Traditionally we call this Arrowroot halbayi. Which is easy to digest and considered as a very light food during fasting or illness. This should be consumed fresh and the shelf life of any halbayi is only 24 hours.
Arrowroot powder is extracted from the arrowroot plant, which is milky white in colour and powdery like corn starch. It has high nutritional content and is a very good substitute for bleached corn starch as a thickening agent in cooking. It is odourless and works well too.
Arrowroot powder’s “Easy to digest” quality is qualified to make infant food as well as to treat diarrhoea. It is usually consumed in a porridge form in our region. Usually, 1 tablespoon of powder is mixed with little water (according to the consistency) and cooked until it is shiny and glossy. Then with preferred seasonings like salt or jaggery.
Although it is a starch, it contains no gluten, so works well in gluten-free baking or cooking as well.
Ingredients:
Use a small tumbler to measure arrowroot, milk and jaggery or sugar.
Arrowroot powder – 1 cup
Coconut milk or milk – 1 cup
Jaggery or sugar – 1 cup (grated)
Ghee – 2 tablespoons
Water – 2 cups
Cashew bits – 2 tablespoons
Cardamom powder – 1 teaspoon
Method:
– Mix arrowroot powder in water and keep aside for one hour.
– After an hour, pour the top/soaked water. Add 2 cups of water, mix nicely and sieve this solution to remove any impurities.
– Make jaggery syrup by adding little water, boil and sieve the solution to remove any impurities.
– Grease one steel plate with little ghee and keep it aside. Roast cashew bits with a drop of ghee and keep aside.
– Mix sieved mixture, coconut milk, jaggery syrup in one thick Kadai and heat the mixture by stirring continuously on low fire.
– Add ghee in-between, when it is half done add cardamom powder, cashew and stir once.
– When the mixture leaves the sides of the vessel and becomes one mass and non-sticky, pour the mixture to a greased plate.
– Take one flat spoon/ladle, apply some ghee to the back of the ladle and press the mixture to give a uniformly smooth texture and even thickness.
– When it cools down a little, mark and cut this into the desired shape and serve.
– Please note, this halwa/ halbayi stands good only for one day. If you want to enjoy this dish over more days, you should store this in a refrigerator and reheat it before serving.
