“Barik Lapsi ~ Nachani Rava Sweet Khichidi / Gavuncho Rulavu ani Nanchane Rulavu ghalnu Godi Khichidi” … A delicious Naivedyam on the occasion of Margashira~Masa … My own concoction of ingredients … Today I prepared sweet khichidi with the addition of Bansi Rava and the Nachani Rava for Prasadam … Don’t go by the color … addition of nachani always gives you dark brown colour … For all my friends here … Stay blessed …...
** It’s the month of Margarshir, ie now it is Margashira~Masa or Khichidi~Masa as we GSB / Konkani Saraswats fondly call. It’s the holy month of Lord Vishnu and the whole month is considered auspicious. I have no knowledge why sweet khichidi is prepared, but many variations of the same is prepared continuously through out the month. We mix many types of lentils and prepare the same. There is minute difference in sheera and khichidi, sheera is prepared with rava only, while for khichidi some lentils are used or there is mix of two ingredients. Also coconut gratings are added and it is served mostly topped with banana. Most of the time during this month it is served with any dosa of your choice and we call it khichid~polo meaning khichidi served with polo (dosa). Today for a change I decided to try out the mix and match of Barik Lapsi / Bansi Rava with Nachani Rava and prepare it in khichidi style by adding in coconut gratings. A delicious combination of rava. Do not go by the colour. When you add nachani to any dish preparation you are bound to get blackish tinge in colour. But the taste was simply awesome. Also do not cut down on sugar for this one, as a little bit of sugary flavour goes well with nachani.
** Many years back I had purchased Nachani Rava in a stores close to my vicinity then. It was the first super market to be started in Thane, a small one run by two efficient Gujuarti Brothers who had learned the techniques abroad and followed it here. The store is still there and still running strong. 25 year back I had come across Nachani Rava for the first time in my life. I knew of Nachani / Ragi powder but rava was something new to me. It was grainy textured just like wheat rava. I purchased it and simply loved adding it to bhakri etc. After I changed residence, I did try to purchase, but I was always told it was either out of stock or some other excuse. It was about 10 years back that one of the bro’ blurted out the truth and confided that there was no public demand for such authentic cereals now. And for that very reason they have stopped making it for some years now. He told me he could arrange the same if I would buy it in bulk of minimum 3 Kgs. Well that was out of question, what would I do with so much stock. After some time, One day I just decided to try it out myself by grinding it in mixer and Lo’ I got it … So now I grind Nachani to rava texture in mixer and add on as and when I want … yummy …
** To Prepare the Nachani Rava (Finger Millet / Ragi) :
** Pick and clean 2 cups of Nachani / Finger millet. Remove stones or sticks if any. Put half cup of nachani in the small mixer grinder and run for few seconds. Mix and re run. Do not run the grinder continuously or you will get powder form. Remove and continue with the rest in the same method. Now sieve the coarsely powder nachani through a sieve. You will get some unground nachani. Put that back into the mixer grinder and run the same. Done. Nachani Rava is done and ready to be used any dish of your choice. Store the same in an air tight container till further use.
** For this recipe You will need …..
Barik Lapsi / Bansi Rava / Mangalore (Gavuncho Rulav) : 2 cups.
Nachani / Finger Millet / Ragi Rava : 1.5 cups.
Sugar : 4 cups.
Coconut : 1 heaped cup fresh and finely grated.
Cardamom Powder : 1 tsp
Ghee : ½ cup
Cashew nut pieces : ½ cup
Raisins / Dried Grapes : ½ cup
Ripe Banana : 1-2 for while serving the dish.
** Heat the ghee in a thick bottomed pan, when it melts add in the cashew nuts and fry till it turns brown. Remove and keep aside. In the same ghee add in the raisins and fry till they swell well, remove and keep them aide. This is for garnishing towards the end.
** Keep 4 cups of water to boil on flame on one side as you start preparing the khichidi.
** Now add in the Barik Lapsi / Bansi Rava / Mangalore (Gavuncho Rulav) into the same kadai and fry on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Now add in the Nachani / Finger Millet / Ragi Rava and mix well and further fry for 3-4 minutes.
** Lower the heat to minimum and gently pour little by little boiling water into the kadai stirring often. You have to be very careful while doing this as the mixture splutters a bit. So do stand at a distance and keep your face away by not peeping into the kadai. Add in all the boiling water and mix well.
** Cover with a dome lid and cook till almost done stirring in a few times. See to it that there are no lumps. Now add in the sugar and stir well and cook till all the sugar has melted and the khichidi starts thickening.
** Finally add in the freshly grated coconut and mix well. Allow to cook on slow fire for 2-3 minutes and then remove from fire. Add in the cardamom powder and fried cashew nuts and raisins and mix well.
** Lastly slice the banana into thin roundels and add it on top to the khichidi. You can serve some slices along with the khichidi later on too. Somehow sweet khichidi with the addition of banana slices is a tradition among Konkani Saraswats and we all love it that way. Try it, tastes great.
** Note : Do not allow the Khichidi to cook too much or till dry. The moisture in the khichidi gets absorbed by rava and nachani and tends to dry up once cooled. So do keep it a little bit thinner.
**“Barik Lapsi ~ Nachani Rava Sweet Khichidi / Gavuncho Rulavu ani Nanchane Rulavu ghalnu Godi Khichidi” is done and ready to be offered as Naivedyam to God. Once it’s done offer as prasadam to your family and friends and relish this naivedyam. You can also serve this with dosa the way I did. I have written about the combination many times and also above so please to read for the reasons. You can also prepare this and relish during other functions or just like that if you have a sweet tooth. Children are sure to love it as they love sweets a lot. Stay Blessed and Do try out this recipe.
** For the other Khichidi Recipe, Please follow this link and you will get them in a row, You may go throug them and prepare those that you find will be loved by you family.
** An earnest Request : There are many more recipes of similar type in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. You can also go to my page (add on the left side of blog) and leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible … Thank you. I have also started a food group by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" the link of which is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey.
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