A Magic Dish to Melt All Anger Away!

  

     NOT fighting is not an achievement but resolving a fight, forgiving and forgetting and sticking on together; no matter what...Indeed is. It makes a bond very strong. How did I get such great enlightenment? Here is how,

    My hubby and myself had to have a fight  every now and then as if we were addicted to it…both of us had to have our say and were too rigid to compromise. The next outcome was, that, I did not feel like cooking lunch or dinner that day …as my mood was screwed up....totally! We had to go out for meals. Avoiding each other’s glances as much as possible, wearing our most grumpy look, as if it was a miracle that we were am even sitting next to each other, with complete silence, punctuated only by remaining arguments that had been forgotten, we went to this restaurant one day. It had two signature dishes, biryani and a dessert, CARROT DATE HALVA... The first time my hubby ordered it….I did not like the way it looked. Up until then, I always saw carrot halwa as a rich orange dessert. This was brown. Then, reluctantly, I took one bite…..

    That day ,we tasted this dish, we fell in love with it and ordered it every time we had a fight and went out for food. Somehow after having this dessert…I could not remain angry with my hubby anymore…..Our mood would automatically turn sooo good…and that’s when all the enlightening thoughts usually strike me. Things would go on smoothly….at least……..until……… the next fight! And slowly having fights was fun and I was not scared of arguments anymore…the rewards many; emotional catharsis; better understanding and delicious food!

   Finally as our marriage seasoned, and both of us became best of the buddies, this dish became the same dish, we now ordered, when both of us were happy and felt like celebrating. I searched for this dish on the net a lot...I did not find it. While leaving Chennai, I went to the restaurant, and requested for the recipe. As is the rule they gave me the ingredients only. Then I went to Jayasree aunty and she explained the procedure to me. I will now share it with you, step by step with pictures. Since, this blog is all about comfort food, the steps are simple and the recipe is easy and will surely bring a smile on the face!

    So the next time you have a fight….don’t feel down...It’s time to eat this heartwarming dish. Make it for yourself and pamper yourself. After eating, when you feel better, and when you feel really generous…invite others! The idea is, be happy………………….and you can easily spread happiness!

So here it is:

Ingredients:

Carrots                                                                          350 gms

Dates                                                                              325 gms

Sugar (jaggery tastes good too)                                150 gms/200 gms jaggery

Khoya (optional)                                                           150 gms

Ghee                                                                             250 ml

Elaichi powder                                                             1/4  tsp

Vanilla ice cream                                                         1 cup

Method:

·         Peel the carrots and grate them.

·         Put the dates in the blender and grind coarsely.

·         Pressure cook the carrots and dates together in a cooker without adding water.

·         After a whistle or two, take it down.

·         Let the contents cool and dry and mash them together.

·         Now take a Kadhai, add ghee.

·         Next add the boiled carrots and dates.

·         Once it is cooked and ghee separates, add Khoya. This step can be skipped if you don’t like milk smell in the Halwa. (No Picture added)

·         Then add sugar/ Jaggery (Jaggery makes it tastier)

·         In the end add cardamom powder.

·         Cook well. Till it moves in one mass and becomes browner. and moves in one mass.

·         Serve hot with cold vanilla ice cream. This combination is contrasting in temperature, but complimentary in texture, flavor and taste.

·         Savor every spoonful slowly as it melts in your mouth!

Concluding note:

·         Making this dish takes 15 to 20 minutes after the peeling and grinding.

·         Less sugar should be added if you are eating the halva with ice-cream or are using sweetened Khoya.

·         If Khoya is not available, milk powder can be used in similar quantity.

·         This dish is made of carbohydrate, fat and proteins. It is a variation of the famous Carrot Halwa popular in Punjabi and North Pakistani culture.

·         The number of calories per serving of 1 cup or 100 ml or 4 oz of this Halwa is up to 500 calories approximately.