This month’s recipe is shared by Mandepanda Savitha Poovaiah.  Besides being passionate about wildlife photography, Savitha is also fond of cooking. Her culinary skills are well known in her family circles.

Savitha says Halbai, has always been one of her favourite sweet dishes .It can be made using different cereal grains, like wheat and ragi. This recipe using rice is very simple to prepare, but requires some patience due to the long stirring involved. Try it out – your patience will be rewarded!

Halbai

Cook time: 45 minutes (apart from soaking the rice)

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice, washed and soaked for 4-5 hours
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Jaggery to taste
• 4 tbsp ghee
• 2-3 green cardamom, powdered
• 20 cashew nuts
• pinch of salt
• saffron to garnish (optional)

Method:

In a mixer jar, grind the soaked rice along with the cashew nuts to a fine paste. 

Heat a heavy based kadai, add the ground paste with 2 tbsp ghee, coconut milk,   cardamom powder and a pinch of salt. Stir for sometime and add jaggery to taste.

 Keep on stirring the mixture ensuring no lumps are formed.

 Add another 2 tbsp ghee while stirring constantly. Cook the mixture until it thickens and leaves the sides of kadai. This may take around 30 minutes.

 Grease a plate with ghee and spread the mixture evenly with a knife or spatula.

 Let it cool and then cut the halbai into your favorite shape.