Soji | Vonn

Soji or Vonn (also Vorne) is a sweet dish prepared (basically) with lentils, rice, coconut milk and jaggery, and further flavored and accessorized with cardamom, cashew nuts and, at times, turmeric leaves and sago pearls. All the ingredients come together to result in a luxurious and rich dessert that nudge you towards a second helping and, perhaps, more! With so exuberant a list of ingredients, it is no mystery as to why this is always prepared in the homes of Goan brides and grooms on the day before the wedding! Apart from being a wedding-time special, soji may also find its spot on the feasting table at other family gatherings like baptisms, first communions and many church/community feasts.

Indian states, being so diverse, still bear similarities in multiple ways— the Goan Soji is what our Mangalorean neighbour would call Vonn. With a little change in the type of lentil used, Kerala's Paruppu Payasam is a popular favorite all over the country.

A more traditional way of making soji uses broken wheat instead of the lentils. It's not very easy to come by here, so we've made it in a more regular style. The recipe below is comparatively quicker to prepare; extracting coconut milk is not as difficult as it would seem, but if needed, it can be substituted by commercially sold coconut milk. (You can watch the video here.)

Ingredients:

• 1&1/2 cups or 200 grams Rice Flour
• 3/4 cup or 175 grams Split Bengal Gram (Chana Dal) soaked for at least 4-5 hours/overnight
• 1 cup or 240 grams Cane Sugar (Yellow Jaggery)
• 1/4 cup or 60 grams Palm Jaggery
• 2 cups or 200 grams Freshly Grated Coconut
• 10-12 Cashewnuts, halved or chopped
• 1 teaspoon Salt (adjust as required)
• 1/2 teaspoon Green Cardamom Powder (Elaichi powder) - alter as desired

Tips:

• The salt and cardamom can be adjusted as desired.
• The amount of jaggery can also be increased in the process of cooking, if needed. We used more of the cane sugar since it offers a lighter colour to the soji.
• The total coconut milk used below amounts to 1200 millilitres. If substituting this for commercially sold coconut milk, dilute 600 ml of it with 400 ml of water. Save 200 ml of the thick undiluted milk for the end.

Method:

1. Prepare a slurry by stirring in 2 and 1/2 cups of water into the rice flour. A thin, watery mix prevents the possibility of clumping during the cooking stage. Keep this aside.

2. Cover and cook the soaked lentils (chana dal) in 2 cups of water for about 8-10 minutes. Check occasionally.

3. Meanwhile prepare the coconut milk. Extract the thick milk first, adding one cup of water to the coconut. Grind thoroughly in a blender and then pour it through a sieve into a bowl. Using a spoon, squeeze out the first extract. Keep this aside to use in the end.

   For the thinner extract, grind the pulp using 4 cups of water and squeeze out the coconut milk.

4. The lentils (dal) must be boiled till just cooked— not too hard nor too soft. With the flame on medium, add the salt and stir.

5. Add the jaggery and stir it till it dissolves completely.

6. Pour in the thin extract of coconut milk. Bring it to a boil.

7. When it comes to a boil, reduce the flame to minimum. Give the rice slurry a quick stir (as the flour settles at the bottom of the bowl) and then pour in the slurry into the heating contents, stirring the milk-jaggery-lentils mixture constantly.

8. The liquid mixture will soon start to thicken. Cook for about 5-6 minutes. Check for the sweetness/salt at this stage. If more sweetness is desired add some shaved jaggery so that it dissolves quickly. If the mixture gets too thick, add a little water.

9. When cooked for 5-6 minutes and the soji has attained a desirable thick consistency, add the cashew nuts and the cardamom and stir.

10. Finally, pour in the thick, rich coconut milk and, soon, turn off the heat. It may get a bit watery again, but the heat of the mixture will continue to thicken the soji.

The Soji/Vonn tastes best hot or completely chilled. If it has to be served at a later time, let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. Reheat or serve chilled.