Sweet Coconut Rice - Narali Bhat
Make this Sweet Coconut Rice or Narali Bhat on the auspicious day of Narali Purnima. This flavorful rice is made with aromatic basmati rice, ghee, fresh coconut, and jaggery. Some saffron, cardamom, and spices are added for flavoring.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- 1.5 cup Coconut freshly grated
- 1 cup Jaggery *see notes
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1.5 tbsp Ghee
- 2 tsp Milk
- 5 pods Cardamom
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder freshly made
- 7-8 Cloves
- 3 Black pepper
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 small Bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp Saffron strands
- 10 Almonds chopped
- 10 Cashew nuts halved
- 12 Pistachios chopped
- 25 Golden raisins
- 1 pinch Saffron food color optional
Instructions
- Triple wash the rice and soak it in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Remove all the water and set aside.
- In an Indian pressure pan/cooker, heat some ghee, 2 slightly crushed whole cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon, peppers, and a bay leaf.
- Transfer the rice, roast it for 2 minutes, and add 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt.
- Let the rice cook until you hear 2 whistles on medium high heat, lower the temperature for 5 minutes, and switch off the stove.
- Once the natural pressure is released, fluff the rice with a fork, and transfer it to the big plate to cool down.
- In a small bowl, add 2 tsp warm milk, some saffron strands, and set the bowl aside.
- Toast the cashew nuts, almonds, and pistachios for 1 minute in a pan or in a microwave safe bowl, stirring between. Set them aside.
- Transfer the jaggery, freshly grated coconut, cardamom seeds, cardamom powder, saffron milk, salt, golden raisins, and toasted nuts into the rice. Gently mix everything with your hands.
- Heat a wide pan on low-medium, transfer the rice mixture, cover the pan with a lid for 7-8 minutes, and let the jaggery melt down.
- Add a pinch of saffron food coloring if you wish.
- Remove the lid, gently stir the rice with a spatula, and set the stove to low heat. Cover the pan with a lid and let the rice cook further for 10-12 minutes stirring between. You will need to cook the rice until all the moisture is out and well combined.
- Turn off the heat and serve.
Notes
- Always use a good quality long grain basmati rice for making this recipe.
- I highly recommend using freshly grated coconut. You can buy frozen coconut as well from the Indian store.
- Cooking the rice soft at the beginning is very important. The rice gets cooked further with some jaggery and might turn hard if not cooked soft at the beginning.
- If you like the rice more sweet, feel free to add some more jaggery or add 2-3 tbsp sugar in the recipe.
- A good amount of coconut tastes wonderful in the rice. You may reduce the quantity by adding 1 to 1 ¼ cup coconut in the recipe.
- To make it a vegan friendly rice, you can add some coconut oil while cooking the rice.