Chalk piece sweet(Ganti)

This is a specialty from my native Kumta. I have not seen anyone making them at home. These are readily available in the shops. The best “Ganti” are available in a restaurant-shop “Alka”. Since my non-Konkani friends/relatives didn’t get the name “Ganti”, they called it “Chalk piece sweet” because the original “Ganti” is white in color and looks like a chalk piece.

I tried mastering this sweet many times. But the thing I failed was to get the white color to the sugar coating. The coating always became transparent. I asked many people if they knew about this dish, but no one seems to know how to make these. Aayi gave me this recipe, but she also had tried it long ago, and then just stopped making them at home. I can guarantee they taste as great as the original ones even though they “look” defferent due to the transparent coating.

If any one of you has more knowledge about the sugar syrups, please clarify my doubt – “till which stage the sugar syrup needs to be cooked so that, it gets its white color back after cooling?”.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour(Maida) 1 cup
Vanaspati ghee 1/6 cup
Sugar 1 cup
Vanaspati ghee (or oil) for deep frying
Salt

Method:
Mix Maida, vanaspati ghee, salt, water to make a soft dough.
Knead well and make into a thin rope. Cut then into little-finger sized pieces.

Deep fry in ghee/oil on a very low flame. Take out in a large bowl.

Add 1 tbl spn of water to 1 cup of sugar and heat it till the sugar melts. Pour on top of the fried pieces and mix well so that all the pieces get a uniform sugar coating. Take out the pieces one by one and keep on a clean plate. When it is cooled, the sugar syrup coating will get its white color back (in ideal situations :D).

Preparation time : 30mins

24 thoughts on “Chalk piece sweet(Ganti)”

  1. My aayi made this all the time at home. It was fast & easy.I know only that much:-( I never made them by myself. I will try it now as it is one of our all time favourites.

  2. The sugar syprup when held up, and allowed to drip down should form 2 strings while dripping slowly. (kambi pahu it is called in Tamil) Basically, you have boil the sugar syrup for a longer period of time to get to this stage. At this point when you insert fried items and allow to cool, the sugar will coat with a white colour. (At least that is how I make padarpeni – Badam poori, and the coating does come white)

  3. shilpa-
    i’m glad you posted this recipe…i was examining them on the plate pic you had posted earlier and was curious about them. i think they look splendid in spite of not being white!…sometime i’ll play with this recipe and the syrup and see if i can’t figure out how to get them white.

  4. shilpa, I would think the sugar syrup would be similar to the sweet ‘ satto’. Ask your mom how to make the satto base….it might work out.

  5. Thanks for the recipe. I haven’t eaten this before. but it reminded me of “saath” or “balushahi” except the shape.

  6. Thanks to you all for the lovely comments.

    Saumya, I followed like what you said for the first time. But my sugar syrup never got the white color back. Instead the ‘ganti’ got sticked to the vessel and I had hard time removing them :(. (In the original recipe it is said that the sugar syrup should get 1 string consistency). But whatever I tried, I could not get the color. Atleast this time I was a bit close :D. I am wondering if there is some problem with the sugar I am using. May be I will change the brand next time and check.

    Thanks Pelicano for the link.

    Preeti, Rajasi, I was also thinking of “Saathi” (thats what we call the sweet). Maya be I should post that also sometime :D.

  7. And i agree with the you even if the colour of the coating is not white in color its fine as it doesnt affect the taste much or rather there is no diff in taste …

  8. hi,
    i prepared this.its very easy & teasty. i want to make dashmi..how it prepared..
    u r recepies are really good..

    thanks,
    varsha

  9. Hi Shilpa,

    Well…..actually i guess its the same ‘sweet’, I happen to taste….when I was a kid. The sweet looked much more like a ‘chalk piece’….the thickness, length, white color, was all just like a chalk. But when we bite it….it had inner core with yellow color. It was sweetish too. I never knew its name…..but seen them in lots of petty shops around the corner(generally in country side) Thanks for reminding me this ‘sweet’. Will check it out and let you know more about it.

  10. Hey Shilpa (we both share the same name),

    ghosh u make me feel nostalgic by all your recipes and little note attached to it. This “Ghanti” made me feel.. only if I could go to Kumta. I have eaten them all my life till I left India (I am from Honavar).

    You rock. I love your website.

    keep it going.

    Best wishes for your success.
    Gayatri

  11. Hi Shilpa

    Even I tried Ganthi . It tured out so delicious . Thanks for wonderful recipes. My husband maternal grandfather is from Sirsi. My maternal side are from Honavar.After going thru blog I was excited reading all konkani subtitles and the photographs which impressed me a lot.
    thanks a lot

    Neeta Bhat

  12. Thank u so much for this Ghanti…..i luv it..when ever i go to my native honnavar i just buy a kilo….thank u so much !!!

  13. HIRESH-Indonesia

    You reminded me Kumta Teru and ghanti. Though this is a all season sweet we use to enjoy exchanging this during Kumta Teru. You are almost there in producing this reciepie all credits to you. For getting white color on Ghanti you must follow tilgul making process. This is what I observed in one of the hotel in my childhood. As I donot remember the hotel and cook name, but due credit to them I am disclosing this method. You should get one balldrop consistancy of sugar syrup. i.e. when you drop the syrup on a floor it should contract to become a ball [credit to my Aayi Padmavati. I use to help her during the month of December till sankrati to make tilgul] Put all fried chalk piece [moto karo] in a bowl, Put one tea spoon syrup above them. Mix ghati till syrup dries out. [In dry weather it comes up well fast] attempt it in ventilated place like under celing fan. Add one more spoon and repeat process till thick layer of sugar coat formed and yellow fried piece cannot be seen. This is a paintaking and patience required job. In case of tilgul to develope spikes it use to take 3 days [8-10 hrs/day] But since the spikes are not improtant like in tilgul you may end up in 1-2 hrs. The same method is followed for Khaj maje i.e. made with jaggery syrup.

  14. Shilpa, I thought I should share this with you
    Every year my mother makes this dish.it’s her speciality.I have eaten it in Bhatkal, Kumta.(I’m frm Mumbai).This year I attempted it( since Diwali is close) with my aayi’s recipe.The result was too good.i got an excellent coating of sugar.
    The sugar consistency needs to be 2 to 3 string and not one string.I used two tests
    1) stir the syrup after every minute after reaching 1 string consistency and put the spoon on a plate. at some point the spoon will start sticking to plate.boil for about a min after that
    2) when you put a drop of syrup in icecold water, it forms a sft ball.
    Cool this for a minut or two and stir in ganti pieces. stir again after 2 min for even cating .Take out on a clean plate and arrange separately.cool for 15 minutes.The pieces will have a beautiful white sugar coating.They won’t stick to each oher either.
    Hope this is helpful
    Neeta

    1. Thank you so much Neeta. I will try it some time soon. I appreciate you taking time to write the exact method here, was looking for it.

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