DODOL OR DHOL DHOL (BLACK RICE HALWA) - an Anglo-Indian Christmas Sweet

DODOL OR DHOL DHOL (BLACK RICE HALWA)

Dodol or Black Rice Halwa is a delicious Christmas Sweet purported to be another legacy of the Portuguese to Anglo-Indian Cuisine. The Main ingredients in Dodol are) Black Rice (Burmese Puttu Rice) powder, Almonds or cashew nuts, Coconut Milk and lots of ghee or clarified butter. This Christmas Delicacy takes hours to prepare and requires many hands for stirring it. The men of the house are usually roped in to help stir the black bubbling mass till it turns into a delicious and mouth watering Halwa. The Dodol that is prepared in Anglo-Indian homes  is usually made with white sugar. However, the Dodol which is very popular in Goa uses jaggery or brown sugar instead.  Dodol is also very popular in other countries such as Srilanka, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines etc. Here is an old and easy recipe that my mum used for many years.

DODOL (A coconut and rice flour based halwa)

Makes 30 pieces      Preparation time 2 hours

Ingredients

1 kg Black Puttu Rice flour or Red Rice flour

1 kg sugar                                                     

300 grams almonds

200 grams cashew nuts

1 cups roasted fine semolina or soogi or semolina           

½ kg ghee

5 cups thick coconut milk

Boil the sugar and coconut milk together in a fairly big vessel till it forms thick syrup. Mix the rice flour and semolina together and add to the syrup a little at a time and mix well. Add the ghee, cashew nuts and almonds. Keep stirring continuously and cook on low heat  till the mixture is thick and leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and pour onto a greased plate. Cut into squares when cold. (The Dodol will be black

MICROWAVE RECIPE FOR DODOL / DHOL DHOL

The total time taken for microwaving is 8+8+8+4 minutes = 28 minutes

1 cup of black (Puttu) rice flour
   400 ml Coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond essence
2 dessertspoons of butter

2 cups caster sugar
Mix together the flour, sugar, salt to the coconut milk in the microwave safe dish in which you intend to cook the dhol dhol. Mix well by hand till smooth and darkly glossy.
Microwave on medium for 8 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir well. Repeat.

The mixture will have begun thickening at the edges, mix in, and ensure that it is smooth.
Add the butter and mix in well, this will be a little difficult, but perservere.
Microwave on medium for 8 minutes. Remove and mix well.
Microwave on medium  for 4 minutes. Remove and mix well, it will be a jelly like mass. Beat smooth. Add almond essence and mix in quickly.
Spread halwa onto the greased tray, you will need to smoothen it out into an even layer.
Toss slivered almonds over the top and cut into squares. Don’t worry if the butter is oozing out of the dhol dhol, just tilt the plate a bit, and pour out the excess.
Store in a closed container on baking paper, or brown paper in the fridge.  Make it a week or so before Christmas.