Sometimes when there's no dessert around, I make a quick pot of halavah. Halavah is like a stove-top cake, or a hearty, whole-wheat pudding. A variety of fruits can be added, or nuts, or both. Or you can just leave it plain. Today's hurried lifestyle requires hurry-up recipes, and this is a quick dessert. It can also be served as a stick-to-your-ribs hot cereal--mmmmm--great on a cool morning!
1 c unsalted butter
2 c farina, sooji, or uncooked Cream of Wheat cereal
2 c unrefined sugar
4 1/2-5 c water, whey, or milk
1 t cinnamon
2 c fresh or frozen blueberries, rinsed in cold water and drained (if using frozen, keep frozen until right before using)
Melt the butter on low heat in a large saucepan. Add the farina and cinnamon, and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the mixture starts to sound like wet sand when you stir it.
While the grains are cooking, dissolve the sugar in the liquid in a separate large saucepan. Over medium heat, stir thoroughly until the sugar is completely dissolved.
After it comes to a boil, turn down to low. If you are using either water or whey (I used whey for this recipe), cover while continuing to cook the grains. If you are using milk, don't cover, because it could boil over.
When the grains start to sound like wet sand as you stir, take a moment to add the blueberries to the sugar-liquid. Turn up the heat slightly and cover again, only if you are using water or whey.
Now it is time to turn up the heat under the grains. Turn up to medium high, and stirring constantly, cook till the mixture looks like wet lava. Turn off the heat.
Uncover the sugar-liquid-blueberry mixture, which should now have returned to a boil after you added the blueberries, and turn off the heat. Now, the heat should be off under both pans.
Pour a small amount--about a cup--of the still boiling-hot liquid into the grains. It will bubble up and may even splatter, so stand back a little when you pour the hot liquid in. Stir gently with a wooden spoon. Add a little more of the hot liquid. It will again sputter and bubble. Gently stir again. Keep doing this till all the liquid is incorporated into the grains. Stir thoroughly. At this point, the mixture should be loose enough to stir easily. Now cover. Let the mixture sit for three minutes.
After three minutes, uncover and stir again. At this point, the pudding will be thick and will provide a little resistance to your spoon. After stirring again, cover and let it sit for a few more minutes before offering to Lord Krishna.
Serve warm, and if you like, you can offer a little cream along with it as a garnish. Krishna likes cream.
Serves 6-8 normal people, one pregnant momma, one starving teen-ager, or one blueberry halavah monster. If the blueberry halavah monster is fed the entire contents of the pot at night before retiring, along with a big cup of hot milk, the monster will then go to sleep and will not bother anyone until late in the morning.
Note: Halavah, also known as "seera" is a popular dessert in India. Although most of the sooji halavah I've tasted in Indian families' homes was cardamom flavored raisin-nut halavah, the possibilities of halavah flavors are really numerous. Here are some ideas:
If you want to use a type of fruit other than blueberries, you can use pretty much anything except avocado or melons. Just make sure that if you use an acidic type of fruit, that you use either water or whey for the liquid, as milk may curdle if used with acidic fruits. Also, you may want to use a different spice other than cinnamon, or none at all.
If you want to use nuts, make sure to use raw, unsalted nuts. Add one cup nuts to the farina mixture toward the middle of the farina frying-time (after about 10 minutes) so that the nuts get a little toasted. When you're using nuts, it's okay to use milk as the liquid. Whey is also very nice. After merging the liquid with the grains, stir in one teaspoon vanilla extract.
Banana halavah: add one cup sliced, ripe bananas (about one large banana) at the very end, after you've added the liquid to the grains. Otherwise, the banana slices will get rubbery. Milk is the best liquid to use with bananas. A little carob powder or a handful of walnut pieces or both added to the grains makes a nice combination with bananas. If you like, you can try putting a teaspoon of vanilla in before the final stir.
Orange halavah: add a tablespoon of orange zest to the grains, and use the squeezed juice of the orange as part of your liquid (remember, use whey or water).
Cranberry halavah: wash and drain a handful of cranberries. Add them to the boiling liquid (water or whey). Add a tablespoon of orange zest to the grains as they are toasting.
Pineapple: add two cups pineapple tidbits to the sugar-water. If you like, you can add a handful of pecan pieces to the toasting grains.
Saffron-cardamom: add about ten threads of saffron to the milk, and about a teaspoon of cardamom powder to the toasting grains. Use milk as your liquid. Ahh, the taste of mother-love!
Vanilla-cardamom: Grind 1 t fresh cardamom and add to grains as they are toasting. Stir 1 t vanilla into the halavah after the sugar-water is added to the grains. Use water for your liquid. This is my husband's trademark halavah--a favorite among the students in Manipal.
Apple-cinnamon: peel and chop two Granny Smith (sour green) apples (cut apples should equal about 2 c). Add apples to the liquid (remember to use whey or water, or you can even use apple juice!) and add a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/8 t nutmeg to the grains as they are toasting.
