As food takes centre stage during Diwali celebrations across India, indulge in this festive special Nevryo from the Saraswat community, by Swapneel Prabhu.
Across all regions and communities that celebrate Diwali, food takes centre stage in the middle of the infectious festive fervour and the Saraswats are no exception. The dazzling array of treats serves as pyrotechnics for the palate. And while recipe creator Swapneel Prabhu aka themissingdrumstick, is generally a savoury-over-sweets person, he turns into an equal opportunity glutton when it comes to relishing Diwali delicacies! But out of all the flavour-works there’s one particular preparation he has a soft corner for — Nevryo (the Saraswat Konkani version of Karanji/Gujiya) that he grew up eating. It uses a dairy-free stuffing which has coconut, an omnipresent staple of the cuisine along with jaggery being the chosen sweetener.
Sesame seeds are added to heighten the nuttiness and while not traditional, you can use finely chopped assorted nuts to oomph up the richness and decadence.
The process of making Nevryo is as satisfying as the end result is rewarding. First shaping the crescents, and then watching them puff and turn magically golden is a joy to behold. Watching his mother masterfully make Nevryo every year and then attempting them under her tutelage is an experience Prabhu deeply treasures and eagerly looks forward to. And while some foods can lose their nostalgic charm as one grows, Nevryo (along with other Diwali fare) have managed to retain their novelty and continue to evoke childlike excitement and festive cheer for him.
Here’s his family recipe for his favourite version of Nevryo (singular-Nevri)
This recipe yields 15 Nevryo.
Ingredients
For the stuffing (Chuun in Konkani):
- ½ Freshly-scraped Coconut
- ½ Cup Grated Jaggery
- 1/3 Cup Toasted Sesame Seeds
- ¼ Cup Roughly-chopped Assorted Nuts (optional)
- ½ Tsp Cardamom Powder
For the casing:
- 1.5 Cup Refined Flour (Maida)
- 1 Tbsp Unsalted White Butter
- A pinch of Salt
- Water for kneading
- Milk/water for sealing.
- Oil for deep frying
Method
For the stuffing:
- Toast the scraped fresh coconut in a pan on a low flame till the excess moisture evaporates and it turns fragrant and nutty.
- Add jaggery to the toasted coconut and continue to cook.
- Once the jaggery melts, add the sesame seeds and cardamom powder along with the chopped nuts (if using).
- Continue to cook the mixture till it reduces, dries and turns crumbly.
- Remove in a bowl and set aside to cool.
For the casing:
- Place the flour in a mixing bowl.
- Rub the butter into the flour and season the mixture with salt.
- Adding little water at a time, knead into a firm but smooth dough.
- Cover and allow to rest for 10 mins.
Shaping the Nevryo:
- Pinch small portions of the dough.
- Shape into small balls.
- Roll the ball of dough into a roughly round shape (you could use a cookie cutter for uniform results).
- Spoon some of the cooled stuffing mix onto the center of the rolled dough.
- Lightly brush the edge with milk or water.
- Fold one half over the other to form a semicircle/crescent.
- Press to seal the edges.
- Trim the excess edge with a fluted wheel cutter.
- (If shaping all crescents before frying, keep the stuffed and shaped Nevryo covered with a clean kitchen towel to prevent them from drying and developing a cracked skin)
- Deep fry in hot oil over medium heat turning occasionally till the Nevri is evenly golden.
- Remove on to an absorbent paper towel.
- Repeat the rolling, stuffing, folding, sealing, trimming and frying process with the remaining dough balls.
- Cool completely before storing in an air-tight container till serving time.