Ashoka Halwa

Ashoka is a bright red vibrant coloured sweet made out of moong dhal, which is very famous in my home town(Thanjavur/Thiruvaiyaru).This sweet is a must in the wedding menu in my place.There is a famous shop in my home town where they sell only this sweet.This recipe I got it from a chef who has mastered in preparing Ashoka and I had an oppurtunity to see how he makes.According to his recipe, the proportion is 1:2:3(moong dhal:sugar:ghee).I reduced  the amount of ghee  to 2 cups due high calorie.But using the 3 cups of ghee  gives an extra taste and richness to it.Here comes the recipe...

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Moong dhal(split)	1cup
Sugar	2cups
Ghee	3cups
Maida	4tbs
Cardamom powder	1/2tsp
Edible camphor	a small rice grain size
Nutmeg powder	a pinch(optional)
Red food color	a pinch
Cashews	4tbs
Raisins	1tbs(optional)

Method

              Pressure cook the moong dhal till it becomes mushy and keep it aside.Now heat a wide mouth heavy bottomed pan with 1/2 cup of ghee and fry the maida till the color changes to golden.

Add in the cooked moon dhal to it and stir continuously till it becomes thick.At this stage add the sugar,food color and stir it vigorously to avoid the lumps.

Add 1/2 cup of ghee and continue the stirring and maintain a medium flame to prevent burning.Once the mixture become thick add another 1/2 cup of ghee and continue the process till the ashoka leaves the sides of the pan.

At this point switch off the stove and add in the cardamom powder, edible camphor and nutmeg powder.Finally add the fried cashews and mix it well.

Transfer it to a serving bowl.Delicious mouth watering Ashoka is ready.

Enjoy......

• Cooked moong dhal can be blend it in a blender if it is not mushy.
• The amount of sugar can be increased or decreased to preference.The sugar what I have is not sweet enough so I increased to 21/4 cups.
•  Tiny amount of edible camphor should be used,otherwise it spoils the entire sweet.
•  Instead of maida, wheat flour can be substituted.
• This sweet tastes very well when it is warm.
• For reheating the sweet, keep it in a bowl in a boiling water.This way the ghee melts and becomes warm without changing the consistency.

I am sending this to Diwali-"Festival of lights" event.

Posted in: Sweets