SWEET DIAMOND CUTS

    Tis' the Season and here I come with a festive goodie we make at home during Christmas - Sweet Diamond Cuts, one of my MIL's speciality recipe. She makes these snacks along with other Christmas Goodies like Kerala Plum Cake/Christmas Rich Fruit Cake, homemade Wines, Murukku etc. Diamond Cuts turns out to be one of the default snacks during Christmas & sometimes alternated with Shakkarpare/Kul Kul (we call it as Square Biscuits at home).

    Sweet Diamond Cuts are simple snacks prepared with a dough of All-purpose Flour, kneaded and then rolled out into nor too thin or thick circles, cut into Diamond Shapes using a knife or a Spiral Cutter. These Diamond-shaped goodies are then deep-fried on a medium-low flame until it turns into light golden yellow in colour and until it turns crispy & crunchy. Deep-fried Diamond Cuts turns out to be a wonderful snack as such, but the best part is yet to come. These deep-fried goodies are finally coated in a thick Sugar Syrup. We need a sugar syrup melted into a consistency slightly thicker than One- String Consistency for this snack. This part is of course, tricky if you cannot get the string consistency correctly, which can make the snack Soggy. So remember that the Sugar Syrup should be slightly thicker than one string consistency. Once coated these Sweet Diamond Cuts become extra crunchy with a mild note of Sweetness in it.

    Sweet Diamond Cuts are a popular Kerala Snack, a Nadan Palaharam made in most of the Kerala households. You can even see most of the Bakeries in Kerala selling these snacks. It is also called as Maida(All-purpose Flour) Biscuits. These Diamond Cuts are so similar to its counterparts Shakkarpare/Kul Kul & Namak Pare, but the difference is the shape, thickness and Diamond Cuts are coated with Sugar Syrup. And in Kerala, I believe the snack is deep-fried in Coconut Oil which gives it an authentic touch of a Nadan Palaharam.

    As such, there are several variations when it comes to this Diamond Cut Recipe. My MIL prepares the dough with Eggs and flavour it with Cardamoms. There are even some recipes which call for adding Vanilla Essence. Some even add Yellow Food Colouring for a brightly hued Diamond Cuts. Then for extra crunchiness, some recipes call for adding Baking Soda. But my Diamond Cut Recipe is a simple & straight forward recipe with NO EGGS, NO FLAVOURING & NO BAKING SODA. I hate the Eggy smell in snacks & so the recipe goes with no Eggs. And when it comes to flavouring the Diamond Cuts, Cardamom is a good choice. But the GREAT TABOO of using it in snacks at home, insisted & instructed by my two kids, especially my son, at home, Diamond Cuts are usually made with no flavourings whatsoever.

    But trust me this recipe yields you with crispy & crunchy Diamond Cuts with a mild note of Sweetness. And also it retains the crispiness even after a week or so. If stored properly, Diamond Cuts lasts up to 7-10 Days. But the irony is that this snack gets over so soon at home that it doesn't even last for more than three days.

Please do remember to follow these steps before making Diamond Cuts, which will yield you with Crunchy Diamond Cuts:

• Knead the All-purpose flour into a slightly stiffer dough.
• Use just the required amount of water, as mentioned in the recipe.
• Roll out the dough into nor too thick nor too thin Circles.  
• Cut it out into Diamond Shapes, using a knife or a Spiral Cutter(Pizza Cutter).
• Do not just too much of flour while rolling out the dough and leaving the cut Diamond Shapes. 
• The flour tends to get fried in oil, making the oil dark and eventually the diamond cuts also get coated with these dark flour lying in the oil.
• Deep fry the Diamond Cuts on a medium-low flame until it turns into light golden yellow in colour and until it turns crispy.
• Consistency of the Sugar Syrup plays a vital role. So make sure the Sugar syrup is slightly thicker than One-String Consistency.  
• Coat the Deep-fried Diamond Cuts in the Sugar Syrup when the Syrup is hot.
• Let the pan be wide & big enough to hold both the Diamond Cuts & Sugar Syrup, and it should also have enough space while mixing up.
• Otherwise, some pieces might not get coated with the Sugar Syrup.
• Gently mix both the Diamond Cuts & the Sugar Syrup in quick motions, until each & every piece is well-coated with the Sugar Syrup.
• Initially, the Diamond Cuts would have a shine. When the Sugar Syrup cools down, it tends to thicken giving a white coloured coat to the snack.
• Allow the snack to cool down completely before storing them up in an airtight container.  
• If stored properly, it lasts up to a week to 10 days.

