This is a simple Konkani style sweet dish made using jaggery syrup and rice flakes and this is a must for festive occassions especially engagements and Diwali.'God(e)' means Jaggery and 'Phovu' is rice flakes. I also made it for Diwali but before I could post this, my system crashed. Once it was up I got lazy and you know, I have not posted since last Wednesday.So despite few weeks after Diwali, I am pushing myself to post this especially this being an easy dish.
Ingredients:
Jaggery: 1/2-1 cup grated
Water: as needed to just soak or cover the jaggery
Rice Flakes: 1-1.5 cup
Fresh Grated Coconut : 1/2-1 cup
Cardamom: powder: as per taste
Ghee: 2-3 tbsp
Chana Dal: Split Chick Peas: 2 tbsp
Moong Dal: Split Green Gram: 2 tbsp
Sesame Seeds: Black and/or White : 1-2 tsp
Sugar: for garnish
Preparation:
Put the jaggery and enough water as needed (to cover it) in a deep pan on medium heat. Stir well and let it melt to form a simple syrup. Remove from heat and strain it. This helps remove any dirt/dust or unwanted particles.
Return to the pan on medium heat. Stir well and let it cook for a 1 or more minutes to thicken it a bit and it should turn a bit sticky -sort of 1 string consistency,but it also depends on how you want and how quickly you want it done. There is no hard and fast rule that it should be 1 or 2 string consistency.
Once you feel it has thickened a bit, add in powdered cardamom and coconut -1/2 cup at a time- and mix well.Saute for a minute and add in the rice flakes slowly and mix well. Remove from heat and keep aside.
In another small pan, heat ghee and saute the dals/lentils and the sesame seeds till a bit crunchy. Add these along with the ghee to the rice flakes and jaggery mix and mix well.
Serve as a snack. We usually make this the previous evening of Diwali and have it first thing in the morning after the ritualistic Diwali oil bath and prayers/pujas. While serving garnish with little sugar which contrasts well with the brown colour of the dish.You can even use the ghee sauteed dals and sesame seeds as a garnish.
Variations:
This is a mix of traditional and modern ways of making the phovu. Traditionally, while the jaggery syrup is being thickened, we mix together the rice flakes and coconut till they turn soft and then proceed with the recipe.
Also you can roast the rice flakes -either dry or in ghee- before adding in to the jaggery syrup and this makes them crunchier and not soft.
You can increase or decrease the amount of coconut depending on ho soft you the dish to be. More coconut means a bit softer dish. Make sure coconut is not more than the main ingredient - rice flakes :).
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