Halbai
set rice and coconut milk pudding sweetened with jaggery and cut into soft diamonds
Start the day before. The soaking alone is 4 hr, against 60 min of actual work.
Allergens in Halbai: milk.
Ingredients
Quantities for 6.
- 1 cup, raw, soaked 4 hours Rice
- 2 cups, thick Coconut Milkfirst-press if you are extracting it fresh
- 1 1/2 cups, grated Jaggerydark jaggery gives the proper deep colour
- 8 pods, seeds crushed Cardamom
- 4 tbsp Ghee
- 2 tbsp, grated Coconutscattered over the tray before settingoptional
- 1 cup Water
- 1/4 tsp Saltmakes the jaggery taste like more than just sweet
Cookware
stovetop, blender
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Soak the rice at least 4 hours so it grinds completely smooth. Any grit will still be there in the set pudding.
- Melt the jaggery in 1 cup water, then strain it through a fine sieve to catch the grit that jaggery always carries.
- Grease a shallow tray or thali with ghee and keep it beside the stove; the mixture sets fast once it comes off the heat.
Method
- Drain the rice and grind it with 1 cup of the coconut milk to a completely smooth, pourable batter.Run a little between your fingers. If it feels at all sandy, grind another 2 minutes.
- Strain the batter through a fine sieve into a heavy-bottomed pan, pushing through with the back of a ladle.
- Stir in the strained jaggery syrup, the remaining coconut milk and the salt.
- Cook over low heat, stirring continuously with a flat wooden spoon, for about 20 minutes.Continuously means continuously. The moment you stop, the base catches and the whole batch tastes burnt.
- The mixture will thin first, then thicken and start to gloss and pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Add the ghee a tablespoon at a time, letting each one be absorbed before the next goes in, about 8 minutes more.When the last of the ghee starts to weep back out at the edges, it is done.
- Stir in the crushed cardamom and cook 1 minute more.
- Pour into the greased tray, level the top with a ghee-smeared spatula and scatter the grated coconut over.Work fast. It stiffens as it cools and will not level cleanly once it starts to set.
- Cool at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours until firm, then cut into diamonds with a greased knife.Do not put it in the fridge to speed this up; chilled halbai sets hard and loses its softness.
Storage
Keeps 4 days in a covered box at room temperature in cool weather, or 1 week refrigerated. Bring refrigerated pieces back to room temperature before eating, or warm them 10 seconds so the ghee softens.
Nutrition Good estimate
One serving of Halbai (212 g) is about 551 calories, or 261 calories per 100 g.
Low protein: 4 g a serving, 3% of the calories
| Per serving212 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 551 kcal | 261 kcal |
| Protein | 3.9 g | 2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 78.6 g | 37 g |
| of which sugars | 50.2 g | 24 g |
| Fibre | 0.5 g | 0 g |
| Fat | 26.4 g | 12 g |
| of which saturated | 21.1 g | 10 g |
| of which unsaturated | 3.9 g | 2 g |
Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Nearest database match used for jaggery. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
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Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.