Our Guest Chef, Lakshmi Iyer, was one of the finalists of our “Desserts to De-stress” contest held last year. She resides in Chennai and her passion for cooking comes across clearly through this awesome recipe submitted by her. Small Red Beans and Jaggery Dessert is usually prepared during Navratri. Jaggery is a cleansing as well as a digestive agent, due to which this dish helps to retain the energy level after meals with adequate minerals intake too. Red beans are nutritional powerhouses as we all know which makes Small Red Beans and Jaggery Dessert a mildly sweet and healthy option to satiate one’s sweet tooth.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup small red beans or karamani( Tamil)
- 3/4 cup jaggery
- 4 teaspoons of ghee
- Fresh Coconut
- Little powdered cardamom for the aroma
Servings: 9-10 persons
Preparation & Cooking Time: 1 hr. 30 mins.
Method
Take one cup of red beans in a bowl. Wash it well and pour warm water till it is completely soaked. Keep aside for half an hour.
Meanwhile, powder the jaggery to easily melt it in little warm water on heat. This step is to remove the impurities, if any. Filter it.
Powder the cardamom.
Slit the coconut into tooth shaped slices. You can roast the coconut slices in little ghee for a crunchy taste if you like it that way.
Now, pressure cook the red beans on low flame for 20 to 25 minutes. This would usually lead to two whistles. It is fine if the beans get overcooked since they have a tendency to get hard, once they are poured in the jaggery.
Take a kadai (heavy bottomed pan) and heat the jaggery. There is no need to boil it. Pour the cooked red beans and mix well.
Add ghee as per your liking followed by the slit coconut. Let all these ingredients mix well.
Once the dish looks ready, switch off the gas stove. Remove the kadai from the stove and then sprinkle the powdered cardamom. Let it stay for sometime as the heat of the kadai will take charge to give the dish the perfect aroma and finish.
Small Red Beans and Jaggery Dessert is ready. Empty the contents into another bowl and relish it as you please.