Sri Lanka Watalappan

INGREDIENTS:
500g jaggery – finely scrapped
4 cups thick coconut milk
8 eggs
8 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon fennel
1 x 2.5cm cinnamon stick
½ cup cashew nuts
½ cup raisins
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
With help of a mortar and pestle (Wangediya) crush the cardamom, fennel & cinnamon till it’s a fine power, and keep it aside.
In a large bowl beat the eggs well nearly for 5 minutes.
Then add the powered spices, mix it and beat the eggs again for 5mintues. Keep it aside.
Now in another bowl mix the coconut milk, jaggery & vanilla together and stir the mixture till jaggery dissolves.
Mean time preheats the oven for 150 degrees C (302 degrees F). Take a baking tray, and fill it ½ ways with water.
And keep it in the oven to get boil.
Greased a pudding bowl or a baking tray with butter and keep it aside.
Then pour the egg mixture into the coconut milk mixture and mix it well.
Then pour the whole mixture into the greased bowl, through a strainer.
Now place the pudding bowl in the middle of the water tray. (This is a way to do double boiling)
After 15 minutes, take the bowl out from the oven and sprinkle the cashew nuts & raisins and place it again in the oven, on that water tray for nearly 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let it cool in outside, and chill the watalappam before serving.
SERVING: Upside down the watalappam and garnish it with some cashews before serving.