Okara Snack Recipes

Okara Snack Recipes 1. Okara Sweet Mixture 2. Okara Sweet Bars (Burfi) 3. Okara Ariselu 4. Okara Chocolates 5. Okara Sweet Samosas What is Okara: Soya beans are soaked in water and then blended and liquefied. The mixture is filtered and Soya milk is recovered. Soya pulp is collected in the filter and it is called Okara. Okara is nutritious. It is currently wasted as people do not know its value. Some people do not like Soya beans and Soya milk. But, Okara is actually tasteless. It is rich in fiber, which is good for digestive health. Quality of Okara: It is important that we ensure that we use quality Okara in our preparations. The characteristic foul smell tells us that Okara is spoiled. Preserving Okara: Okara spoils very fast. If left outside, it gets spoiled in 2 to 3 hours. If kept in the refrigerator, it may last up to 10 to 12 hours. If kept in the freezer section of the refrigerator, it keeps good for several (3 to 6) months. Preserving Okara Products: Okara sweet mix can be kept outside for a few days. It can stay in the freezer for several months. When exposed to moisture (water), Okara products spoil very fast. It is best to keep them in sealed bags in a container. Note about Okara preparations and recipes: The recipes are very traditional Indian preparations. Okara is used in place of traditional ingredients like Besan (Chenna dal flour). Those people who do not like to use Sugar, they can use Gud (Jaggery). Normally, we can add other ingredients (like cashew, sesame seeds, coconut, almonds, raisins, pistachios, and elachi), but, I do not use any of them as I want people to feel the taste of Okara alone. These other ingredients can be added later on if some people like to when they make them. Questions: Please ask Som Karamchetty (som.karamchetty@gmail.com, (240) 328-6513) about these recipes.   1. Okara Sweet Mixture Ingredients: Okara (wet): 1 cup (430 grams) Water: small quantity to melt and make Gud (jaggery) syrup. Sugar or Jaggery (Gud): 160 grams Butter or Ghee: 45 grams (Note: The proportions are determined to suit the tastes and the health considerations of Indian-Americans and Americans. They do not like too much sweet and too much butter because of concerns about diabetes, weight gain, and heart complaints. If sugar or gud is reduced too much, the mixture will not hold together. It is very hard to make solid burfis. People in India may like more sugar or gud and more ghee. It can be increased as needed.) Process: Step 1. If gud (Jaggery is used instead of sugar), it is best to place gud with a little quantity of water and heat it up on medium heat. Let it become syrup. Stir continuously. Make sure that the syrup is clean by removing any foreign particles in it. Heat until the gud syrup comes to one or two thread consistency. Step 2. Mix the ingredients (Okara mixture, Sugar or the gud syrup (prepared in step 1) and the ghee in a thick vessel or a deep frying pan. Stir the mixture and heat it at medium to high heat. It takes about 45 minutes of heating and stirring. It becomes a thick paste. It turns slightly yellowish brown in color. 4. Place the mixture into a plate. It can be made into a round shaped ball or a cubicle shaped block. Let it cool. Store in a dry container and close the lid so that moisture does not enter it. It makes about 300 grams of sweet mix. Note: The sweet mix can be taken out when it is soft (and not hardened and dried too much) if it is used for some other process while it is still fresh. This mix will be used in other recipes.   2. Okara Sweet Bars (Burfi) 2. Okara Sweet Bars (Burfi) The recipe is very similar to that for Okara Sweet Mix. Ingredients: Okara (wet): 1 cup (430 grams) Water: Small quantity Sugar or Jaggery (Gud): 160 grams (slightly more for those who like very sweet burfis) Butter or Ghee: 45 grams Process: Step 1: If gud (Jaggery is used instead of sugar), it is best to place gud with a small quantity of water and heat it up on medium heat. Let it become syrup. Stir continuously. Make sure that the syrup is clean by removing any foreign particles in it. Heat until the gud syrup comes to one thread or two threads consistency. Step 2: Take a shallow plate and spray some vegetable oil on it lightly. It is preferable that that oil has no