Nei-kazhi is a traditional sweet dish which is rich in nutrition. It is a popular sweet prepared on the eve of Deepavali in Kanyakumari district. I learnt how to prepare this sweet from my mother-in-law. This recipe has been in the family for many generations.
Ingredients Required
Boiled Rice: 100g
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Roasted green gram split: 100g
Jaggery: 250g
Fresh coconut milk: 250ml
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Ghee: 100g
Cooking instructions
Soak the rice and green gram for two hours. Wash them well and grind them together to a fine consistency with plenty of water (2 ½ liters). Simultaneously prepare the coconut milk from a full coconut.
Keep an uruli (bronze vessel) or wide mouthed heavy bottom vessel on the stove. Dissolve the jaggery in water and filter to remove the impurities. Add the ground liquid, coconut milk and the jaggery syrup. Bring it to boil. When it boils, stir it continuously so that the sweet is not burnt at the bottom. As it hardness to a thick paste, add ghee and continue stirring. As the mass gets separated from the walls of the vessel, remove it from the flame and pour it hot on a ghee smeared plate. This should be well cooled before its cut into pieces. Garnish it with cashew nuts. The final look resembles any soufflé.
(B. Rani Mathammal is a scientist working in VSSC, ISRO. She likes to try out new recipes. She spends her free time reading, listening to music, and playing the veena.)