Ganesha Chaturthi is a 3 or 5 or 10 day long festival for some people. If you celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi for more than one day, it is mandatory to make at least one sweet dish as offering/naivedya to Lord Ganesha. After making sweets like holige (poli), kadubu or other traditional ones from sweets list one will need a recipe that is simple, easy and light on the stomach. Haalbai is one such recipe, soaked rice ground into a thick batter with coconut milk lightly flavoured with elaichi it is a super easy sweet to make. It does not need resting time after preparing. Just plan to soak rice a few hours before making this sweet. Only water can also be used in place of coconut milk but coconut milk adds a subtle taste and makes haalbai pliable because of the oils in it. If you want to keep this vegan use vegetable oil in place of desi ghee.
- ¾ Cup fat grained rice/dosa rice/idli rice
- ½ Cup grated or chopped jaggery/gur/bella
- 1 Cup thin coconut milk
- 1 small pinch of salt
- 2 Tbsp desi ghee
- 8-10 powdered elaichi
- Wash and soak rice for at least 4 hours
- Drain water from rice, add into a mixer jar
- Add ¼ Cup coconut milk and grind into a paste
- Add further ¼ Cup of coconut milk and thin the rice paste a little
- In a heavy bottomed pan, add 1½ Tbsp ghee
- As soon as it melts add grated/chopped jaggery and allow it to melt
- As soon as jaggery melts, add rice-coconut milk batter in a steady stream and keep mixing as you add it otherwise it will lump up
- Add ½ Cup coconut milk and mix well
- Mix evenly till rice batter starts to thicken
- Add a pinch of salt
- Add elaichi powder
- Keep stirring, rice paste will start to thicken and absorb all the moisture
- When it starts to thicken more add ½ Tbsp ghee and mix well
- When the mixture starts leaving the pan and feels soft to the touch, pour into a greased pan
- Press with the back of a spoon into an even layer
- Allow it cool for a few minutes. Cut into barfis
- Garnish with cashews or almonds if you want. Serve at room temperature
Soaking rice is very important to get a smooth, melt-in-the-mouth texture
Adding salt cuts through the sweetness and richness of coconut milk
Always keep stirring, do not allow it to lump up
If you want to keep this vegan use vegetable oil in place of desi ghee
To extract coconut milk, grind freshly grated coconut with little water, squeeze and extract coconut milk, repeat till all coconut milk gets extracted, Sieve and store in refrigerator till it needs to used. Or you can use store bought organic coconut milk
Stepwise:
Wash and soak rice for at least 4 hours
Drain water from rice, add into a mixer jar
Add 1/4 Cup coconut milk and grind into a paste
Add further 1/4 Cup of coconut milk and thin the rice paste a little
In a heavy bottomed pan, add 1 1/2 Tbsp ghee
As soon as it melts add grated/chopped jaggery and allow it to melt
As soon as jaggery melts, add rice-coconut milk batter in a steady stream and keep mixing as you add it otherwise it will lump up
Add 1/2 Cup coconut milk and mix well
Mix evenly till rice batter starts to thicken
Add a pinch of salt
Add elaichi powder
Keep stirring, rice paste will start to thicken and absorb all the moisture
When it starts to thicken more add 1/2 Tbsp ghee and mix well
When the mixture starts leaving the pan and feels soft to the touch, pour into a greased pan
Press with the back of a spoon into an even layer
Allow it cool for a few minutes. Cut into barfis
Garnish with cashews or almonds if you want. Serve at room temperature
