Coconut Halwa Puris

Coconut Halwa Puris or halwe ki puri (as we call it) have been my favourite since childhood. When ever there would be a family get together like weddings or summer vacations and a lot of guests and kids would be anticipated , these would be made in huge batches and stored for a quick snack (they have a good shelf life though they disappear quickly).

I got this recipe from from my mother in law, its very easy to make and since the theme for AFAM this time is Coconut I thought of sharing it with you all.

Ingredients:

For halwa:
1 lb packet of shredded frozen coconut, or
Flesh of 1 whole coconut, peeled to remove the brown skin
1/2 C chana dal, boiled
1.5 tsp cardamom/elaichi powder,
1/2 C ground almond paste,
1.5 C sugar, or to taste,
1 tbsp. Rose water

For Puris:
5 C all-purpose flour/maida
4 tbsp ghee, melted
3/4-1 C warm milk
water

Method:

Grind the fresh /frozen coconut to a very fine paste using as little water as possible. It should be a thick paste. Also grind the chana dal. Now dump the ground coconut, chana dal, almonds, sugar in a vessel and cook till you see bubbles. Keep stirring and cook til the paste is dry n most of the water is evaporated . Add elaichi powder n cook again . When the mixture is completely cooked n dry remove from heat and let it cool . Add rose water and mix well. The halwa is ready

Knead together maida, ghee and milk using little water to a soft dough. Cover with a wet towel and keep aside.

To make the puris , divide the dough in balls n roll out each into a 6" circle, fold it in half to get a crease line. Fill one half side of the circle with the halwa/ stuffing . Apply water by the edge and seal the other half tightly , crimp the edges . Fry them on both sides . Do not brown them , remove them from oil once they start floating .

For the ones who may find the above description a bit confusing , the process of assembling the puris is just like making pot stickers or pocket pies .



I am sending this recipe to Suganya of Tasty Palettes who is hosting the AFAM event this month and has made a very interesting choice of featuring Coconut. Thanks Suganya , for choosing such a versatile ingredient, I am excited about the round up already :) and while we are talking all things sweet I would like to mention about Jeena who sent me this lovely poem written by herself a few days back .....some people are really blessed ....Jeena not only cooks good n looks good ....she is a poet too ....:) Check out her poem ....

Thanks Jeena, that's one sweet poem and though I cannot pen down something equally good, I do feel the same for you :) I further pass it on to all my fellow bloggers.

Click for Bri

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.

Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.

This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.



We keep Bri in our prayers and wish her a very very speedy recovery ... Get well soon Bri :)