For more CHRISTMAS RECIPES, Click here...

Cuisine - Kerala (South India) 
Recipe Type - Snack

Difficulty - Medium
Author - SM

Preparation Time - 15 -20 Minutes

Leavening Time - 10 Minutes
Cooking Time - 30 - 45 Minutes

For more KERALA NADAN PALAHARAM, Click here...

HOW TO MAKE SWEET DIAMOND CUTS - MAIDA BISCUITS

SWEET DIAMOND CUTS

 

INGREDIENTS:

For Diamond Cuts:

Maida/All-purpose Flour - 3 Cups

Water - 11/4 Cups(Approximately)

Salt - To Taste

Oil - 2-3 Tbspn

For Frying:

Oil

For Sugar Syrup:

Sugar -11/2 Cups

Water - 1 Cup

Cardamom Powder - 1 Tspn(optional) 

SWEET DIAMOND CUTS

 

METHOD:

For the Dough:

• Sieve the All-purpose Flour (maida) along with salt once.
• Pour in the Oil/Ghee.
• Add little water at a time and knead it into a slightly stiffer dough.
• Add water at intervals. Do not pour in all the water at a time.
• I used approximately 11/4 Cups of Water.
• Amount of water required depends on the quality of the all-purpose flour.
• The dough should be slightly stiffer.  
• Leave the dough aside for about 10-15 Minutes.
  

For Diamond Cuts:

• Divide the dough into 5-6 Balls and keep them aside.
• Dust the Dough Balls with some All-Purpose Flour and roll it out into a flat, neither too thin nor thick circle.
• Cut the circles into Diamond shapes with a Knife/ Spiral Cutter.
• Transfer the Cut Diamonds to a plate lightly dusted with All-Purpose Flour.
• Follow suit for rest of the dough balls.

For Deep Frying:

• Heat Oil in a Deep Pan or a Wok.
• Once the oil becomes hot, reduce the flame to medium-low.
• Gently drop the Cut Diamonds into the hot oil.
• Fry the Diamond Cuts on a low- medium flame until it turns into light Golden Colour.
• Once done, remove the fried Diamond Cuts with slotted spoons.
• Drain them on Paper towels.

For Sugar Syrup:

• Add Sugar and Water, in a wide heavy-bottomed pan.
• Keep this on a low flame and stir well until the sugar dissolves completely.
• Do not stir when the sugar solution starts to boil. Stirring will affect the consistency of the sugar syrup. 
• When the sugar solution starts to boil, stir in the cardamom powder(if you are using).
• Boil the Sugar Syrup on a medium-high flame until it reaches one string consistency. 
• SLIGHTLY THICKER THAN ONE STRING SYRUP: For Diamond Cuts Recipe we need a Sugar Syrup consistency, slightly thicker than one string consistency. Cook the Sugar Syrup for a bit longer after it reaches one string consistency. The sugar syrup would start to bubble and would turn into WHITE COLOUR.
• Switch off the fire and leave the sugar syrup aside.
• Overheating the sugar solution will caramelize it or thicken it, which will alter the texture of the Diamond Cuts, making it dark & chewy.

SWEET DIAMOND CUTS

 

For Sweet Diamond Cuts:

• Immediately, add all the deep-fried Diamond Cuts into the Sugar Syrup when it is still hot.
• Gently mix both the Diamond Cuts & the Sugar Syrup in quick motions, until each & every piece is well-coated with the Sugar Syrup.
• Initially, the Diamond Cuts would have a shine. When the Sugar Syrup cools down, it tends to thicken giving a white coloured coat to the snack.
• Allow the snack to cool down completely before storing them up in an airtight container.  
• If stored properly, it lasts up to a week to 10 days.
• These crunchy & crispy mild sweet Diamond Cuts serves best as a tea time snack.