Chandrakala | Suryakala | Diwali Special Recipes

I am posting one of my favorite sweet recipes for Diwali – Chandraka & Suryakala. The first time I tried this sweet recipe was almost 7 years ago. Having been intrigued by the shape, design and taste – the sister and I decided to try it out for one diwali. It was huge success. It turned out crispy, sweet and the filling inside just melted in our mouths. Ever since, I prepare this sweet for every Diwali and this time I decided to put it up in my blog. Usually, I would prepare the filling from the scratch. Although it seems like a lot of work – it is not. Put milk and sugar together and keep stirring it until it’s almost solid. It does take some time but the taste is really unmatchable. This year I was pressed for time and decided to go the easy way – got store bought unsweetened khoya. I had this nagging feeling for having to use something ready-made but the circumstances were so, this year. In one way, with this recipe this sweet can be made in a lot lesser time 🙂

These sweets are shaped really beautiful and hence they get their names – Chandrakala and Suryakala. Half-moon shaped is the Chandrakala and the Sun-shaped/roundel is the Suryakala. The preparation is the same for both the sweets, only the way these are folded makes the difference. There are a few things to note while preparing this sweet. Pls go through the Notes section before attempting. These stay crisp for a day or two and then turn soft. Can be stored in refrigerator for longer shelf life.

Note –

• Adding hot butter or oil is essential to have a crisp, flaky outer layer.
• Instead of using store bought khoya/khova, prepare it at home by bringing milk and sugar to boil until it solidifies.
• Instead of making a large sheet of dough, smaller sheets of dough can be made but it’s a lot more work.
• The thickness of the dough is very important. If it’s too thick, it could raw and if it’s too thin, filling can ooze out. Make sure the dough is about 1mm in thickness. Try deep frying a piece before making everything.
• Do not put too much filling in each Chandrakala/Suryakala. It will definitely ooze out while cooking spoiling all the oil.
• The temperature of the oil is very important. Prolonged cooking can build up pressure inside this sweet and it can burst – there by spoiling the oil. Make sure the oil is always hot. At the maximum, each piece should be golden brown in 40 secs. If at all, a piece bursts, immediately switch off the stove and remove all the sediments and start over again.
• The consistency of the sugar syrup has to be one string. If it’s too thin, the sweet immediately becomes soggy. If its too thick, a white layer forms on top of the sweet like Badusha. If your sugar syrup goes thick, add a few tbps of water and heat it again to the right consistency. As its cold in Bangalore, my syrup thickened quite fast and you can see the white sugar coating on couple of pieces.
• Store this in fridge for longer shelf life. Crispness remains only for a day or two. It gets soft after that. No impact to taste 🙂