Sweet rice
1/3 cup (50 g) short or medium-grained white rice
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
10 cups (2.4 liters) whole milk
2 tbs sliced almonds, lightly toasted (optional)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom seeds
Wash the rice and set it aside to drain. In a tall pot that can hold at least twice the volume of the milk, bring the milk to a boil; then adjust the heat so the milk is always rising and frothing, but not bubbling over. To minimize the cooking time, let the milk boil vigorously, uncovered, for the first 15 minutes, while you stir it rhythmically with a wooden spatula to prevent the thick milk on the bottom of the pot from scorching.
Drop the rice into the milk along with the bay leaves. Continue stirring. Keep over medium-high heat and stir very carefully for another 20 minutes until the rice breaks up and rolls with the milk. By now the milk should be reduced to two thirds of its original volume. Stir in the sugar, almonds, and ground cardamom seeds. Cook for 5 more minutes and remove from the heat. Sweet rice should be only slightly thick when removed from the heat, because it will thicken when refrigerated.
Suji ka halava – Semolina pudding
2 3/4 cups (650 ml) water, or milk, or half of each
1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar
10 saffron strands (optional)
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 cup (35 g) raisins
1/4 cup (35 g) hazelnuts or walnuts (optional)
1 cup (200 g) butter
1 1/2 cup (225 g) semolina or farina
Combine the water (or milk), sugar, saffron, and nutmeg in a saucepan and boil for 1 minute. Add the raisins, lower the heat and let simmer. Lightly deep-fry the nuts, chop them coarse, and set them aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the semolina and stir-fry with a wooden spoon for about 10 or 15 minutes, until the semolina is golden brown and the butter begins to separate from the grains. Lower the heat. Now slowly pour the sweetened liquid into the grains with one hand while stirring with the other. Be careful! The mixture will sputter as the liquid hits the hot grains. Stir briskly for a moment to break any lumps. Add the chopped nuts. Cover and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed into the grains.
Gajar halava – Carrot pudding
Gajar halava can also be made without milk. Just add a little extra butter and cook the halava until it takes on the consistency of marmalade.
2 lbs (900 g) fresh carrots
3/4 cup (150 g) butter
2 cups (500 ml) milk
1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar
3 tbs slivered almonds, lightly fried
3 tbs raisins
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
Wash the carrots, scrape them, and shred them through the small holes of a metal grater. Melt the butter in a saucepan and put the grated carrots in it. Cook them uncovered over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often to ensure even cooking and prevent burning. Add the milk, sugar, almonds, and raisins. Cook for 20 – 30 more minutes, until the halava thickens and forms a single mass in the saucepan.
Put the halava on a serving dish. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, shape it into a round cake 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Garnish it with the ground cardamom. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Then cut it into wedges and serve it as a dessert or a snack.
Burfi – Milk fudge
8 cups (1.9 liters) whole milk
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1 tbs butter
Pour the milk into a wide, heavy-bottomed cast-iron or stainless steel pot and place over high heat. When the milk is about to boil and rise, lower the heat so that the milk boils steadily but without rising. Cooking down the milk requires patience-it may take about one hour.
When the milk becomes pastelike and the spatula leaves a momentary trail, add the sugar and butter. Continue cooking, stirring all the time, until the burfi becomes very thick and sticky. Cook it until you think it can’t cook down any more; then let it cook a few minutes more. Burfi is intrinsically tasty, but if you wish to flavor it, now stir in the flavors. Crushed nuts, vanilla extract, toasted coconut, powdered cardamom seeds, ground cinnamon-all are typical flavorings for burfi.
Transfer the burfi onto a buttered plate. When it is cool enough to handle, shape it into a square cake 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Cut it into pieces when it’s firm enough to hold its shape.
Besan laddu – Besan laddu
1 3/4 cups (350 g) butter
4 cups (400 g) chick-pea flour
2 tbs grated coconut
2 tbs walnuts or hazelnuts, chopped coarse
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom seeds or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
In a thick-bottomed frying pan, melt the butter over low heat. Mix in the chick-pea flour with a wooden spoon, always stirring. In about 15 minutes, the flour should be toasted enough to give off a nutty aroma. Stir in the grated coconut, the walnuts, and the ground cardamom. Stir-fry for 2 minutes more, blending the ingredients well. Then take the pan off the heat and add the powdered sugar. Mix thoroughly with a fork to break up lumps and to distribute the ingredients evenly. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
When the mixture is cool enough to handle, moisten your hands and form it into 12 to 15 walnut-sized balls. Or, if you prefer, mold the mixture into a cake and cut it into small squares or diamonds.
Dvaraka burfi – Toasted chick-pea-flour fudge
1 3/4 cups (400 g) butter
3 cups (300 g) sifted chickpea flour
1 cup (250 ml) milk
1 cup (250 ml) water
1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar
1/4 cup (35 g) cashew nuts, chopped coarse
2 tbs grated coconut
Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Stir the chick-pea flour into the butter and stir-fry it gently over low heat, taking care not to burn it. After about 15 minutes, when the flour is lightly browned, remove the pan from the heat.
