As Raksha Bandhan approaches every year in the month of August, I receive the tastiest assortment of ‘Sattus’ from my dear friend Rajshree Maheshwari. The third day after Rakhi is in fact known as Sattu Waali Teej.
There are few persons who can reconcile honesty and diplomacy, and my friend Rajshree Maheshwari is one of them. Charming as well as honest, she truly has a way with words. If she is in your team for any project, you can rest assured that there will be no misunderstandings. She is a diligent worker and a perfect organizer. With her never-say-die attitude, she is fun to work with. We have had lots of good times at our club RYA Metro, putting plays and scripts together. She is an awesome hostess and cook, and her Sattus are much awaited at my place.
A must-have in the months of Saavan, Sattus are easy to make and fun time for children at home. As a child, I remember decorating the Sattus with all kinds of colorful sweet things, even Cadbury gems.
Sattus - Photo by Ritu Goyal
So here is the recipe by Rajshree – have fun making them and eating them this Raksha Bandhan.
SATTUS
Bengal gram (husked) – approx ½ kg
Powdered sugar – 450 gms
Pistachio & Almonds – ½ cup, slivered thinly
Cardamom powder – a pinch or two
Saffron – a few strands, rubbed with fingers to a fine powder
Ghee 150 – 200 gms, as needed
1) Dry roast the gram on a low flame until golden brown and grind into a very fine powder. Weigh it now and ensure that it is 500 gms.
2) Mix the gram powder and sugar and pass through a fine sieve. You can grind the coarse mixture, then pass all of it through the sieve.
3) Add the slivered nuts, powdered cardamom and saffron and mix well.
4) Melt the ghee and pour into the gram mixture slowly. The ghee should be just melted, but not hot. Add enough ghee to bind the mixture for making lemon-sized balls with your palms. Flatten the balls as in the picture. The delicious sattus are ready.
Cool and store in an air-tight container. They remain fresh for weeks.
Rajshree always sends me an assortment of sattus, some made with bengal gram, some with rice and others with wheat.
Make wheat sattus in the same way substituting bengal gram with wheat.
For sattus with rice, wash and dry the rice the previous day. Proceed with the recipe the next morning, substituting bengal gram with rice.
What is even more interesting is that these sattus are very similar to the Andhra dish Minapasuuni which 
is made with flour from roasted black gram. We have featured this in our book “Cooking at Home with Pedatha.” At a special request from a dear friend, we created a gift hamper with our books and these gram laddus. A special way to celebrate Rakhi with an Andhra tweak.
Pritya's hamper - photo by Ishrath
POSTED BY PRATIBHA
– as the Hindi proverb goes - “bagal me chora, gaanv mein dhindora”.
