Sakkare Achu/Sugar Figurines for Sankranti

Sankranti or Sat Kranti which means 'good movement' is the transimigration of sun from one zodiac to another. Most of us celebrate this as a harvest festival too.Whoever celebrates it  as the harvest festival  should thank Earth for blessing us with fertile land so that we can sustain ourselves. 

A little prayer to Bhu Devi (godess Earth) :

Samudhra vasane devi, parvatha sthana mandithe,

Vishnu pathni namasthubhyam pada sparsam kshamasva mae.

which means...

Salutations to you consort of Lord Vishnu,

Who is clothed by oceans,

And is adorned prettily by the mountains,

Pardon me mother, for setting my foot on you.

In Karnataka people celebrate it by exchanging sesame & jaggery  mixture along with sugarcane and 

banana. Sugar Figurines are made and packed along with sesame & jaggery mix. 

As children we enjoyed 'ellu beerodu' (exchanging sesame & jaggery mix) and the making of 

sakkare achchu. We were rewarded with a sakkare achchu if we kept quite till mom finished her work.

We lined up and sat obediently without asking questions. 

It was a joint effort of my mother and uncle in making lovely, yummy figurines.

Sakkare Acchu For Sankranti A festive treat for your loved ones Blog: www.tasteofmysore.com       Author: Lakshmi Grandhim Preparation time : 1hr                  Total Time Taken : 1hr

Ingredients: 200g : Sugar 2tbsp: Yogurt* 2tbsp: Milk  A drop: Food Color    Sakkare Acchu wooden moulds or you can use aluminium mini muffin moulds too. Method : 1.       Add just enough water to sugar and soak sugar for 12 hrs. 2.       Bring this sugar solution to boil. Add 2 tbsp of yogurt and 2tbsp of milk. Continue to boil for next 30 sec to 1 min 3.      Filter this solution using a clean muslin cloth. 4.      Take 2 big spoons of this filtered sugar syrup in a thick bottomed pan. Bring this to boil.  Reserve the rest of the syrup. 5.      Once the syrup starts boiling, reduce the heat and keep stirring it. Stage 1- you see a lot of bubbles, Stage 2- When the bubbles reduce and starts getting thicker. Keep stirring.    6.      We need a muthu (pearl) paaka here. A drop of sugar solution in water would come out clean like a pearl when picked. 7.      At this stage, remove the pan from the stove and mix well. Pour them into wooden moulds.   8.      Use a tooth pick to de mould sakkare acchu. Let them dry before you pack them off! Notes: 1.       Paaka(Syrup) stage is very important. If the mixture hardens in the pan, add little more sugar solution which is reserved. Make small batches at a time.   2.       Soaking sugar makes a soft n melt in mouth sakkare acchu. Do not skip this step. 3.       Soak wooden moulds in water for 2-3hrs before making sakkare acchu.

Old Recipe :

you need the following :

sugar : 1cup

water :1/4 cup

milk:1/4 cup

food coloring :  a pinch

Gadgets : wooden mold (soak the molds in water for 1 hrs before you make figurines. 

Secure them together with rubber band.

Method :

a.Dissolve sugar in water and bring to boil. When you see water bubbling, add milk

and bring to boil. 

b.Switch of the stove and filter the solution using a muslin cloth or a tea filter. 

c.Milk is added to remove the impurities of sugar.

d.Add the food coloring to the filtered sugar solution and bring to boil. The syrup

thickens as you boil.

Check!! ...

1.With a spoon pour a drop of solution on a clean surface. After 3-4 seconds take a

match stick and try to remove the drop and the drop should come out as a whole and

should not break which indicates the solution is thick enough to pour into the

molds. 

2. Another way is to hold a drop of solution between your thumb and forefinger and

pull the solution. 

e.If the string formed during the pull stays for 2 seconds without

breaking the solution is ready to pour into the molds.

f.Pour the thick sugar solution to the molds and wait for 5-8 mins before you

remove them.

g.They are very delicate..handle them carefully. Remove them from molds when 

they are little wet.

h.Remove them to a plate and let them dry before you store them in airtight 

container.

Sending these sugar figurines to Priti's Festive Food-Makar Sankranti