I have very fond memories as a child about this particular dish called as Karjikai in Kannada. It is a sweet dish that is a favorite of Lord Ganesha too. I remember every month, my mother making 21 karjikai's as an offering to Lord Ganesha at home. And the same day, my parents would take me to a temple, for which I would just wait for the main Aarti to be over, so that I could go grab the Karjikai's that were offered as prasad only that one day in the month. My dad and I would stand twice in the queue even if it was a long one, just to get an extra one. I would even resort to making a cute pleading face so that the priest
would give me an extra one. Who cares about oil and fat and sugar as a child right. I simply remember them being so mouth watering, and they were my favorite. I could
have 5-6 in one go!!

But now, yes as a grown up health freak, I keep innovating the same dish to make it healthier for the family. This dish that called for deep frying
can easily be oven baked with no compromise on taste. So if you are a mom, worrying about offering deep fried dishes to your child, I bet you should try this. Its sugar-free
to because it's sweetened by jaggery.

Ingredients:

Coconut - 1
Organic Jaggery - 1 to 1.5 cups
White/Black Sesame Seeds - 1/4 cup
Whole Wheat Flour - 3 cups
Oil - 1/4 cup + 3 TSP

Method for the filling:
1. Grate the coconut and keep aside
2. In a heavy bottom vessel, add 3 TSP oil, add Jaggery and let it melt
3. Next add coconut and sesame seeds and cook for 10 mins on a low-medium flame
4. Ensure to continuosly stir, otherwise it might stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. Once the filling is done, the mixture is pretty sticky. Add a little more jaggery if needed, mix till it melts well.
6. Keep aside to cool

A method for the Dough:
1. Add Whole Wheat Flour, Oil and Water and knead it well just like the regular chappati dough. Just that this one has a little extra oil so the baking makes it crisp.
2. Set the dough aside for 15 mins.

Method to Prepare the Karjikai:
1. Make small balls of the dough, and roll into tiny circles
2. Use a spoon to add the coconut-jaggery filling at the center of the circle.
3. Fold it to make a half moon, and close the open ends by twisting and sealing the ends.
4. Repeat till you finish the filling or you think you have enough of them

Baking:
- Preheat oven at 150 degrees Celcius
- Place the karjikai's on a parchment paper in a tray
- Just gently rub a bit of oil on each of the karjikai using your fingers.
- Bake for 10 mins, remove, turn sides, bake for another 10 mins and your dish is ready

Store them and they will stay fresh and good to eat for a month.

Please do drop in your feedback below.