Gaja Mandigai

• Make gaja before making this item. Mix a spoonful of saffron in ghee. Press and mix well in the hand. Mix all other ingredients like brown sugar, wheat flour, white cardamom powder, poppy seeds, saffron. Put this in a coated vessel and add solid ghee in it and knead well. Press it with the palm of the hand and knead smoothly. This is called mandigai gaja.
• Knead semolina ½ padi, wheat flour 2 and ½ palam and salt ¼ rupee coin size loosely. Sprinkle salt water if the flour is tight. Soak this for one hour. Put rice flour 2 palam and sesame oil 2 and ½ palam in a coated vessel and press it with the palm of your hand. Make this frothy and apply it intermittently in the semolina mixture.
• Put the gingelly oil 1 palam in a tray and put the semolina mixture and close it with a wet cloth. Take another tray and put the rice flour 1 padi into it. Make 20 equal balls out of the semolina mixture. Sprinkle rice flour on top of it and keep it in the wet cloth covered.
• Make 10 equal balls of mandigai gaja. Take a semolina ball and keep it in the palm of the hand. Press it and place the gaja ball on it. Place another rava ball on it and seal the edges of the rava ball. Hide the gaja inside the ball. Smear rice flour on top of the wooden block and place the balls on it. Smear more rice on it.
• Keep this on a papad making block of wood and sprinkle rice flour on top of it. Make papad one fore hand size measurement (muzham). Spread it on top of the earthen pot. The earthen pot has to be on fire. When it rises above turn the mandigai. After it becomes hot, seal the edges and fold it like a pillow. Repeat this for the rest of the balls.

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