Venni Puttu - Ground Rice Lentil Pudding

I have been lazy lately, unwilling to drag myself out of bed to write something new and Post on the blog. It is indeed not easy to be busy like hell over the week and then cooking like maniac over weekends so that you could prepare the posts for the next week. Phew !, how much courage do you acquire ladies to bring all those new ideas and posts. 

Today was not exception. I was not feeling well since morning, hence had to cancel my Driving lesson as well and spent most of the time sleeping and cuddling pillows. Meanwhile, I recalled that I have to write the post for this Month's Indian Cooking Challenge by Srivalli. As much as I enjoyed preparing the dish, I felt lazy to get myself up and write down the stuff while it was also the time for Lunch. Thanks to S, he took the lead and prepared Lunch for himself and friends coming over. Husbands are adorable sometimes , aren't they :)

Anyways, coming back to the recipe, it was a new thing for me. From start to end, I was thinking how the taste would come at last and was surprised to look at a perfectly blended outcome. It has similar taste like a Whole wheat Halwa but with a slight distinction. I loved it, ate it warm wrapped in a Chapathi. But since I made it in the yesterday morning amidst all other work getting ready for my Dance Class, I could not take step by step pictures and I sincerely regret it. It was amusing to see the change n color and texture from start to end. Since it use jaggery as a sweetener, I can have it with little guilt. But I did a mistake of not reading the recipe properly. It called for 2 tbsp cooked Chana Daal, but I thought its mentioned uncooked. So you understand here why my version is a bit runny instead of accumulated mass like a fudge. Although I cherished the enhanced flavour of more Chana Daal here, but since the original recipe didnt call for it, so wanted to share the experience with you. You may play around according to your taste, next time I wold try it with less Daal and more Coconut pieces. 

A lovely recipe, thanks to Srivalli for giving this Opportunity :)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup White rice
• 1/2 cup Grated Jaggery 
• A pinch of Cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp Coconut, grated
• 2 tbsp Ghee 
• 2 tbsp cooked Chana Daal
• 2 tbsp chopped nuts ( I used flaked almonds )

Preparation :

• Soak rice overnight to make it light. Drain and keep aside. 
• Pressure Cook Chana daal with 1 cup water upto 2 whistles so that it gets cooked but still retains its shape. 

Method:

• Grind the rice in a blender with 1/2 cup water. It should have thinner consistency than Idli batter, runny and flowing. 
• Boil 2 cups of water in a pan and add this ground rice paste into it. Do remember to add in the boiling water and not while its still warm. 
• Keep stirring the mixture else it would stick to the pan. This will take around 8-10 minutes to continuous stirring to get the desired cooked lump. 
• Meanwhile, boil 1/2 cup of water and make jaggery syrup. Strain the syrup and keep aside. 
• When rice is cooked, mix this Jaggery syrup and Cooked Chana Daal into it and mix well. You really have to stir it hard to combine everything evenly. Add ghee at this stage, this will enhance the flavour and avoid sticking. 
• After 3-4 minutes of stirring add Cardamom Powder and grated Coconut. Give a nice last stir and turn off the flame. 
• Grease a plate and pour the mixture evenly on it. When cool down a bit, cut into pieces. Garnish with nuts, serve warm, ENJOY !

Notes:

• You can fry the nuts into ghee for richer taste. 
• I did add 2 tsp Brown Sugar while adding Chana Daal, since hubby doesnt like the taste of pure jaggery pudding. You can skip it or add as per your choice. 

Specially prepared for Srivalli's ICC - January, you can see the Step by Step recipe here.

Off to Radhika's Sweet Somethings , Vardhini's Sweet Love,  Anzz Valentine Special, Surabhi's Holi Hai,