Bidding adieu to winter ... on a sweet note !

As a child I spent a couple of years in Muzaffarnagar, the so called rich belt of Western UP. My childhood memories of that place are of a small simple town, with tree lined fruit orchards in its outskirts of - lychhee, peaches and mango, of eating jaggery (gur) loaded with dry fruits-  chunks of coconut pieces, almonds, cashews, and other nuts. It was fabulously tasty and needless to say, the sweet memory of that gur ki mithai lingered on all these years.

We lived in the Civil Lines area, which was the quieter part of the town. There was a bridge which connected you to the old town or Nai Mandi as it was called. The air here used to be surfeit with the sweet smell of sugarcane juice being cooked (Western UP is a big sugarcane growing belt and hence large number of jaggery manufacturing units used to be there). Though I am told now - those things have changed and most such jaggery manufacture is no longer done in the town's vicinity.

Jaggery is a byproduct of sugarcane. Gur as it is commonly known in India is a non refined traditional Indian food sweetener and it is not uncommon for it to be used as a substitute of sugar in food preparations. Not only is it a rich source of iron but is also loaded with other minerals. So when there is no mitha at home then you can pop a piece of Gur to satisfy your craving for sweets, perhaps feeling less guilty. Recently, I tasted a chocolate granola bar made with gur inside instead of sugar; - this has now become a health food - tasty, rich in nutrients and not particularly high in calories - an innovative modern day use of gur.

Today was one of those cold wintry weekends here in Delhi -with the sun playing truant I needed something warm to cheer me up and I thought of what could be better than sooji gud ka halwa - time to enjoy the winter goodies before spring sets in. This Indian dessert cooks in a jiffy, and tastes awesome too.

In one of my earlier posts I gave the recipe of  sooji ka halwa, which I had made with sugar ...  in replacing sugar with gur, the sooji ka halwa no longer retains its off-whitish color. The making of sooji gud ka halwa is somewhat different; this one is roasted till the color changes and becomes golden brown

 So here goes my recipe ... a toast to the last few wintry days.

Sooji Gud Halwa (Semolina Jaggery pudding)

Serves 2

1/2 cup semolina (sooji)

80 gms jaggery (gur)

2 heaped tablespoon desi ghee (clarified butter)

1 3/4 cups water

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

1 tablespoon grated coconut

A generous pinch of saffron strands

6-8 almonds, finely sliced

6-8 pistachios, finely chopped

In a pan heat the jaggery along with the water. Once the jaggery melts, set it aside.

Take another pan, add the desi ghee and semolina and roast it on a low flame till it changes color and takes on a brownish tinge. Now add the coconut powder and roast for a minute more. Pour in the melted jaggery water and mix it into the mixture. Once the sooji fluffs up and soaks in all the water add the saffron strands. Keep stirring till you see the ghee showing up on the sides.

Now fold in some sliced nuts and the cardamom powder and mix well.  Serve it hot garnished with the leftover dry fruits.

Kheer - traditional rice pudding

‘Rakshabandhan’ is a festival celebrated in India with a lot of enthusiasm. This festival is unique to this part of the world as it is a celebration of the special bond that exists between a brother and sister.

It’s that time of the year when you have a string of festivals lined up and there is a lot of festivity in the air. Bengali Market in my neighborhood was totally choc a bloc with people doing their last minute shopping. The shops were spilling over on to the pavement with their display of colorful 'rakhis' (sacred thread tied by sisters on the brother's wrist) and gifts and apart from the traditional rakhi designs there were quite a few funky ones too. Both the sweet shops, Nathu's and Bengali were also jam packed with people and one heaved a sigh of relief that even though the financial pundits might be shorting India, it has not dampened our spirit of joie de vivre.

All my memories of this festival are related to food - of how my mother would get busy in the kitchen from early morning preparing kachoris, kaddu ki sabji,methi ki launji and a whole lot of other dishes that went with it. For mitha (sweet) she always made kheer. My mother was an excellent cook and this western UP food was her specialty. We sisters would go light on the breakfast in anticipation of the yummy food that we were going to feast on. I have continued with the same tradition at my home too and when the children were around they both would be very agog about the goodies being made.

The kheer that I make is a very simple one. The milk along with the rice is put on a simmer for a couple of hours till it takes on a light creamish tinge. The whole essence of preparing  this traditional Indian dessert is to let it cook slowly so that it thickens to a nice creamy consistency and gets that kadha (condensed) flavor. The kheer tastes very good on its own and really does not need any added flavoring. But if one wishes then some cardamom powder can be added to it once it's cooked. Saffron strands can also be added by first soaking them in warm milk to release their flavor and then adding it to the whole milk.

Kheer

2 litres milk (full cream)

6 tablespoons long grained (basmati) rice soaked

11/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon green cardamom (elaichi) powder

8-10 saffron (kesar) strands

Soak the saffron in one tablespoon warm milk. Bring the full cream milk to a boil in a pan with a thick base, add the rice and the saffron and cook on a low heat. Keep stirring the milk from time to time to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Let it simmer till the milk thickens and takes on a creamish hue.

When the kheer is almost done then add the sugar and mix well. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes and then switch off the burner. Now add the cardamom powder and mix.

Transfer the kheer to a bowl and serve either warm or cold.