Narali Bhath | Sweet Coconut Rice

Narali Bhath is a sweet coconut rice which is a delicious recipe from Maharashtra. It is made on Shravan Poornima day as an offering to the ocean God.

Narali Bhath is a delicious dish from Maharashtra, offered to the ocean god on the auspicious occasion of Shravan Poornima. Raksha Bandhan also falls on the same day and hence it is a double delight day to prepare this delicious Sweet Coconut Rice.

The Shravan Poornima symbolizes the end of the monsoon season and the beginning of the fishing season. Hence, the fisherman community in Maharashtra, offers this Narali Bhath, to the ocean God and prays for the safe return of the fishermen who go into the ocean.

Aromatic Basmati rice is used to make this delicious Narali Bhath. Rice, coconut, and jaggery combined together make this delicious dish. I love the vellam saadham that my paati makes.

This dish reminded me very much of that except that she did not add coconut. The flavor of the coconut was out of the world and is definitely a dish to try if you are a coconut lover.

I used frozen grated coconut to make the Narali Bhath. I would highly recommend using fresh coconut instead of using desiccated coconut to make this dish.

Preparation time - 10 minutes plus 20 minutes of soaking time
Cooking time - 30 minutes
Difficulty level - Easy

Ingredients to make Narali Bhath - Serves 4 to 6

• Basmati rice / Long grain rice - 1 cup
• Jaggery / Unrefined palm sugar - 1 cup (grated)
• Coconut (fresh) - 1 cup (grated)
• Cardamom - 4 (powdered)
• Cinnamon - ½ inch stick
• Cloves - 4
• Ghee / clarified butter - 4 tbsp
• Cashews and almonds - 2 tablespoon each (sliced)
• Raisins - 2 tbsp

Procedure to make Sweet Coconut Rice -

• Wash and soak the basmati rice for about 20 minutes in cold water. Once soaked, drain the rice.

• In a pan, heat about a tablespoon of ghee. Add the cloves and the cinnamon stick and fry it for about 10 seconds. Now add 1 ½ cups of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt and bring the water to a boil.

• Add the drained rice to the boiling water and simmer the flame. Cover the pan and let the rice cook for about 6 to 7 minutes or until the water has evaporated. We want the rice to be almost cooked and not mushy.

• Turn off the flame and let the rice sit for a few minutes covered. Fluff up the rice with a fork and keep it aside until ready to use.

• In a heavy bottom pan, heat the remaining ghee and fry the nuts and the raisins.

• Add the grated coconut and fry it for about 3 minutes on low flame.

• Add the measured jaggery and 2 tablespoon of water and keep mixing to melt the jaggery. Once the jaggery is melted and starts to bubble, add the cooked rice.

• Gently mix the rice taking care not to break them. Cover the pan and simmer it for about 10 minutes stirring once in a while in between.

• Once the rice and jaggery and mix well, turn off the flame and serve!

More Festival Recipes

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter/X

Recipe

Narali Bhath | Sweet Coconut Rice

Narali Bhath is a sweet coconut rice which is a delicious recipe from Maharashtra. It is made on Shravan Poornima day as an offering to the ocean God.

5 from 10 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert, Festival Recipes

Cuisine: Indian, Maharashtrian

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Soaking time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 367kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

• ▢
  Heavy bottom pan
• ▢
  bowl
• ▢
  pan

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup Basmati rice / Long grain rice
• ▢ 1 cup Jaggery / Unrefined palm sugar grated
• ▢ 1 cup Coconut fresh - 1 cup (grated)
• ▢ 4 Cardamom powdered
• ▢ ½ inch Cinnamon
• ▢ 4 Cloves
• ▢ 4 tablespoon Ghee / clarified butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Cashews sliced
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Raisins
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Almonds

Instructions

• Wash and soak the basmati rice for about 20 minutes in cold water. Once soaked, drain the rice.
• In a pan, heat about a tablespoon of ghee. Add the cloves and the cinnamon stick and fry it for about 10 seconds. Now add 1 ½ cups of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt and bring the water to a boil.
• Add the drained rice to the boiling water and simmer the flame. Cover the pan and let the rice cook for about 6 to 7 minutes or until the water has evaporated. We want the rice to be almost cooked and not mushy.
• Turn off the flame and let the rice sit for few minutes covered. Fluff up the rice with a fork and keep it aside until ready to use.
• In a heavy bottom pan, heat the remaining ghee and fry the nuts and the raisins.
• Add the grated coconut and fry it for about 3 minutes in low flame.
• Add the measured jaggery and 2 tablespoon of water and keep mixing to melt the jaggery. Once the jaggery is melted and starts to bubble, add the cooked rice.
• Gently mix the rice taking care not to break them. Cover the pan and simmer it for about 10 minutes stirring once in a while in between.
• Once the rice and jaggery and mixed well, turn off the flame and serve!

Nutrition

Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 6mg | Potassium: 161mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 0.5IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!