Halbaaai Rice Halwa

In Karnataka Sate of South India, the udupi and mangalore region is known for its healthy and tasty delicacy it holds in its cuisine. Most of the recipe belongs to the breakfast and snacks but it does have lot of traditional recipes too. one such unique and traditional sweet recipe is halbai recipe or rice halbai halwa made for occasions and festival.halbai sweet hails from the world famous udupi or south canara cuisine. and it is very popular dessert recipe across the coastal belt. having said that, it would be unfair to call it as a karnataka cuisine recipe. as many non coastal kannadiga’s may not be aware of this recipe. as matter of fact, you may have to develop a taste for this sweet. if you are totally new to this recipe, you may find it weird. anyway, some tips, suggestions and variations to this classic rice based halbai recipe. firstly, i have used normal day to day use sona masuri rice to make the rice batter. and i would heavily recommend to use the same and avoid especially basmati rice as it does not yield smooth rice batter. secondly, the recipe uses jaggery for sweetness and using jaggery gives a nice texture and colour to the sweet. however, if you do not have access to it, you can use brown sugar as alternative. lastly, you have to continuously stir and mix the batter and jaggery mixture on a low flame. you may find it tiring, but unfortunately there isn’t any shortcut for this step. INGREDIENTS ▢ 1 cup rice ▢ 1 cup coconut ▢ 3 cup water ▢ 1 cup jaggery ▢ ¼ tsp salt ▢ 2 tbsp ghee / clarified butter ▢ ¼ tsp cardamom powder INSTRUCTIONS firstly, in a large bowl soak 1 cup rice for 2 hours. drain off the water and transfer to the blender. add 1 cup coconut and ¼ cup water. blend to smooth paste, keep aside. in a large kadai take 1 cup jaggery and add 2¾ cup water. stir well until the jaggery dissolves completely. add in prepared rice coconut paste, ¼ tsp salt and stir well. stir until the mixture is well combined without forming lumps. further, add 2 tbsp ghee and mix well. the mixture will start to turn glossy and separates the pan after 15 minutes. level up spreading uniformly. rest for 30 minutes or until it sets completely. after 30 minutes, slowly unmould the halbai. finally, garnish with cashew and enjoy halbai or rice halwa with ghee during nagarpanchami festival.