Rice dhakani By Dear Maiju in Sirindada Rapakot

There are lots of enjoyment to travel Rapakot VDC and Sirindada village as it has Rapakot school at the top and at the bottom there is way to Archunchaupari and the way to Dhakalthok via Arghaudi,the different parts of Sirindada are  full of orange trees and green vegetables and the cereals they plant.I keep on calling my dear maiju and she describes how she is busy with kids in harvesting.She loves to provide buffalo milk which is flavorful and full of butter and most often she prepares Dhakani which I like to describe the steps of cooking by her .Its her recipe which I noted down from her.We used to Kharbaree area of  Namrup,Dibrugarh area where the relatives of my aunt prepared typical local food items and performs teej and bhailo programs where they used to invite us in their programs .They have been maintaining typical language,food and dance programs during teej and tihar in Namrup areas of Dibrugarh.

Dhakani is a sweet snack made from rice. One of the traditional snacks made in Nepal, it is popular for its taste, health benefits and for gratifying hunger. Dhakani is popular all over Nepal, and although maybe known by different names at different places, the taste of it is more or less similar. Dhakani is usually made with Basmati rice, Chandanchur or other types of rice known as masino chamal is Nepal which also helps in enhancing its taste and giving pleasant smell. Making this cuisine is easy and although it takes slightly longer time, the result is worth the effort. But even though it is sweet, it cannot be served as a dessert as it is comparatively heavier due to the presence of rice.

Ingredients:

Rice grains, milk, ghee (clarified butter), sugar, cardamom powder (for smell and flavor) and dry fruits like cashew, raisin, date and almond (optional).

Procedure:

First of all, soak the rice grains in water for about half an hour. After that, heat a pan and add ghee to it (you will need as much ghee in dhakani as you do in pulao). When the ghee is heated, drain the water from the rice and put it into the pan. Stir fry it until the rice turns red. Meanwhile, put milk to boil in another utensil. When the rice turns red, add the boiled milk to it and let it cook over the medium heat. Then add sugar and mix it thoroughly. Also, add the cardamom powder to enhance its smell and flavor. You can also cut the dry fruits like cashew, raisin, date and almond and mix it into the dhakani while it is cooking. Keep stirring it at certain interval and when the milk evaporates, your dhakani is ready to be served. Serve it with pickle of your choice and enjoy the taste.