I'am sure many of us would have exclaimed dialogues like Summer is back !!! God its so hot outside I don't wanna go anywhere until the sun sets!!.
In the same state of mind, one day, I was recalling my childhood joyous summer days, then, I was reminded of this fun filled and interesting summer activity, which me, my granny and my aunt used to take up in the month of March and April every year. I'am not aware if this is done in other states, but, its called the "Hapla and shandagi hakuvudu" in North Karnataka region.
In the same state of mind, one day, I was recalling my childhood joyous summer days, then, I was reminded of this fun filled and interesting summer activity, which me, my granny and my aunt used to take up in the month of March and April every year. I'am not aware if this is done in other states, but, its called the "Hapla and shandagi hakuvudu" in North Karnataka region.
Haplas as you see in the picture are the round flat cookie like thing and shandige are the small pebbles like things (bottom leftmost corner). Haplas and shandige comes in wide variety of shapes and sizes. They vary in terms of the basic ingredients used too. The ones in the picture are made of just four basic ingredients rawa (semolina), jeera (cumin seeds), salt and water.
I remember my granny using food color for making colorful haplas. But, I went on to use natural colors of beetroot for getting the purple (which unfortunately did not turn out the way i thought coz i added just two table spoons) and saffron for yellow color. (You can try out carrot juice for orange color and spinach puree for green).
The best part of this activity would be when my granny used to give the slightly burnt part of the mixture at the bottom of the vessel to eat at the last. I cannot describe the joy of eating it after two to three hours of hard work.
These haplas and shandagis should dry completely in sunlight and then you can use it for more than a year. They are meant to be deep fried in oil, but with the advent of appliances like microwave, frying is oil free ( 45 seconds in microwave would give you crunchy haplas). There would be no person on this earth and under the sun who would not love them. Completely home made and a healthy snack.
The best part of this activity would be when my granny used to give the slightly burnt part of the mixture at the bottom of the vessel to eat at the last. I cannot describe the joy of eating it after two to three hours of hard work.
These haplas and shandagis should dry completely in sunlight and then you can use it for more than a year. They are meant to be deep fried in oil, but with the advent of appliances like microwave, frying is oil free ( 45 seconds in microwave would give you crunchy haplas). There would be no person on this earth and under the sun who would not love them. Completely home made and a healthy snack.
This activity has become very rare and is at the verge of extinction. Starting from this year I have decided to make it a yearly affair to keep it running now and future generations to come. I guess involving kids would be a great idea to keep them engaged and make their vacations interesting to some extent.
Do try this and make the best use of hot summer days.
