" Narali Bhat / Sweet Coconut Rice "

" Narali Bhat / Sweet Coconut Rice "
  By Chef Prashant Adsule.


This delicacy is prepared during Rakhi Poornima in particular. Coconut Day festival or Narali Purnima takes place in Maharasthra & Kerala. It is celebrated mostly by the fishing community who offer their prayers for their safety to the sun-god Varuna. On the full moon day of Sravan is celebrated the Narli Purnima to appease the fury of the Sea-god Narli Purnima.


Serves 4 persons


Ingredients:


2 cups Basmati rice 
3 cups sugar 
1 cup milk
1 ½ cups scraped fresh coconut 
5 cloves/Lavang
5 cardamom/ Velachi
2 teaspoon raisins/Bedane 
1 teaspoon saffron/Keshar mix with 2 tbsp milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
20 Kaju/cashew nuts (chopped into pieces)
4 cups warm water to cook rice
½ cup pure ghee


Method:


1) Wash rice and drain excess water. Keep aside for an hour.
2) Put 2 teaspoons ghee in a thick-bottom pan or rice cooker. Add cloves and cardamom and fry for a minute. Then add rice and fry for 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, lemon juice and water in it and steam it till the rice is cooked.
3) Spread the rice on a plate and keep aside to cool.
4) Put sugar, milk and coconut in a thick-bottom pan and stir it constantly with the gas on low flame. When the mixture becomes thick and dry such that it leaves the sides of the pan, remove from flame. Add to it the mixture of milk-saffron, cashew nuts and raisins and mix it well.
5) Fold in the cooled rice into the above mixture and mix it together gently. Put the pan on a low flame and cook it for 1 to 20 minutes (the rice will absorb most of the sugar syrup). Remove from flame, add remaining ghee and cover it.
6) Keep the rice covered for about an hour and then serve.