KARNATAKA SPECIAL - HALBAI & TAMBITTU VARIETIES

**Author - Alee Venkatesh **





HALBAI & TAMBITTU - traditional Karnataka Sweet Dishes prepared during special occasions & Hindu Festivals such as Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Gowri Festival (& Mangala Gowri Vrata), Vara Mahalakshmi Festival & Shravana Shanivara.











Rice Halbai 


Replace raw rice with raw cracked wheat


RICE HALBAI

Ingredients:  ½ cup raw rice,  1cup each of Jaggery in powder form and coconut milk, pinch of cardamom powder to taste, ½ cup clarified butter (Indian ghee).

Method:  Wash and soak rice in water for 2 hours.  Grind it into a fine paste and pour this in a pan and add clarified butter, coconut milk, cardamom and jaggery powder, mix well and keep stirring it on a medium flame.  Keep on stirring until the mixture is separated from ghee and leaves the sides of the pan.  Pour this mixture to a greased plate and flatten it evenly.  When cool, cut this into shape of your choice and serve.  


TAMBITTU (RICE & WHEAT FLOUR VARIETIES)

RICE FLOUR TAMBITTU FOR SHRAVANA SHANIVARA DEEPA - 2 tablespoon each roasted rice flour, jaggary powder, 1/4 tsp. cardamom powder, 1 tablespoon ghee & milk.  Mix all ingredients together, make shapes, decorate with turmeric & kumkum powder, cotton wick with 1/2 tsp. ghee.  Light diyas for Lord Venkateshwara.




WHEAT FLOUR TAMBITTU FOR NAIVEDYAM - 1/2 cup wheat flour (roasted lightly in ghee), 1/4 cup jaggary powder & dry coconut, 2 tablespoon each ghee & water, 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder.  Ingredients mixed together and make small balls when still warm.