Come December, and preparations for Christmas that have been on for days, pick up speed. Households that have already started work on the cake, now get busy with puffs, dodol, marzipan, kulkuls, guava cheese, etc. depending on the part of the country they hail from. But one sweet is arguably the most important part of Christmas all over the country. And this is the nevri. Known as the karanji in Maharashtra where it is a staple during Diwali, its version called the nevri, is prepared by Goan Christians and East Indians at Christmas. The karanji and her cousins, called the nevri or nevryo, gujiya, somas, etc. rule the country in various forms. In Gujarat for instance, traditionally there are both sweet and savoury versions. The Pathare Prabhus in Mumbai prepare a karanji that is baked. The CKPs also have a savoury version that is filled with kheema – minced meat.
Traditionally, the nevri has a sweet filling made with grated coconut. A proud East Indian, Christina Kinny, who started the East Indian Cozinha at Vakola, says the Christmas koswat (goodies or faral) is incomplete without the nevri. “It has to be there,” she says firmly. Kinny says besides the coconut, nevris are also filled with mawa or rawa. “We also call nevris as shingoli and have a fried version. Historically we have always prepared nevris at Christmas.”
While Kinny says her favourite version is the traditional karanji filled with semolina, she adds that she would love to make its versions like the one she ate on a trip to Jhansi, which had green peas in it. She also points out a version created by her aunt. “It looks like a khari but is a nevri. She makes it with wheat flour and it is flaky,” she explains.
The Goan Christians also have a similar word for Christmas goodies as the East Indians, they call it Kuswar. While Hindus in Goa make karanjis for Ganesh Chaturthi, the catholics make them for Christmas. Says Goa-based food blogger and scientist Melinda Pereira Kamat, “Rice is the staple diet of Goa and originally nevryos were steamed here. They were usually made with jaggery and grated coconut. With the Portuguese and trade influences people began to use wheat – maida. Then sugar also replaced jaggery. Some catholics also use eggs while kneading the flour for the outer casing of nevryos.” There is also a version of karanji called the kangyachyo nevryo which has the outer casing of sweet potato stuffed with coconut and jaggery. She adds that in Goa they also have a version they call koronji but its stuffing has moisture while the nevryo is dry. Pereira-Kamat points out that Goan Muslims also make puran nevryos for Rajab Id.
Both the Goan catholics and East Indians have a custom of sending nevryos to a grieving family. Pereira-Kamat says nevryos are sent just before Christmas to a family which has lost a loved one. Kinny adds that nevris are made from rice or ragi flour on All Souls’ Day, but they are steamed, as if to do away with the celebratory frying, etc.
This is similar to the custom of Konkani muslims who have a steamed karanji, also prepared as part of rituals to remember ancestors. Food historian Mohsina Mukadam says, “In our community, we call karanjis shingole. We also make something like the kanawle – what the CKPs call their karanjis.”
According to Mukadam, the ‘shashkuli,’ a sweet in the 1st or 2nd century could be said to be the first type of karanji. Asked about its versions across the country, she says, “In the north there is an abundance of dairy products, hence the gujiya has fillings of khoya or mawa. In Maharashtra for instance, there is an abundance of coconuts, hence the filling of our karanjis is of coconuts. But in Gujarat traditionally there has been a savoury karanji, called the ghughra which is eaten as a snack.”
Well-known chef Varun Inamdar of the 27 degrees West restaurant at Singapore, remembers feasting on ghugras made by his mother as a child. He says, “Our family worked in total harmony sitting on the floor in the living room making them. Some of us would roll the pastry, some would fill it and some would shape the ghughra. Then mother fried them in ghee on low heat and slowly. We would eat some as we made them!”
The karanji has also undergone a transformation like the chocolate samosa with its fillings. But there’s more in its past just as more the future may hold. Mukadam says that the Peshwas had a mini, or what is today known as the cocktail karanji. There was also what was called the khulkhula (rattle) karanji because its filling made a sound.
Speaking of unusual fillings, the Pathare Prabhus have a karanji which has a filling of dudhi halwa. They also have a karanji with an outer casing of gram flour with the traditional coconut filling. Says home maker Amita Desai, “The dudhi or gourd used for this karanji is the round one, because it has less moisture compared to the bottle gourd. We also add mawa while preparing the halwa. Our karanjis are called shingdya. I sometimes make the covering in three layers so when the karanji is ready, it becomes light.”
Asked why the Pathare Prabhus bake their karanjis, Desai says, “The Parbhus had many British influences on them. Hence they have many baked dishes like the British. This could be a reason why we have baked karanjis. In fact, earlier, before we had ovens, my mother and her mother for instance, had vessels which could be filled with sand, in which burning coals were kept. These vessels acted as ovens because there was a provision to keep coals even on the lid.”
It’s clear the karanji rules the roost as a sweet or a snack in India. But that’s not all.
The karanji’s cousins abroad have also made their mark in the gastronomical world. These include the empanadas in Latin America, the pierogis in Poland and the kalitsounia in Greece.
Empanadas are a pastry with a sweet or savoury filling that are also found in Spain and Portugal. The pierogi is a dumpling that is filled with meat or vegetables, even fruit. The Greeks make kalitsounia with herbs or cheese.
Says chef Inamdar, “There are versions of the karanji in Asia as well. These include curry puffs in Malaysia, epok epok in Singapore, the Mont in Myanmar and Karipap in Thailand.”
Most of these karanji versions contain chicken, curry and potatoes.
Mini, baked, fried, sweet or savoury, the verdict is out. The karanji is here to reign and what a delicious rule it is!
