COCONUT SWEET WITH JAGGERY

This is the last of my recipes for 2016 and I thought I’d end the year on a sweet note with a recipe that was a part of my childhood.

As a kid, I used to eat these coconut sweets made with jaggery, available in little shops that sold anything from needles to rice. Usually these sweets were displayed in glass jars and looked quite revolting with a few flies hovering around them…but ah! The taste!! The taste is something I cannot forget even today. I used to buy them with 10 or 20 paisa coins and savor them bit by bit. I have added the coins in the pictures, now no longer in circulation. It brings back memories of those days where simple pleasures like this, so inexpensive, was all it took to be happy.

Ingredients:

100 gm jaggery OR
50 gm jaggery and half a cup of jaggery powder (this is the combination I used.)
½ cup of water.
2 cups fresh coconut ground a mixer/processor so that it comes out a fine paste.

Method:

In a non stick pan, add water and add the jaggery in the pan till it melts completely and thickens slightly.

Add the coconut paste and stir.

and stir..and stir..and stir…and stir…:) that’s all there is to the recipe. Just stir till all water evaporates and the mixture looks thick enough to make into little coconut balls with your hands. Switch off the stove when the mixture thickens and do this while it is still warm.


NOTE:

Water: I added a little bit more while melting the jaggery. Though this makes the moisture take a longer time to evaporate, I prefer it over using too little water and it turns out too thick, sticking to the pan.

Add: Raisins and nuts when stirring if you wish. Cardamom powder. Orange red food coloring for a brighter look.

Don’t forget to stir in low flame and keep it going till you get the desired consistency. Keep an eye on it at all times.