Probably, there is no person in Russian open spaces who would not try kozinaki. For almost everyone, they represent a time of serene childhood. Moms probably want to attach their offspring to bright memories and sweet sensations. But not always and not everywhere there is an opportunity to buy a treasured delicacy. Well, then you need to cook your own kozinaki. At home, they cook together easily and quickly. In addition, you will be sure that they did not slip anything superfluous into sweetness. Moreover, it becomes possible to vary its taste in accordance with the wishes of the younger generation.
Kozinaki: benefits and harms
The positive qualities of the dish are primarily determined by the ingredients that the cook set in motion. Unfortunately, the whole benefit of honey in kozinaki does not appear, since it is exposed to thermal effects. But if the sunflower seeds were not fried beforehand, you have a lot of vitamin E. Nuts will put almost all the necessary minerals and vitamins into your body. Do not forget about their nutritional value: a treat is highly recommended for recovering from an illness.
As for the harm, kozinaki is contraindicated only for diabetics, however, like other sweets. With caution, allergy sufferers should also treat them. But the harm for losing weight is very exaggerated: the delicacy is so sweet that you can’t eat a lot of it.
Classic Kozinaki
To get started, take two glasses of nuts and lightly fry them. Small kernels, such as pistachios or peanuts, can be left whole, large chopped, but not too small. A glass with a hill of sugar is poured into a frying pan, supplemented with half a glass of honey, water is poured into the container (three quarters of a glass), and after boiling, the syrup is boiled for about a quarter of an hour. With the appearance of foam, nuts are poured into the bowl (four hundred grams, this is about one and a half glasses). At the same time, half a teaspoon of soda is introduced, it is needed for the “bubbling” of the dessert. The form is slightly oiled, the finished "dough" is laid out in it. After cooling, the kozinaki from nuts at home is cut with triangles or rhombuses. To speed up the process, you can put the mold in the refrigerator. If everything is done correctly, the dessert will turn out crispy, but soft.
How to cook kozinaki at home without honey?
This option is suitable for those who have allergies in the family with a reaction to beekeeping products. A recipe will come in handy when honey is simply not at hand. In order to do without it and get delicious goat nuts from nuts at home, a glass of kernels is taken - you can only use walnuts, you can mix with forest, hazelnuts or peanuts, as you like. Nuts are dried in a dry frying pan and crushed. It should be slices, not flour. Four tablespoons of sugar with cardamom, taken on the tip of a knife, are heated to the state of syrup over the slowest fire. To facilitate the process, you can pour a spoonful of water, only then you have to wait until it evaporates. Nuts are poured into syrup, kneaded, laid out on parchment, slightly oiled with oil, so that later it separates more easily. The sausage rolls down and hides in the refrigerator for ten minutes. After kozinaki (it’s not at all difficult to cook them at home), they are cut into circles and served for tea. If you like these sweets of a different shape, you can form a layer, and when it starts to set, cut it in the right way.
Diet treat
For those who protect the figure and do not trust the assurances that oriental sweetness is safe, it is not necessary to deny yourself a little pleasure, since you can make kozinaki at home and in a version that is harmless to the waist. They are also suitable for people prone to diabetes, because the sweet ingredients are replaced by a banana. A glass of sunflower seeds is soaked for half an hour in water, after which they are dried on a paper towel and grind with an equal amount of dry counterparts. Three bananas are mashed with a blender, flavored with cinnamon (half a spoon) and cardamom (a pinch), mixed with seeds. Small cakes or figures are molded from the mass, sprinkled with sesame seeds, laid out on a sheet parchment and laid in the oven for a quarter of an hour.
Airy dessert
Nuts and seeds are a traditional filler when kozinaki are made at home. The recipe that we offer below is quite original: it uses popped rice, more familiar from Korean sweets. The combination of the traditions of this country with the Georgian proved to be very successful. And you don’t even have to look for a special kind of rice, the usual, round one will do.
Half a glass of cereal is cooked in a large volume of water for about a third of an hour. Then it is carefully removed, and even dried with a towel, scattered on a baking sheet parchment and hidden in the oven. At a temperature of 80 degrees and periodic stirring, the rice should dry for 2.5-3 hours. Then it is fried in a slightly greased pan in small portions until it swells. Three tablespoons of granulated sugar are diluted with five cold water, mixed with two tablespoons of flower honey and several grains of citric acid. Thick syrup is boiled, it cools slightly and interferes with rice. The mass is straightened into cake, cooled and cut into pieces. Rice kozinaki at home are ready and waiting for their connoisseurs.
Barley Kozinaki
Unloved by many, the cereal in this dish turns into a delicious dessert. A glass of pearl barley is soaked for twenty minutes; the main thing here is not to overdo it so that it is not too soft. A little pan is poured into a deep frying pan, three spoons of vegetable oil, and cereal is poured. With continuous stirring, it dries well, before whitening and the beginning of swelling. At this time sugar is added, 3-4 tablespoons. Stirring at this stage should be especially intense. The grits begin to fry and stick together a little. When it becomes completely rosy, the mass is laid out on a smeared plate. Cool - you can break and drink with tea.
Oatmeal - to the point!
Those who ventured to experiment with rice and barley would probably agree to try the dessert with Hercules. Its main advantage is the speed of cooking, combined with a wonderful taste. Five tablespoons of sunflower oil without flavorings and the same amount of sugar are combined in a frying pan. When the latter melts, an equal amount of cereal is poured. The mass is quickly mixed, and after thickening is laid out on a plate moistened with cool water, and leveled. Quick gozinaki at home immediately cut and after half an hour, even without cooling, are available for food.
Something about Georgian delicacy
If you already know how to make kozinaki at home, and your loved ones tried them and were delighted, then the time has come for experiments. For starters, you can try making brown sugar caramel.
The taste can be changed by adding lemon juice, cinnamon, vanilla or apple cider vinegar (the main thing with it is not to overdo it).
Kozinaki at home from seeds will be especially tasty if you mix several varieties: pumpkin, sunflower, sesame.
Nuts are perfectly combined in gozinaki with prunes, dried apricots and dried banana.
An interesting flavoring effect is provided by coating the finished goodies with melted chocolate. Moreover, black is more suitable for walnut, and white is more suitable for pomegranate.