SWEET PONGAL

Ingredients (for two people)

Moong dhal - 1/2 cup.
Rice - 1/2 cup.
Milk - 1 cup
Coconut - As per taste
Cashew - As per taste
Jaggery - As per taste
Raisins (khish-mish - dry grapes)
Cardamom - As per taste
Ghee - As per taste
Pic Shown May not be actual one

Method

Fry the moong dhal (before washing) till it becomes little light brown (it will start smelling).
Then soak rice and dhal separately for 10 minutes.
Thoroghly wash and keep it in cooker with the right water (lesser is ok) and cook it seperately (in two different containers).
Meanwhile cut coconut in very small pieces and fry in ghee.
Fry cashew and raisins also separately.
Break the jagerry and put in water (very little) and make a syrup. (This is done because sometimes jagerry has mud and stones. After we make the syrup strain it through tea strainer).
Put the rice and dhal in a big vessel and add milk (may be one cup) and cook it till all the milk gets absorbed.
Add jaggery syrup and again cook till even it gets absorbed. Add three big table spoons of ghee, powdered cardamon and cook again for a while.
Add fried coconut, cashews and raisins.
Serve hot in two cups with a spoon of ghee.

CARROT HALWA (Gajar Ka Halwa)

Ingredients

1 kg juicy orange carrots
1 1/2 litre milk
400-500 gm sugar
Elaichi powder (cardomon)
Saffron few flakes
Few drops orange colour (optional)

Method

Peel and grate carrots
Put milk and carrots in a heavy saucepan.
Boil till thick, stirring occassionally. Once it starts thickening, stir continuously.
Add sugar and cook further till thickens.
Add ghee, elaichi, saffron and colour.
Stir on low heat till the mixture collects in a soft ball or the ghee oozes out.
Serve hot, decorated with a chopped almond or pista.

COCONUT BURFI

Ingredients

2 cups coconut scrapped
1 cup coconut coarsely shredded
1 -1/2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. cardamom powder

Method

Mix both types of coconut in a large heavy pan.

Add milk and cook till bubbes appear.

Continue cooking, stirring continuously, for 10-12 minutes.

Simultaneously, boil sugar in 1/2 cup water to make 2-1/2 thread syrup. (refer sugar syrup)

Pour into coconut, stirring gently and continuously.

Add butter, and continue stirring, till a soft lump is formed.
(If you want to decorate seperate some part of it and add some color essense)

Empty (without essense) into greased large plate, pat even very lightly.

(If you have added color essense to the other part empty that on top of this.)

Cool and cut into squares.

Cool and set completely before transferring to container.

Store in airtight containers.

Note: Never use the brown skin of the coconut while grating, or scrapping. Use
the whitest possible. Otherwise the burfi will get discoloured, though taste will not
differ much.