Akki Halbai/ Rice Halwa

Its Deepavali/Diwali around and ....'Our dil goes Hmmmm....' when it comes to Akki Halbai. 'Akki' means Rice in Kannada and Halbai means halwa. It is one of the specialities of Dakshina Karnataka (South Canara) and is a true delicacy. Hence, it also implies that it involves little hard work....not much that you are speculative about trying :P Trust me, the result is as sweet as sweet can be!

The list of ingredients is very simple ..here it is....

Ingredients:
Raw Rice- 1/2 cup
Coconut milk- 1 cup
Jaggery- 1 cup
Cardamom powder- A pinch
Ghee- 1/2 cup

Method:

Soak the Rice in water, for about an hour. Grind it to a fine paste with adequate amount of water. In a vessel, pour about 1/2 cup water and melt the Jaggery. Strain this melted Jaggery into the Rice batter. Add Coconut milk and mix well. The overall consistency of this mixture may be watery. In a thick-bottomed pan, add a tbsp of ghee and pour the mixture and keep stirring it on medium heat. Continue stirring as the mixture starts to solidify. It will aggregate into one mass. At this point, add the Cardamom powder. Continue to mix for atleast another 20-25 minutes. [You need not do your arm exercises for the day :D ] Add the remaining ghee little by little, and continue to mix well. The end point of this process is when the halbai has left the sides of the pan totally and the ghee has oozed out of it and is separate. Allow it to cool on a greased plate and you may cut it into desired shape. Enjoy each bite of the Akki Halbai!

HAPPY DIWALI !

Preparation Time: 45 Minutes
Quantity yeild: 15 peices