KHOYA BADAM KHEER

I really wished to say Happy Holi / Subho Dol Purnima to everyone on a sweeter note. With a series of sweets in the making for the past few days, the refrigerator is full of them and the poor lady's sugar level  is rising higher. For the past few days I was thinking what to prepare for the D-Day that will be essentially Indian and also be loved by my Ladoo Gopal. Those who have interest in the Hindu Mythology, know by now that Ladoo Gopal  /the younger avatar of the Lord Krishna loves "malai, kheer" kind of stuffs. 

While writing this piece, I was looking at few years back and smiling. My junior when younger was unhappy with mumma's undue attention towards Ladoo Gopal. When we were not around, he used to throw away his flute. We had to replace it a couple of times. Many a old memories keep visiting on such special occasions ..... how my junior used to go out with his paternal grandparents to play Holi, how my friends of my present abode in Kolkata pestered me to go down quickly to enjoy with Bhang, Pooris and Jalebi. Going back even further, my little brother played too much with the colours... from the morning till afternoon. We had to really work hard to take them off from his skin. His sister would watch him play from the terrace of the rented house they lived in DumDum.

I was a bit tired yesterday and finally decided to prepare a dessert that will be easy, yet yum. I thought this KHOYA BADAM KHEER will be perfect for the occasion. Khoya Badam Kheer is a mixed nut and milk dessert. At times, I find it very difficult to do proper translation of a dish. I try to explain the recipe as clearly as possible. Let us prepare this easy to make KHOYA BADAM KHEER together and celebrate the occasion of Holi.

INGREDIENTS :

Milk : 1litre
Khoya [semi-solidified milk] : 100 gm
Almond : 6-8
Cashew Nut : 10
Pistachio : 6-8
Raisin : 8-10
Green Cardamom Powder : 1/2 tsp
Fennel Powder : 4-5 pinches [optional]
Sugar : 2-3 tbsp
Condensed Milk : 100 ml

METHOD : 

Lightly roast the almonds, cashew nuts and the pistachios and transfer to a grinder. Add the raisin, fennel powder, green cardamom powder and 1tbsp sugar too to it. Grind to a coarse powder.

Break the khoya [semi-solidified milk] and crumble it with your palm.

Pour the milk into  a heavy bottomed vessel. Put for boil. Keep stirring. After 10 minutes, add the sugar and the condensed milk.

As the milk gets thicker, say after 5-8 minutes, add the coarsely  ground nuts. Let boil for 2-3 minutes.

At this stage, add the crumbled khoya, stir well and boil for another 2-3 minutes.

Transfer to a serving bowl, bring to the room temperature. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.

Please note, the reason why I used both sugar and condensed milk in this sweet dish is that given my taste bud, i felt sugar not only adds sweetness but enhances the taste of a sweet dish. Condensed milk  alone cannot do that.