Today's pick for the blogging marathon is Narali Bhaat. Naral or Naryal aka coconut is a commonly used Maharashtrian ingredient. If you pick a traditional Marathi gravy or even chutney, it will generally have coconut in some form. But in the last five days I have not posted a single sweet dish, so I thought I would round off the state with a sweet or dessert recipe.
After searching for an interesting sweet recipe that fit all my criteria, I found Narali Bhaat by Nisha. I was sure I was making this for the marathon. While I generally use frozen coconut most of the time, I bought myself a big coconut to get some freshness into the dish.
The recipe is fairly simple, involving just 3 main ingredients: rice, jaggery and coconut. I made it quickly along with a few other things for brunch, and we had such a wonderful meal. I generally avoid coconut in my cooking as both of us do not enjoy the smell and sometimes overpowering flavor it imparts to the food. I was pretty skeptic of this dish as well.
So, I first added ¼ cup coconut and after I felt that the flavor was not too overpowering, I added the remaining. It tasted just fine with ¾ cup coconut. Also, we generally enjoy our sweets with a slightly lower side of sweetness, so ¾ cup jaggery was enough. If you like it really sweet, add quarter cup more. The dish is quite a delight to have, and a little different from regular sweets.
Ingredients
Rice 1 cup
Jaggery ¾ cup
Coconut ¾ cup shredded
Ghee 2-3 tbsp
Almonds 5-6, Cashews 5-6
Green Cardamom 2-3
Clove 2-3
Cinnamon Stick 1 inch
Method
Soak the rice for 30 minutes. Cook them with ½ teaspoon ghee for 2 whistles (partially cooked). Open and fluff the rice.
In a pan heat ghee. Once hot, add cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. When they become flavorful, add the almonds and cashews. Also, add the jaggery and mix.
In about 2 minutes, add the shredded coconut and mix well. Once the jaggery melts, add the rice and cover to cook for 8-10 minutes. Keep checking if the rice is completely cooked. Once done, turn down flame and serve warm.
Gayathri Kumar says
Such a flavourful rice. As usual amazing snaps..
vaishali sabnani says
Yes coconut sometimes has a peculiar after taste..but the rice looks real good and I would love to try these.
Suma Gandlur says
I love coconut in any dish and so this bharat sounds appealing to me.
Pavani says
Simple and delicious looking narali bhath -- that too this sweet version looks amazing.
Srivalli says
Ah same pinch!..guess coconut is ruling for this day..nice presentation..
MySpicyKitchen says
Coconut sweet rice looks very nice and the rice is very grainy.
Nalini's Kitchen says
Another sweet coconut rice of the day,very well presented..
Srividhya says
Love the way you presented the dish. great share for N
Priya Suresh says
Simply fantastic, who can resist to this prefectly cooked Narali bhaat, ultimate sweet rice.
cookingwithsapana says
Coconut sweet rice looks delicious.Love your presentation.
Amara’s cooking says
Lovely dish and amazing presentation:)
Harini R says
Same pinch. Lovely presentation to the flavorful coconutty rice.
Kalyani says
narali bhaath seems to rule the day :)) great clicks ...
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
What a beautiful presentation! Love it 🙂
Chef Mireille says
love the way you styled the photo inside coconut shell - and love the dish as well - I love coconut and this is my kind of dish