Meetha Chawal is a traditional dessert of North India mostly served during pujas and functions. It is prepared using cooked basmati rice and carefully selected mild Indian spices and ghee. I have used Little Millet for this recipe and substituted sugar with jaggery for health reasons, and it was equally aromatic and tasty.
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Cooked Little Millet/Samai ( 1 Cup measure after cooking the millet)
- 1 Tbsp Ghee
- 1/4 Cup Jaggery Powder
- 1/16 Tsp Salt ( A very small pinch)
- 1 Green Cardamom
- 2 Cloves
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 Tbsp grated nuts (almond and cashew nut)
Directions:
- Heat a pan and add ghee. When it is hot, add the spices mentioned above.
- Once they turn aromatic, reduce the flame to minimum and add jaggery powder. Let it melt and become a syrup. In between mix with a ladle so that it doesn't burn. Once the raw smell goes off, turn off the heat. It takes just 2 minutes. Mix in salt.
- Add the precooked and cooled millet and mix well. Leave it for some time so that it absorbs all the syrup and becomes dry.
- Garnish with graded nuts.
Note:
1. Cooking the millet in milk gives an enhanced taste. A few saffron strands can be added while cooking.
2. Kodo/Barnyard/Foxtail/Proso millets can be used for this recipe.