Gavvalu
I used to love sweets a lot. I still do, but now because of my medicines for my diabetes, not a lot of sweets appetize me anymore. I love everything with sugar so much no wonder my body has an excess of it. When I was newly married, my mother in law made so many sweets for me because I loved them. Whenever I get a box of stuff from India filled with goodies my in-laws always include sweets usually my favorite ones – ariselu, gavvalu, and sunniundalu. My mother in law makes the best sunniundalu, she pours over ghee liberally and makes them bite size that just melts in the mouth. Gavvalu are not the most sweetest sweet out there – they are crunchy but amazingly just melt in the mouth.
Making them isn’t as hard as I expected them to be. But it does need some experience to make them and also lots of patience. Since they are deep fried they aren’t super healthy and also are made of all-purpose flour, but a few wouldn’t hurt. I don’t make a lot of sweets at home and whenever we are craving we buy the smallest pack available at the Indian store. Arlo loves everything with sugar just like me. VJ is not a huge fan of sweets and enjoys them once in a while, but not when I make them at home. He doesn’t even eat the sweets that they have at the buffet in restaurants. He likes very specific ones that are sweet but not too sweet. This time I asked my MIL specifically to make them for me as I love them and miss eating them.
Ingredients
All Purpose Flour (Maida) – 2 cups
Semolina (Bombay Rava) – 1/2 cup
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee – 3 tablespoons
Water – As needed
Oil – For Deep Frying
For Syrup:
Jaggery (Bellam) – 2 cups
Water – 1 cup
How to Make
All Purpose Flour 
Semolina
Step 1: In a large bowl, add the all purpose flour, semolina, salt and ghee.
Salt 
Ghee
Step 2: Mix them together to form a ball of dough with water. It shouldn’t be too hard or too sticky. Cover the dough with a plate and keep it aside for at least 20 minutes.
Add water 
make into a dough
More water if needed 
Dough
Step 3: Take a fork and make marble sized balls and roll them through the fork (my MIL had a separate wooden thin long piece).
Step 4: In a deep bottom dish, add oil enough for deep frying. As it heats up, keep making shell shaped small balls of dough.
Once hot drop them for frying
Step 5: Once the oil has heated up enough for deep frying, add the shell shaped dough.
Step 6: Fry them until they are golden brown. Fry them until all are done.
Step 7: Keep these aside until they cool down.
Step 8: In a pan, add jaggery and 1 cup of water. Keep stirring till the jaggery melts. As it starts melting, keep stirring as it starts to boil.
Step 9: Take a half cup of water in a small cup and keep it aside. As the jaggery syrup starts boiling over, take a spoon of it and pour over the water, if it forms into a small ball when rolled around in the water – the syrup is ready.
Step 10: Pour the now ready syrup over the fried gavvalu and mix them well to coat the syrup all over them.
Step 11: Let them dry a little so that they are not sticky and serve them with something spicy. Though they aren’t very sweet, they do go very well with something spicy on the side.
- In a large bowl, add the all purpose flour, semolina, salt and ghee.
- Mix them together to form a ball of dough with water. It shouldn't be too hard or too sticky. Cover the dough with a plate and keep it aside for at least 20 minutes.
- Take a fork and make marble sized balls and roll them through the fork (my MIL had a separate wooden thin long piece).
- In a deep bottom dish, add oil enough for deep frying. As it heats up, keep making shell shaped small balls of dough.
- Once the oil has heated up enough for deep frying, add the shell shaped dough.
- Fry them until they are golden brown. Fry them until all are done.
- Keep these aside until they cool down.
- In a pan, add jaggery and 1 cup of water. Keep stirring till the jaggery melts. As it starts melting, keep stirring as it starts to boil.
- Take a half cup of water in a small cup and keep it aside. As the jaggery syrup starts boiling over, take a spoon of it and pour over the water, if it forms into a small ball when rolled around in the water - the syrup is ready.
- Pour the now ready syrup over the fried gavvalu and mix them well to coat the syrup all over them.
- Let them dry a little so that they are not sticky and serve them with something spicy. Though they aren't very sweet, they do go very well with something spicy on the side.
Tips:
- If you want add crushed elachi (cardamom) about to of them to the jaggery syrup
- The gavvalu become very crunchy if let dried long enough.
- We let the gavvalu cool down for around 3 or 4 hours before throwing in the syrup to mix it up.
❤️
Po
