Indian festivals and Indian weddings are all about the food. There’s a multitude of mouth-watering, finger-licking delicacies prepared to offer to the Gods at our festivals. Families come together on days like these to flavour a taste of simple Indian cooking. Traditional food which, sadly, is going so ‘out of fashion’ is the food that really satiates the soul. Sadly, my generation has lost touch with what constitutes the core of every Indian home. It’s literally what we are made of- our traditional cuisine.
Most of us are so consumed by learning how to make pizzas, pastas, cakes and puddings for our loved ones, that we have neither time nor energy left to experiment with those simple spices tucked away in mom’s Pandora box...remember the conglomeration of spices she packed, sealed, labelled and sent when you got married and didn’t know crap about cooking? It’s time you start using them.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I believe that we must all remain true to our genes. My husband will definitely appreciate a continental meal once in a while, but will be sure to say ‘You are the best wife in the world’ when I make him a simple rice-rasam-palya or masala dosa-coconut chutney meal. And I’m sure that’s what aloo paranthas or rajma-chawal do for husbands from North India. Eat what you grew up loving, and life will feel so much more real and gratifying.
So I decided to add some simple recipes I’ve learnt from my mum and grand mum, those that take me back to where I belong. The first, being this one.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30min
Cooking time: 15min
Ingredients
2 cups steamed rice (spread out to cool on a plate, so the grains don’t clump together)
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
5-6 cloves
5-6 green cardamom, peeled and ground
10-15 saffron strands soaked in 2tbsp warm milk
2 tbsp homemade ghee
Fistful of nuts, chopped: almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts, raisins
A pinch of nutmeg powder
Method
Heat ghee in a wide non-stick saucepan. Add cloves and nutmeg powder. Add the steamed rice and granulated sugar. Simmer and cook till the sugar melts and the mixture is dry yet sticky. Add the chopped nuts, ground cardamom and saffron strings. Stir for a minute on low flame. Add 1tsp of ghee and stir. Remove from flame and serve warm.
Heat ghee in a wide non-stick saucepan. Add cloves and nutmeg powder. Add the steamed rice and granulated sugar. Simmer and cook till the sugar melts and the mixture is dry yet sticky. Add the chopped nuts, ground cardamom and saffron strings. Stir for a minute on low flame. Add 1tsp of ghee and stir. Remove from flame and serve warm.
Bench notes
I used ‘sona masuri’’ rice to make the ‘kesari bhath’. ‘Basmati’’ rice makes it dry and gives it an undesired dry and grainy texture. So it is advised that you use a variety of rice that doesn’t dry and separate too much on cooking. The rice once cooked should be soft and light. Use your discretion, depending on the variety of rice used.
I used ‘sona masuri’’ rice to make the ‘kesari bhath’. ‘Basmati’’ rice makes it dry and gives it an undesired dry and grainy texture. So it is advised that you use a variety of rice that doesn’t dry and separate too much on cooking. The rice once cooked should be soft and light. Use your discretion, depending on the variety of rice used.
You can replace half the granulated sugar with palm sugar (khajoor gud). This gives it a beautiful flavour and golden colour.
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