Sihi Bella (Sweet Poha with Jaggery)

I made this simple sweet poha dish along with lemon rice for my daughter's birthday. Recently I made a sweet dish poha and jaggery, but that one is more like a payasam but this one is a dry-ish preparation.

This dish can be made in no time, getting the jaggery to melt is the only time consuming part. I used powdered jaggery to make things easy for me, if you are using regular jaggery, then make sure to powder it well. Also using fresh grated coconut is important because dried or frozen coconut is too dry for this dish.
Any type of poha can be used, thick or thin. If you are using thick poha, then soak in water a little longer to soften otherwise a quick rinse is enough. I think next time I make this dish, I'll use red poha to see how it tastes.

Recipe adapted from here and here:

Ingredients: Serves 2

Thin Poha - 1cup

Fresh Coconut - ⅓cup, grated plus more for topping
Jaggery powder - ⅓cup
Ground Cardamom - ¼tsp
Cashews - 1tbsp, chopped
Raisins - 1tbsp
Sesame seeds - 1tsp

Method:

• Combine coconut with jaggery, cardamom and mix well; set aside for 20~30 minutes. As the mixture sits, jaggery will dissolve and coat the coconut.
• Rinse poha in a sieve and set aside. Make sure there's not much water left in the poha, but keep it moistened to soften it.
• Dry roast the sesame seeds until golden.
• Roast cashews and raisins in 2tsp ghee until golden.
• Add the coconut-jaggery mixture to the poha along with sesame seeds and roasted nuts. Mix gently to combine. Sprinkle with more grated coconut and serve. Enjoy!!

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