RAGI HALBAI
Halbai is an easy to prepare traditional sweet dish made out of ground rice, coconut milk and jaggery. The 'milk' extracted out of soaked and ground wheat is another option to prepare mouth watering Wheat Halbai.
Here is a healthier version of halbai prepared using ragi ( finger millet ). Ragi is soaked, ground and filtered to extract the 'milk' for preparing halbai, and the squeezed out husk is discarded. But I have used whole ragi flour to retain the healthy fiber content of the millet in this version of the sweet dish.
INGREDIENTS
Ragi flour - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Coconut Milk / Plain milk- 2 cups ( I used plain milk )
Ghee - 3 tbsps ( If coconut milk is used the quantity of ghee can be reduced )
Cardamom powder - 1 pinch
Cashew nuts - a few.
METHOD
1. Blend ragi flour with warm milk into a smooth paste and let it stand for fifteen minutes.
2. Dissolve jaggery in 2 cups of warm water and filter it.
3. Cook the ragi flour paste and jaggery water together in a heavy bottomed pan.
4. Keep stirring to avoid lumps.
5. Add ghee little by little and keep stirring till the whole mass comes together.
6. When the halbai becomes dark and shiny and starts to leave the sides of the pan, add cardamom powder and the remaining ghee .
7. Pour it on a greased plate and garnish with cashew nuts.
8.Allow to set and then cut into desired shapes .
Relish the silky soft and nutritious Ragi Halbai while still warm.
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