Chandrakanthalu

This is very old traditional andhra sweet and I got this recipe from my grandma's hand written cook book.As we bite into these squares the smell and taste of moong dal is divine.It requires some time and effort to prepare this sweet but I can vouch you for it's taste.

Recipe:
Ingredients:
Split Mooong dal(Yellow)-2cups
Rice-2tbsp
Sugar-21/2cups.
Freshly Grated coconut-1/2cup
Cashew nuts-1/2cup
Cardamom powder-1tsp
Oil to deep fry

Prepatation:

1. Soak moong dal and rice in water for 2-3 hours.
2. Grind it to a  fine paste by adding 2-3tbsp of water(Don't add more water.).
3. In a heavy bottomed vessel add sugar. When it starts to melt add moong dal paste, grated coconut and cashew nuts
4. Stir it on a low flame till it forms a big lump(You should be careful at this step. Always keep it on low-medium flame because it can get burnt easily. It will take nearly 20-25 minutes to form a big lump).Switch off the flame and add cardamom powder.
5. Immediately spread it on a wet cloth.Using a flat laddle gently spread it to a thickness of 1/2 inch layer. cool it completely before slicing into desired shapes.
6. Heat oil in heavy bottomed vessel, when oil is medium hot, slide the sliced squares into oil and fry it on a medium flame till golden brown.
7. You can fry a batch of 4-5 depending on the size of vessel.Remove them to an absorbent paper.
8. These can be stored in an airtight container for nearly 4-5 days.

Notes:
Apply some oil to laddle while spreading the mixture.Otherwise mixture will stick to laddle  making it difficult to spread