Sevi | Doodh dhoulo | Paal kozhukattai

Sevi is one of the traditional Sourashtra sweet dish made on special occasions. This is one of those dishes prepared for pregnant women to satisfy their sweet cravings. MIL also does this dish often. On special occasion dinners she makes tamarind rice and a sweet dish like Sevi or kesari to go along.

Sevi is rice flour balls cooked in milk and sweetened with sugar and cardamom. Though it looks simple, it's a very tasty sweet dish.

Ingredients

1 cup (par)boiled rice/ idli rice (puzhungal arisi)

3 cups full cream milk + 2 cups water

1/2 - 1 cup sugar (depending on sweetness needed)

1/4 ts cardamom powder

1 tbs ghee

Few chopped nuts (cashews, pistachios) and raisins

2 - 3 tbs rice flour (optional)

Rice flour balls done solely with storebought rice flour will be stiff and hard. These balls done with pacharisi will also turn out hard.

Preparation

- Soak the boiled rice in water for a minimum of 3 hours.

- Grind the soaked rice in a mixer with as little water as possible. Take them out in a bowl. If the batter is runny or has excess water, add little rice flour and mix well. The dough should be stiff and shouldn't be sticky. 

- Spread a thin absorbent cloth or a newspaper on the table. Make small balls or oblong shaped patterns out of the dough. If making these shapes manually is tiring, you can also press the dough out in a murukku press with a murukku disc. Allow it to air dry for 5-10 minutes.

- Bring the milk water mixture to a boil. Lower flame to simmer and drop a batch of the rice balls in a dispersed manner. Do not stir now. Crank up the heat. Slowly the milk will start to boil again. Give a gentle mix taking care none of them breaks or sticks to the sides and bottom of the vessel.

- Lower the flame again and drop the next batch of the rice balls. Don't stir now else the balls may break up. After the milk starts to bubble up, give a gentle mix.

- Repeat this process with the remaining of the balls.

- After all balls are cooked enough and floats to the top, add needed sugar ( Sugar should be added only after the rice balls are cooked). 

- Now cook partly covered in low to medium flame for 10-15 minutes until the rice balls are fully cooked and the milk is thickened. (Rice flour from the balls that gets mixed up with the milk thickens the liquid)

- Add cardamom powder.

- Finally add the topping of nuts and raisins toasted in ghee.