Poha - Coconut Halwa

My husband started throwing me options when I went to him to get some ideas for this week's marathon. His suggestions however made me suspect whether he was really serious or gone delirious with his work load. He had flown from his work the previous night, worked way past midnight and was up in the morning again with his laptop on.  And so instead of arguing over trivial matters and getting preached on how I refuse to see beyond my mother's kitchen, I walked out of the room and began thinking about it.
Among the ones, a few seemed feasible like this poha one. My husband had claimed that he had eaten it somewhere but I wasn't  sure whether he was joking or serious. However I tried it since the idea of poha halwa seemed appealing. I loved it and it is a simple and quick option when you are looking for some yummy stuff to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp ghee
1 Tbsp each - raisins & cashews
1 cup thick poha / beaten rice flakes
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut (I used sweetened coconut flakes.)
2 Tbsp sugar (I used about 1 & 1/2 Tbsp as I used sweetened coconut.)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
A pinch of food color (optional)

Method:
* Melt the ghee in a pan and add raisins - cashews to it. Toast until the raisins become plump and cashews turn golden brown. Remove them with  a slotted spoon and keep them aside.
* To the same ghee, add poha and toast on low flame until it starts to change color. Transfer the poha to a plate.
* Add milk to the same pan and heat. Then add the food color, toasted poha and coconut and cook on low flame until poha is done.
* Next add sugar and cardamom to the poha. Continue to cook until the sugar gets dissolved and incorporated into the mixture.
* Turn off the stove and add the cashews and raisins toasted earlier to the halwa and mix well.
* Serve warm.

Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking during BM#17.

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