear so simple, so I had to give it a try... 

For the dough:

Maida - 1 cup

Chiroti Rawa / Fine Suji - 2 tsp

Melted Ghee - 1 tsp

Water - Around 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients and knead into a firm but pliable dough. Keep it covered for about half an hour.

For the filling:

Thin poha / beaten rice - 2-3 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

Green Cardamom - 8-10

Method:

1. Dry roast Poha in a Pan so that it crimples and turns crispy.  Ensure that it does not change its colour. Keep aside

2. Dry roast sugar in a pan till it begins crystallizing. Keep aside. Once cooled, grind together poha, sugar and cardamom into a coarse powder.

Method for assembling the final dish:

1. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.

2. Pinch a small ball from the dough and roll it to a thin disc (1mm thickness) 

3. When the oil is hot, just add the disc into it, fry on both sides for not more than 30 secs.

4. Remove it from pan. Add a tsp of the sugar-poha powder.

5. Fold it in a semi circle. Again sprinkle little more powder on it and fold into a triangle.

6. Roll this in the powder once and keep aside.

7. Once the Mandos come to room temperature, they may be preserved in an air tight container.

Note:

1. In the original recipe, the discs were folded in the oil itself. I tried doing it. But I guess I need more practice and expertise for that. So I did all the folding only after removing the disc from oil.

2. If you are rolling the discs ahead before frying, make sure you don't pile them one on top of the other. Place them separately and covered.