Sweet rice/ Meetha khana

Meetha khana is one of my favourite sweet dishes. I like all the desserts that are made with rice and if jaggery is added to it, I simply love it. My mother adds coconut to this rice and brings a different flavour to the dessert. You have to remove the black skin on the coconut using a knife. It is easy to make and can be prepared on any special occasion at home.

Ingredients:

Rice: 250 gms
Sugar: 250 gms
Coconut, sliced: 1 medium size
Cloves: 2
Cinnamon: 1" piece
Ghee/Clarified butter: 2 tbsp
Cashews: 10
Raisins: 10
Cardamom powder: 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash rice in a bowl, add cinnamon, cloves and cook it. 
   
2. Make thin long pieces of a fresh coconut and keep aside.
   
3. In a deep bottomed pan, add ghee and fry cashews, raisins and coconut pieces till golden brown.
   
4. Now add sugar, half glass water, cardamom powder and mix well to get a single thread consistency.
5. Add the cooked rice to it and cook on a low flame till it becomes dry.
   
6. Serve hot.

Notes: 

• You can pressure cook the rice or cook it in a bowl by draining out the extra water when it is nearly done.
• Instead of sugar we can add jaggery. Again it is used in equal amounts of rice. That is for 250 grams of rice you add 250 grams jaggery.
• If you want your rice to be little colourful, you can add saffron/ food colour to the sugar syrup.
• You can also use basmati rice for this dessert.

Sent this recipe to Priya, Pari