In another saucepan, make the syrup by boiling together the milk, water, and sugar, until a drop of syrup makes one strand between your thumb and forefinger. Stir the nuts and coconut into the syrup, and pour the syrup into the chick-pea flour. Cook and stir gently over very low heat until the mixture thickens and becomes less sticky.
After it cools enough to handle, form it into a square cake on a plate. When it becomes firm, cut it into pieces. Top each piece with half a cashew nut or some chopped pistachio nuts.
Phal ka pakora – Fruit fritters
2 cups (200 g) white flour
ghee for deep-frying
1 tbs milk powder (optional)
1 lb (450 g) fresh fruit, trimmed and cut into uniform pieces
1/2 tsp baking powder (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) warm milk
3 tbs powdered sugar
Mix together, in a large bowl, all the ingredients except the fruit, ghee, and powdered sugar, to make a batter thick enough to coat the fruit. Place a handful of the cut fruit into the batter. Heat the ghee in a karhai, wok, or shallow saucepan over medium heat.
Remove the coated pieces of fruit from the batter, one by one, and gently drop them into the hot ghee. Fry for about 3 or 4 minutes until they are golden-brown and crisp.
Sprinkle the powdered sugar over them and serve them warm or at room temperature.
Malpura – Sweet dumplings in flavored yogurt
2 1/4 cups (225 g) white flour
1 cup (125 g) confectioners‘ sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup (175 ml) milk
clean ghee for deep-frying
2 1/2 cups (600 ml) plain yogurt
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (200 g) strawberries or other berries, washed and mashed
Mix together the flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and milk to make a batter thick enough to cling to a wooden spoon without dripping off. In a karhai, wok, or shallow saucepan, heat the ghee until it is hot, but not smoking. Scoop up some batter with a tablespoon and push lumps of it into the hot ghee. Put in as many balls as will fit without touching one another. Adjust the heat to ensure thorough cooking, so that the interior of the malpuras will be cooked as well as the exterior. Fry and turn the malpuras for 6 to 8 minutes until they are golden-brown and crisp. Remove them with a slotted spoon. Put them in a colander to drain.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the yogurt, granulated sugar, and crushed fruit. Cover the malpuras with this sauce and let soak for at least 10 minutes before offering.
Gulab jamun – Deep-fried milk balls in syrup
10 cups (2.4 liters) water
10 cups (2 kg) sugar
1 tbs rose-water or a few drops of rose essence
5 cups (375 g) milk powder
1 cup (100 g) white flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cardamom seeds
1/4 cup (50 ml) melted butter or ghee
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
25 to 30 small pieces rock candy (optional)
clean ghee for deep-frying
Combine the powdered milk, white flour, baking soda, and ground cardamom in a large mixing bowl. Warm the milk over low heat. Rub the ghee or butter into the flour with your fingertips, slowly add the warm milk, and mix well to give a firm but pliable dough.
Form the dough into 25 to 30 balls, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter, in this way: place enough dough for one ball squarely between the palms of your hands. Roll the dough between your palms with a circular motion. Don’t cup your hands; use your palms, not your fingers. It is a good sign if some of the dough sticks to your palms.
After 4 or 5 seconds, gradually release the pressure between your hands while simultaneously speeding up the circular motion. If you’re doing it right, a ball of dough should form that is perfectly smooth and free from cracks. Roll all the balls like this. If the dough becomes too dry, knead more milk into it. (If you like, insert a small piece of rock candy into each ball and carefully seal the opening. When the milk balls are deep-fried, the rock candy melts).
Heat the ghee in a karhai or wok over very low heat. The heat must be kept at the lowest setting so that the milk balls cook slowly and thoroughly. Put the milk balls into the ghee. They will sink for a minute or two. Keep them from burning on the bottom by turning them with a slotted spoon. As the milk balls rise to the surface and float, spin them in the ghee by gently brushing over the top of them every 30 seconds or so with the back of the slotted spoon, to insure that they cook uniformly. Cook them for about 25 minutes, or until they are nicely browned. During this time, you can raise the heat slightly to help them swell.
While the milk balls are cooking, make the syrup. Boil the water and sugar in a pot for about 3 minutes to dissolve the sugar. Then stir in the rose-water and remove the pot from the heat.
Test to see if the milk balls are properly cooked by taking one out and pressing it with your finger to make a dimple. Now release your finger. If the ball immediately springs back to shape, they’re ready. Another test is to put one in the syrup; if it doesn’t collapse after 3 minutes, the balls are cooked thoroughly. Remove them and put them in a colander to drain. Then transfer the balls to the syrup, where they will become soft and spongy. Soak from 30 minutes to 2 days. Gulab jamuns are best served at room temperature, or slightly warm.