1 c unsalted butter
2 c farina, sooji, or uncooked Cream of Wheat cereal
2 c unrefined sugar
4 1/2-5 c water, whey, or milk
1 t cinnamon
2 c fresh or frozen blueberries, rinsed in cold water and drained (if using frozen, keep frozen until right before using)
Melt the butter on low heat in a large saucepan. Add the farina and cinnamon, and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the mixture starts to sound like wet sand when you stir it.
While the grains are cooking, dissolve the sugar in the liquid in a separate large saucepan. Over medium heat, stir thoroughly until the sugar is completely dissolved.
After it comes to a boil, turn down to low. If you are using either water or whey (I used whey for this recipe), cover while continuing to cook the grains. If you are using milk, don't cover, because it could boil over.
When the grains start to sound like wet sand as you stir, take a moment to add the blueberries to the sugar-liquid. Turn up the heat slightly and cover again, only if you are using water or whey.
Now it is time to turn up the heat under the grains. Turn up to medium high, and stirring constantly, cook till the mixture looks like wet lava. Turn off the heat.
Uncover the sugar-liquid-blueberry mixture, which should now have returned to a boil after you added the blueberries, and turn off the heat. Now, the heat should be off under both pans.
Pour a small amount--about a cup--of the still boiling-hot liquid into the grains. It will bubble up and may even splatter, so stand back a little when you pour the hot liquid in. Stir gently with a wooden spoon. Add a little more of the hot liquid. It will again sputter and bubble. Gently stir again. Keep doing this till all the liquid is incorporated into the grains. Stir thoroughly. At this point, the mixture should be loose enough to stir easily. Now cover. Let the mixture sit for three minutes.
After three minutes, uncover and stir again. At this point, the pudding will be thick and will provide a little resistance to your spoon. After stirring again, cover and let it sit for a few more minutes before offering to Lord Krishna.
Serve warm, and if you like, you can offer a little cream along with it as a garnish. Krishna likes cream.
Serves 6-8 normal people, one pregnant momma, one starving teen-ager, or one blueberry halavah monster. If the blueberry halavah monster is fed the entire contents of the pot at night before retiring, along with a big cup of hot milk, the monster will then go to sleep and will not bother anyone until late in the morning.
Note: Halavah, also known as "seera" is a popular dessert in India. Although most of the sooji halavah I've tasted in Indian families' homes was cardamom flavored raisin-nut halavah, the possibilities of halavah flavors are really numerous. Here are some ideas:
If you want to use a type of fruit other than blueberries, you can use pretty much anything except avocado or melons. Just make sure that if you use an acidic type of fruit, that you use either water or whey for the liquid, as milk may curdle if used with acidic fruits. Also, you may want to use a different spice other than cinnamon, or none at all.
If you want to use nuts, make sure to use raw, unsalted nuts. Add one cup nuts to the farina mixture toward the middle of the farina frying-time (after about 10 minutes) so that the nuts get a little toasted. When you're using nuts, it's okay to use milk as the liquid. Whey is also very nice. After merging the liquid with the grains, stir in one teaspoon vanilla extract.
Banana halavah: add one cup sliced, ripe bananas (about one large banana) at the very end, after you've added the liquid to the grains. Otherwise, the banana slices will get rubbery. Milk is the best liquid to use with bananas. A little carob powder or a handful of walnut pieces or both added to the grains makes a nice combination with bananas. If you like, you can try putting a teaspoon of vanilla in before the final stir.
Orange halavah: add a tablespoon of orange zest to the grains, and use the squeezed juice of the orange as part of your liquid (remember, use whey or water).
Cranberry halavah: wash and drain a handful of cranberries. Add them to the boiling liquid (water or whey). Add a tablespoon of orange zest to the grains as they are toasting.
Pineapple: add two cups pineapple tidbits to the sugar-water. If you like, you can add a handful of pecan pieces to the toasting grains.
Saffron-cardamom: add about ten threads of saffron to the milk, and about a teaspoon of cardamom powder to the toasting grains. Use milk as your liquid. Ahh, the taste of mother-love!
Vanilla-cardamom: Grind 1 t fresh cardamom and add to grains as they are toasting. Stir 1 t vanilla into the halavah after the sugar-water is added to the grains. Use water for your liquid. This is my husband's trademark halavah--a favorite among the students in Manipal.
Apple-cinnamon: peel and chop two Granny Smith (sour green) apples (cut apples should equal about 2 c). Add apples to the liquid (remember to use whey or water, or you can even use apple juice!) and add a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/8 t nutmeg to the grains as they are toasting.
Ginger: grate a scant 1/4 c of fresh peeled ginger root and add it to the sugar water before mixing into the fried grains. The earlier you mix the ginger into the sugar water, the better.
Plain: One of the most amazing flavors of halavah is just plain unflavored halavah made with whey as the liquid. You will not believe how yummy this is until you try it. Great way to use the left-over whey after you make paneer.
Plain: One of the most amazing flavors of halavah is just plain unflavored halavah made with whey as the liquid. You will not believe how yummy this is until you try it. Great way to use the left-over whey after you make paneer.
Mother in India we call it also Suji-r payes/Hluah As a paediatrician I advice this to my patients alos even from six month of ages .
ReplyDeleteThank you , Hare Krishna.