Tiranga Halwa...

Happy Independence Day to all Readers of this Blog....:-)

India this year has celebrated its 61st Independence Day...I feel very honoured and proud to be born as an Indian and come what may I will never give up on this Cultural Identity of mine...I strongly respect my Roots and where I come from...Though I live in a Foreign Land...there is not a day I don't think of My HomeLand. I truly cherish all the Memories of me growing up and developing all the characteristics of being a True Indian...i.e. Respect for Our Motherland India and deep-rooted trust and belief for all our Values and Traditions...which every Indian associates themselves with.

This Year August 15 falls on a very Auspicious Day of Varalakshmi Vratam (Sravana Sukravaram)...and it happens to be My Best Friends Birthday...So it was an apt day for a Triple Celebration...I was busy all day making different food items to offer as Naivedyam (Prasadam) to the Goddess Varalakshmi and then spent another couple of hours reverently praying for the Health and Good Life of My Husband...

But how can I forget My Motherland and the importance of August 15th and how well we used to celebrate this day back home...and all the sweet Goodies we used to get at school and college on this day...So I decided to make something to mark the occasion of Indian Independence Day...I remembered that my friends Spandy and Siri both came up with this wonderful treat for last years Independence Day...While theirs is a traditional recipe...I worked on producing one a little different...and with a few modifications/additions to their recipe, I made my Own Trianga Halwa...representing the colours of our Indian National Flag....SAFFORN, WHITE and GREEN....

Here goes the Recipe:
Ingredients:
1.5Cups Fine Semolina (Bombay Rava,Sooji)
1.5Cups Fine Dessicated Coconut( can use finelt grated fresh coconut)
2Cups Sugar
1Cup Ghee (Clarified Butter)
4Cups of Water
1tsp Cardamom powder
1/2Cup Roasted Cashews (powdered to a fine powder)

To Finish:
Orange Colour
Green Colour
Roasted Cashews
Sultanas

Process:
1) In a Large Pan, melt the Ghee and add the Rava and Dessicated Coconut to it and roast it on a slow flame till the ghee is well coated over them and a nice aroma wafts the air. Care must be be taken for them to not get any brown colour. So continously stir when they are getting roasted.
2) Then add the Sugar, Cardamom Powder and Powdered Cashew Powder to the the above mixture and stir it till all the ingredients are well mixed.
3) In another pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
4) Slowly add the water to the rava mixture while continously stirring to avoid any lumps from forming.
5) You will know that it is cooked when the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan.
6) Once cooked, divide the Mixture into 3 equal parts.
7) Mix both colours separately with a little water and then add Orange to one part of Halwa and Green to other part of Halwa. Mix well to ensure even distribution of colour.
8) On a warm greased plate firstly place the Green Part of Halwa and spread it to form an even layer.
9) Then place the uncoloured Halwa on top of the Green and spread it evenly again.
10) Lastly top with Orange part of Halwa and spread it to form an even layer.
11) Smooth the Sides and leave it aside to cool.
12) Using a Warm Knife, cut the halwa into desired shape and garnish it with roasted nuts and sultana. Serve them Warm or at Room Temperature.

This is how it looked...

The Orange colour might not be exact because I actually didnot have Orange...I used Yellow and added a little Pink to it to achieve this colour. My Husband and our friends who visited us for dinner that night were very impressed and enjoyed the sweet immensely...and I am very Happy that they liked it. So heres another food item I tried to be innovative with by adding Powdered Cashew and Dessicated Coconut. But if you prefer the regular Sooji Halwa...check out Spanz and Siri's Recipes which are equally Awesome...!!!

I wanted to send this entry to Pooja's Theme of the Week:Safforn,White and Green (Independence Day Special) but missed on posting the recipe by the due date...

So I am sending this across to EC's What's Your Favourite (WYF): Colour in Food Event

Recipe Source: Spandana of Cinnamom Trail and Sirisha of Ambrosia Flavours....and My Modifications...
Image Source: My Phone Camera...

Hope You All liked this Post...Please do try this version and let me know how it turns out...
So Until Next Time...Happy Cooking...:-)