Nampalaka

Nampalaka is a traditonal and authentic sweet dish of India. Nampalaka, being the telugu name, in Kannada its called as 'Nampalake' or 'Namdalage'. The places in Andhra Pradesh bordering Orrisa, this sweet dish is called as 'Chandrakantalu'. In Kerala too, similar kind of sweet is prepared where the ingredients being the same but they shape it differently giving it a different name. I am sure, in other places/regions, this dish with these ingredients is prepared but given a regional name, as the ingredients preparing for this sweet dish were easily available during olden days. 

Coming to the literal meaning of the word 'Nampalaka', actually it means 'Nameslate'. As the nameslate or name plate is usually in the shape of a rectangle, the sweet is also cut in rectangular shape. I inherited the recipe of Nampalaka sweet dish from my grandmom and she in turn learnt from her mom, as she told by her. Probably this dish is a century old dish, I am sure as till today this sweet is much liked by my great grandmom family, as daughter-in-law of my great grandmom still prepares this sweet. I had already blogged a traditional dish similar to these terms called Ukkara Pindi. Now enjoy the making of Nampalaka and try it at your home and kindly write back to me your comments.

The main ingredient of Nampalaka being rice, and to bring the sweet taste, jaggery and grated coconut is added. Cardamom and clarified butter (ghee) is added to enhance the flavour to Nampalaka. The sweet is so soft that it actually melt in the mouth whereas something similar sweets in shape like Burfi and Mysore Pak is prepared with loads of clarified butter/ghee or even oil/dalda for the softness.

Parboiled rice, raw rice, jaggery, grated coconut and cardamom

Ingredients:

1. Raw rice - 1/2 cup
2. Parboiled rice - 1/4 cup
3. Jaggery - 1/2 to 3/4th cup
4. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
5. Cardomom - 2 to 3 no.
6. Clarified butter/ghee - 1 tbsp.

Cooking Method:

1. Dry roast both the parboiled rice and raw rice at low flame until it reaches the very light brown color giving a nice aroma of the roasted rice. Then powder the rice finely in the blender and keep aside.

2. Add Jaggery to 2 cups of boiling water. Once the jaggery is dissolved in the water completely add roasted rice powder to it and stir continuously. Even the grated coconut also can be added at this stage.

3. As the rice flour is getting cooked, you can arrange a piece of cloth on a tray. 

4. Once the consistency of rice in jaggery reaches thick then add 1 tbsp. of ghee to it. Take this onto the cloth and flatten it with a flat spatula evenly to the desired thickness you prefer. 

5. Once chill, cut it into desired shape but the authentic shape for this one is rectangle.

6. Serve on to a plate and relish this traditional old sweet with the happiness of making it yourself. 

Note:

1. The Nampalaka is so flexible that you can flatten it again the unshaped pieces and shape it again, as in Mysore pak or any other sweet, the sweet has to take a shape before it even becomes warm and you should react so quick otherwise all your efforts go vain.

2. Nampalaka can also be prepared only with raw rice too without the parboiled rice, but the taste and texture might differ.

Nampalaka cut into rectangular shape

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Homemade Rice Flour

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