Coconut Rice (‘Narali Bhat’)

Coconut Rice (‘Narali Bhat’ in Marathi) is a sweet dish made on an occasion of Narali Pournima in some parts of  India.

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

For 4-6 persons

Let’s look at the ingredients.

Rice 1.5 small cup

Freshly grated coconut 2 small cups

Dark colored jaggery powder 2 small cups

Cardamom powder 1 teaspoon

Cashew pieces 15

Raisins 15

Ghee (similar to ‘Clarified butter’ but not the same) 2 tablespoons

Cooking steps:

1. Wash the rice thrice in running water
2. Add double water i.e. 3 small cups and keep the rice to boil in a container.
3. Also, add 1 tablespoon of ghee and cover the container with a lid.
4. Once all water evaporates, turn off the flame.
5. Take out all the cooked rice in a big plate and mix it gently with grated coconut and jaggery powder.
6. At this time, jaggery powder starts melting.
7. In the same container, fry cashews and raisins in 1 tablespoon of ghee for a minute and keep them aside.
8. Transfer the mixture from the plate to the container and cook in the remaining ghee for a minute or two with a lid on top.
9. For garnishing, add fried raisins, cashews and cardamom powder and mix it well.
10. Please do not cook for a long time as rice may become hard due to caramelized jaggery.
11. The rice should be soft and it should absorb the liquid released from the jaggery.

Happy Narali Pournima!