Labania

LABANIA
Ingredients:

Step 1
4 cups sugar
4 cups water
Mix the two and cook to make syrup.
As soon as the syrup comes to a boil, remove from stove and keep aside.

Step 2
4 cups gram flour
1 cup milk
Mix the milk and the gram flour.
Since the flour is more than milk, you will find lots of lumps.Using your finger tips, try as much as possible to make the lumps very tiny.

Step 3
1 block (400gm) mawa or khoya
Break the mawa into tiny very pieces and keep aside.
4 cups melted ghee
Place the melted ghee in a pot and place a pot on a medium high stove.
Once the oil is hot, add the gram flour that you mixed with milk and stir.
Keep stirring so it doesn’t stick to the pot.
It is very important to remember that the labania needs constant stirring throughout the cooking process and also it splatters a lot, so be very cautious to avoid burning.
10 minutes into the cooking process, add the syrup and continue mixing.
After adding the syrup, you will find that the mixture will begin to thicken.
Keep mixing…
40 minutes into the cooking process, add the mawa and mix thoroughly.
Leave about 1/3 cup of the mawa for garnishing.
It took me 50 minutes from the time I started cooking, to the I finished for my labanias to be ready.
Before starting cooking the labania, put ghee on a sinia. Depending on how big the sinia is and how thick you want your labanias, you might need more than one sinia.
When the labania is ready, pour the mixture on the greased sinias and gently with a flat spoon and spread the mixture evenly throughout the sinia.
Garnish with the remaining mawa and almonds or any nuts.
Garnishing is optional.
Let the labania rest for a few minute and cut the shapes before it cools completely.
Once they cool completely, cut out the shapes and store them in an air tight container.
Enjoy with swahili kahawa (coffee)