Happy Diwali to all my friends & followers with the hope and wish for a bright & beautiful  life ahead….

The great festival of lights is here again and everyone is immersed in its jovial spirit right now. Diyas, lights, fire crackers, garlands and flowers, new clothes and the last but not the least being sweets. The celebration is totally incomplete without sweets, most preferred ones are usually home made however there is always an option to buy them from outside. I never miss preparing them at home even if there is an onslaught of sweets from outside. At home, there remains always an option of  trying something new of your choice. This time I made the Khirer Shingara or khoya samosa, which is again one of the most loved sweet in many Bengali households especially in the occasions or festvities.This sweet had earlier been available in the sweet shops in this part of the country but nowadays you will hardly find them. Not elaborating much on the description of this sweatmeat now lets move on to the recipe of making this super soft khoya samosas or khirer shingara, make your own and have fun.

RECIPE:

Ingredients :

1. Khoya/ mawa (concentrated solidified milk): 150 g  or full fat milk – 2 litres (approx.)

2. Chhena (cottage cheese): 50 g (approx.)

3. Coconut (grated) : 1 cup (approx.)

4. Date palm jaggery (nolen gur) : 1 to 2 tsp (approx.)

5. Sugar : 1 & 1/2 tsp.

6. Tutti frutti : As much you like.

7. Dry fruits (finely chopped cashews & almonds) : As required.

8. Cardamom (powdered) : 10-12.

9. Rose water : 1/2 tsp.

Preparation:

1. Prepare the fillings first so that you have everything ready beore you start folding your samosas.
2. Melt sugar in a pan over a low flame & stir. Add your grated coconut & keep stirring till the sugar blends completely with the coconut. Add cardamom powder & tutti frutti, mix, remove from the flame and keep it aside.
3. Knead your chhena well to make a soft smooth dough. Divide the chhena into two portions for two differently flavoured fillings or flavours.
4. Again melt sugar in a pan & continue to stir until the sugar syrup thickens.
5. Add one portion of the kneaded chhena to it and mix well. Keep stirring to blend the chhena with the sugar completely for a smooth & soft mixture. Add dry fruits, cardamom powder & rose water, mix well & put off the flame.                               Note: Do not over do step 5 otherwise your chhena will be dry.
6. Repeat step 5 for the other portion of chhena in a similar way just replacing your sugar with date palm jaggery and omitting rose water & cardamom powder.            Note: You may try with any flavour of your choice using chhena, which is the usual filling for this sweet or with any other basic ingredient as the filling.
7. Now, you have the three mixtures ready for three different fillings, one with coconut and the other two with chhena.
8. For preparing the coat of  shingara/samosa, since I have used ready made khoya bought from the shop, I am not elaborating on the step for preparing khoya which is a time consuming procedure. It is mostly available in sweet shops.
9. For making the coat, divide the khoya into two portions & melt it in a pan over a low flame. Add sugar & keep stirring continuously over a low flame till the khoya mixture starts leaving the sides of your pan. Remove from the flame and keep stirring for 2-3 minutes more.                                                                                                    Note: Do not over do the above step which will make your khoya little hard & brittle which may get cracked while folding.
10. Grease your palms with little oil, take small portion from the khoya mixture, flatten it using your palms to make small roundels. Fold from two of the edges to make a small cone using your fingers. Now, fill in the cone with the previously made filling (coconut & chhena) and cover & seal it properly. Your samosa is ready to serve.
11. Repeat step 9 for the other portion of the khoya by replacing sugar with date palm jaggery. You may use different colours or flavours for your khoya coat like chocolate etc.
12. Fill it with the date palm jaggery chhena mixture following the same way, for a rich nolen gur flavour.
13. Your bite size tiny samosas are now ready to be served in the sweet platter.

Have a sweet Deepawali !