fragrance of its own. This plate will be ready to receive the Okara Burfi mixture. Step 3: Mix the ingredients (Okara mixture, Sugar or the gud syrup (prepared in step 1) and the ghee in a thick vessel or a deep frying pan. Stir the mixture and heat it at medium to high heat. It takes about 45 minutes of heating and stirring. It becomes a thick paste. It turns slightly yellowish brown in color. Okara gets roasted in the process. Step 4: Place the mixture into the plate prepared in step 2. Press the mixture so that the paste gets the shape of the plate and spreads uniformly. By pressing it hard, we get a harder and thicker burfi that holds together. If we press less, the burfi will not stick together; it crumbles into pieces when it cools. (When we use too much Gud syrup, the mixture and burfi holds together very well. But, when we use less Gud syrup, We have to press the mixture hard while it is still hot for the burfi to hold and not crumble into pieces.) Step 5: After 2 or three minutes. Cut the mixture into desired shapes. Step 6: Let the Burfis cool. Pry and take the burfi pieces and save them. It makes about 30 pieces of 10 grams each. Cold burfis can be wrapped in wrapping paper. Reference: http://food.ndtv.com/recipe-besan-ki-barfi-100465 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_YLkk70kX0   3. Okara Ariselu Ingredients: Okara (wet): 1 cup (430 grams) Rice flour*: 250 grams Jaggery: 400 grams Ghee: 2 table spoons Water: small quantity Oil (with no flavor): for frying * Usually, they use rice flour made from soaked and dried rice. In this case, it is not necessary to soak the rice first, dry it, and then grind it to a powder; we can use rice flour available in the shops. Okara is the main ingredient, which has gone through an equivalent process. We have to add some rice flour to keep the Okara from sticking together. In addition, we cook Okara and rice flour together for 10 to 15 minutes. Process: Step 1: Place Jaggery in a sauce pan and add half a cup of water and let it come to boil. Let it become thick syrup with two strings (i.e. when a small quantity of the Jaggery Gud syrup would become a ball when placed in cold water for test). Take it off the cooking range/stove and place it aside. Keep it warm. Step 2: Place Okara and rice flour in another saucepan, mix, and cook for ten to 15 minutes. Add the cooked jaggery Gud syrup and one tablespoon of Ghee (or butter) Mix thoroughly and cook for about 15 minutes. It becomes a nice paste similar in consistency when it can be made into round balls that stick together and not break into pieces. Step 3: Make half of an inch to three quarters of an inch diameter balls. Keep them covered so that they do not dry up. On a banana leaf or a cellophane sheet or a plastic sheet add a couple of drops of oil and flatten the round balls into disc shape (puri) about one eighth of an inch thick. Step 4: In a frying pan add oil and start frying the Okara mix discs. When they turn deep brown, take them out using two ladle strainers (with holes). Take one fried okara Sweet mix disc (Arise) on to a ladle strainer and place another ladle strainer on top and press the fried Arise in between the two ladles and gently squeeze the oil out of the fried disc. Place the fried disc on a plate with a paper on it to absorb any remaining oil. Step 5: Let the Ariselu cool and pack them. References: The video at this link gives a good view of traditional Ariselu. http://www.vahrehvah.com/ariselu Other links: http://mommyfood.com/recipes/sweets/ariselu http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/Recipe/Ariselu.html 4. Okara Chocolates The Recipe is removed for now.   5. Okara Sweet Samosas Using Okara Sweet mix as the filling instead of coconut or other traditional fillings and Atta or Maida (wheat) outer layers. The recipe and process are not described as it is similar to that used for making regular sweet samosa. http://www.masalakorb.com/kajjikayalu-traditional-and-baked-versions/ http://www.smithakalluraya.com/2014/08/karjikai-karigadabu-kajjikayalu-sweet.html http://www.premascook.com/2011/07/sweet-somas.html http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/samosa-recipe-punjabi-samosa/ http://www.chitrasfoodbook.com/2012/10/sweet-samosa-diwali-sweets-recipes.html -0-