Kamarkat!

Kamarkat!

Lights, on. Catamarans, roll. Action, unfold!

The Kamarkat is a sticky sweet, that is, it is a sweet and it is sticky.

It is a great sweet because it contains grated coconut. The coconut is a great nut, grated or not. But you need it grated. Got it? Great.

To make this sweet you also need about a quarter kilo of Jaggery which is a kind of a half-way sugar.

Then, you need Ghee which is a kind of melted and clarified butter which takes you half way to heaven and leaves you stranded there. Though why it is called “clarified”, I don’t know. It has never clarified anything for me. A generous helping of it tends to cloud the mind and slow down time. But you need it. Dollops of it. Well, not dollops actually, maybe a tablespoonful.

So, you have the three participants in this sticky sweet happy family drama: Coconut, grated. Ghee, dollops. Jaggery, good.

Place a kadai on a stove. A kadai is a kind of wok readily available in any wok shop. But take care not to drop it on your toes, or you won’t be able to walk. So, place a kadai on the stove. Or place the stove under the kadai. Whichever is easier. Light the stove or it won’t work. Pour some water, about two handfuls, into the kadai. Heat the water till it is hot. Keep heating it. Suddenly and without prior warning, drop the jaggery into it. The surprised jaggery will not know what to do. Don’t let it escape. Stir well so that it can’t climb back out of the kadai. It will slowly start to dissolve and melt. Let it. Give it a free hand to melt. But don’t keep your hands free. Keep stirring. Like Johnny Stirrer. Keep stirring. Till the watery jaggery solution starts to become sticky. “Sticky” as in adhering-type sticky, yes, and not “sticky” as in thin and long, no.

Now throw the grated coconut into the sticky mix. All of it. Start stirring. The coconut is a great nut and it won’t run. It can't run. But why take the chance? Keep stirring.

Keep stirring till all three ingredients, i.e., waconut, coterie and jaggater, are confused and don’t know which one is which.

Have a quiet laugh at your stirring deed. Rest your arms. On your hips. Count from ten to one. Or from one to ten. Whichever is easier. Did? Done.

The ghee has been watching all this throwback action drama and is waiting to be thrown into the mix. Hah! Fool it by applying it on your palms instead. Dig out the sticky mix one tablespoonful at a time. Roll it between your palms to make little balls out of it. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

That’s it. The Kamarkats are ready. Pop one into your mouth and work it like chewing gum. Happy? Can’t talk now? Can’t open your jaws? My Anglo-Indian friends in school called this sweet “stickjaw”. Now you know why.

Store the Kamarkats in a glass bottle. Take one at a time, three times a day, for happiness.

Cut. Pack up. Kamarkats in bottle. Lights off. Catamarans unroll. Action fold.

                                                                                                  ~ Sib Bahut Dur

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KAMARKAT

What you need

Coconut - 2

Jaggery - 250 gm

Ghee - 3 tsp

Cooking instructions

Grate the coconuts and keep aside.

Place a kadai on the stove and add 200 ml of water.

Now add jaggery to it and allow it to dissolve/melt.

Stir continuously till it acquires a thick string consistency.

Now add the grated coconut and keep stirring until the mixture turns semi-solid.

After a few minutes apply a little ghee on your palms and make small balls from the mixture.

The kamarkat is ready to eat.

© Shiva Kumar 2015