SEMOLINA COCONUT BARFI

Holi... the festival of colours is approaching, it is the time for merry making and indulge ourselves into having a lot of sweets. Yes, the diabetic self is saying this because at times we need to set loose, and be a part of the celebration. Though, I have never played Holi in my growing up years. Our neighbourhood's atmosphere was not congenial and our mom never allowed me to go out. For long, Holi remained as a scary memory of drunkards banging the neighbourhood doors. At the same time, I must mention these same people came for our help whenever our father got bedridden with arthritis. It is never easy or required to judge who is good, who is not.... what is right or what is wrong....

After marriage, I felt a strong urge to play Holi, the Bollywood way with my man... God, once I splashed some colour on him, he scolded me hard. I was in tears never knowing what went wrong. His skin is averse to colours. The same person spends sleepless nights when I am unwell, sailed through the rough seas to keep me well, made sacrifices to keep the family well. I always look up to him with respect. I actually was transferred from our mother's lap to the husband's, hence I never learnt to face any adversity in life. My son, following his father's footsteps doesn't want to play Holi these days. As a child he loved to play though and used to go out with his paternal grandparents.

About this super simple yummy homemade sweet, I learnt it from my friend Ipsita, who believes in following a strict diet, a degree holder in Hotel Management. She is not a part of the blogging world, does a lot of fusion cooking and loves to have my Bengali dishes that are simple and authentic. She got me this sweet on the Saraswati Pujo / Vasant Panchami day. I loved them so much so that I went ahead doing it with some changes. I wished to keep the semolina a little undercooked, so that it remains a bit crunchy. Hence, I used less amount of milk than recommended. Let us do it to celebrate the occasion of Holi.

INGREDIENTS :

Semolina : 1cup
Shredded Coconut : 1/2cup
Milk : 1small cup
Condensed Milk : 1/4 small cup
Sugar : 2tbsp
Green Cardamom Powder : 1/2tsp
Saffron : 10-12 strands[optional]
Pistachios : 1tsp[chopped] [optional]
Raisins : 1 for each barfi to garnish
Ghee : 2tbsp

METHOD :

Heat a wok. Toast the coconut for 3-4 minutes and keep aside. Warm the milk and soak the saffron strands in it.

Heat the ghee in a wok. Add the semolina. Keep stirring at low heat until it turns golden yellow and gives a nice roasted aroma. Add 2tbsp sugar. Stir for a minute.

Add the milk little by little and keep stirring. The semolina will be 70-75% cooked. Add the toasted  coconut. Stir well for 2 minutes.

Add the condensed milk and the green cardamom powder. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Let cool and cut into your desired shape.

Garnish each of the sweets with saffron strands, raisins and pistachios or whichever way you wish to. You can refrigerate the sweet up to 2-4 days.