Adadiya Pak (Variation 3)

Ingredients

• 8 pounds Ghee (Clarified butter. This is a large batch recipe.)
• 7 pounds Granulated sugar
• 3 pounds Jaggery (Soft quality, chopped.)
• 2 1/2 pounds Wheat starch (Nishasta) (Originally 'wheat milk' (dried wheat starch).)
• 2 1/2 pounds Urad dal flour (Coarse flour made from roasted split black gram.)
• 1 pound Charoli (Chironji) seeds (Fresh crop.)
• 1/2 pound Almonds (Kernels.)
• 1/4 pound Pistachios (Unsalted.)
• 1/4 pound Dry coconut (Copra.)
• 1/4 pound Dried water chestnuts (Singoda) (Dried and powdered.)
• 1/4 pound Dried lotus seeds (Kamarkakdi/Makhana) (Roasted.)
• 1/4 pound Raisins (Kishmish.)
• 1/4 pound Edible gum (Gundar) (Acacia gum.)
• 1/4 pound Gokhru powder (Tribulus terrestris (Ayurvedic herb).)
• 1/4 pound Dry ginger powder (Sunth)
• 1/4 pound Dill seeds (Suva)
• 1.5 ounces White pepper (Originally 4 tolas.)
• 8 ounces Mixed melon seeds (Magaj) (Four types (watermelon, pumpkin, cucumber, cantaloupe). Originally 1 navtank each.)
• 1 ounce Ganthoda powder (Piprimul) (Long pepper root. Originally 3 tolas.)
• 1 ounce Cardamom seeds (Originally 3 tolas.)
• 1 ounce Nutmeg (Originally 3 tolas.)
• 0.8 ounce Safed Musli (Salam) (Chlorophytum borivilianum. Originally 2.5 tolas.)

Instructions

1. 1Clean, roast, and grind the urad dal to a coarse flour if not already prepared. Clean the dill seeds (suva) and crush them. Finely grind the cardamom and nutmeg. Sieve the dry ginger powder through a fine wire mesh. Separately grind and sieve the wheat starch, water chestnuts (singoda), lotus seeds, gokhru, edible gum, safed musli, piprimul, and white pepper. Keep each powder separate. Note: Start with slightly more than the listed weight for whole spices to account for waste during cleaning and sieving.
2. 2Peel and slice the coconut into small pieces. Clean and wash the raisins, then dry them completely. Blanch, peel, wash, and thoroughly dry the almonds, pistachios, and charoli. Spread them on a cloth to air dry completely before frying.
3. 3Heat the ghee in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. When the ghee smokes slightly, add the raisins. Stir with a perforated spoon until they puff up and turn red, then remove. In the same ghee, fry the almonds until deep golden brown, then remove. Fry the pistachios, charoli, and mixed melon seeds (magaj) separately until golden brown. Remove all fried items and set aside.
4. 4Once cooled, grind the fried charoli into a fine paste on a clean stone slab or grinder. Coarsely crush the fried almonds, pistachios, and melon seeds separately in a mortar and pestle.
5. 5In a large pan, heat a small amount of ghee. Fry the edible gum until it puffs up and turns red; remove and set aside. Add small amounts of ghee as needed and separately fry the crushed spice powders (singoda, etc.) and the coconut pieces. Transfer all fried items into a large mixing tray or platter.
6. 6Divide the remaining ghee into two parts. In one part, fry the urad dal flour until it turns pale red. Add this to the mixing tray with the other fried ingredients. In the remaining ghee, fry the wheat starch (wheat milk) similarly and add it to the tray. Add the crushed nuts and mix everything thoroughly with a spoon. Keep the raisins and fried gum separate for now.
7. 7In two separate vessels, make a thick syrup (hard ball stage) from the sugar and jaggery. Strain both syrups into a large pan. Add the mixed fried ingredients (flours, nuts, spices) into the syrup. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly without stopping.
8. 8When the mixture thickens slightly, add the dry ginger powder, fried gum, and raisins. Continue stirring until the mixture becomes quite stiff but not dry. Remove from heat and mix in the cardamom and nutmeg powder. Pour into a deep, greased copper tray or platter and flatten to about 2 inches thick. When it cools and hardens, cut into 5-inch square pieces.