RAG Demo

Tag: Dessert

  • Double ka Meetha

    Double ka meetha is a royal Hyderabadi dessert that is said to descend from the Mughal shahi tukda. The name comes from double roti, the old Hyderabadi term for bread, which doubles in size as the dough rises. It is served at weddings, during Ramzan and at Eid, often next to qubani ka meetha.

    Slices of bread are fried golden in ghee, soaked in a cardamom-saffron sugar syrup and then cooked with reduced milk until they soak it all up. The result is soft and moist, almost like a set pudding, but still with some texture from the crisp fried bread. It is very rich, sweet and fragrant.

    At a glance

    RegionTelangana
    CuisineHyderabadi
    DietVegetarian
    CourseDessert
    Prep time10 minutes
    Cook time40 minutes
    Total time50 minutes
    Serves6
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeNo
    Key ingredientsbread / ghee / milk / sugar / saffron

    Ingredients

    • 8 slices white bread, a day old, crusts removed, cut into triangles
    • 1/2 cup ghee for frying
    • 1 litre full-fat milk
    • 1/2 cup sugar for the syrup
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 2 tbsp sugar for the milk
    • a pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
    • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
    • 2 tbsp khoya (optional)
    • 12 almonds, sliced
    • 10 pistachios, sliced
    • 10 cashews, halved

    Method

    1. Simmer the milk in a heavy pan on medium-low heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring often, until it reduces to about half. Add 2 tbsp sugar, the saffron milk, cardamom and khoya if using.
    2. Meanwhile, make a syrup by boiling 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup water for 5 minutes until slightly sticky but not stringy. Add a pinch of cardamom.
    3. Heat ghee in a frying pan on medium-low heat and fry the bread triangles in batches for 1-2 minutes per side until crisp and evenly golden. Drain.
    4. Fry the almonds, pistachios and cashews in the remaining ghee until lightly golden and keep aside.
    5. Dip each fried bread slice quickly into the warm sugar syrup and arrange them in a single layer in a wide pan.
    6. Pour the reduced milk over the bread. Cook on low heat for 5-6 minutes until the bread absorbs most of the milk and turns soft but still holds its shape.
    7. Garnish with the fried nuts. Serve warm or chilled.

    Tips

    • Day-old bread fries crisper and absorbs less ghee.
    • Fry slowly on medium-low heat; quick-fried bread is golden outside but soggy inside.
    • For a shortcut, use a can of condensed milk mixed with 1 cup milk instead of reducing.

    Serve with

    Served after biryani at weddings and Eid dinners.

  • Mysore Pak

    Mysore pak was created in the kitchens of the Mysore palace during the reign of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV. The palace cook Kakasura Madappa is credited with it, and his family went on to run a well-known sweet shop in the city. Pak or paka refers to the sugar syrup, and the sweet is made from just three ingredients: gram flour, sugar and ghee.

    There are two styles. The traditional one is firm, porous and slightly crumbly with a honeycomb texture, while the soft version made popular by Chennai sweet shops is dense and melts in the mouth. This recipe makes a soft-porous version, golden with a deeper colour at the base, rich with the flavour of roasted besan and ghee.

    At a glance

    RegionKarnataka
    CuisineKannada
    DietVegetarian
    CourseDessert
    Prep time10 minutes
    Cook time25 minutes
    Total time35 minutes
    Serves12
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyHard
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsbesan / ghee / sugar

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup besan (gram flour), sifted
    • 1.5 cups sugar
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 1.5 cups ghee, kept hot on a separate burner
    • 1/4 tsp cardamom powder (optional)

    Method

    1. Grease a 7-inch square tin or tray with ghee and keep it ready near the stove.
    2. Mix the sifted besan with 1/2 cup of the warm ghee to a smooth, lump-free, flowing paste.
    3. In a heavy kadai, dissolve the sugar in the water on medium heat and boil until it reaches one-string consistency, about 5-6 minutes. A drop pressed between finger and thumb should form a single thread.
    4. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the besan-ghee paste to the syrup, whisking constantly so no lumps form.
    5. Now add the hot ghee, 2-3 tablespoons at a time, stirring continuously. Each time the mixture absorbs the ghee and bubbles, add more.
    6. Keep cooking and stirring for 8-12 minutes. The mixture will froth up, turn porous and lighter in texture, and begin to leave the sides of the pan with ghee oozing out.
    7. When it reaches this stage and smells of roasted besan, immediately pour it into the greased tin. Do not spread or press it.
    8. Let it cool for 5 minutes, then cut into squares while still warm. Allow to cool completely before removing the pieces.

    Tips

    • The ghee must be hot when added; cold ghee will not make the mixture porous.
    • Remove from the heat as soon as it froths and leaves the sides; a few seconds more makes it hard and crumbly.
    • Cutting while warm gives clean edges; once fully set it breaks unevenly.

    Serve with

    Served on its own as a festive sweet or after a meal, with filter coffee.

  • Palada Payasam

    Palada pradhaman, often simply called palada payasam, is the crowning sweet of many Onam and wedding sadyas. It is made with ada, thin flakes of steamed rice, cooked slowly in milk and sugar. The milk reduces and caramelises gently, turning a soft pink colour without any colouring, and the ada becomes silky and tender.

    The famous Ambalappuzha temple payasam is a related milk-and-rice preparation, and the slow-cooked pink colour is the mark of a well-made palada. It is rich, creamy and sweet with a hint of cardamom, and it is served warm at the end of the meal, sometimes poured over a crumbled pappadam and a banana.

    At a glance

    RegionKerala
    CuisineKerala
    DietVegetarian
    CourseDessert
    Prep time10 minutes
    Cook time75 minutes
    Total time85 minutes
    Serves6
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyMedium
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsrice ada / milk / sugar / ghee / cardamom

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup rice ada (store-bought or homemade)
    • 1.5 litres full-fat milk
    • 3/4 cup sugar
    • 2 tbsp ghee
    • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
    • 10 cashews, halved (optional)
    • 1 tbsp raisins (optional)

    Method

    1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add the ada, switch off and leave for 30 minutes until soft. Drain and rinse in cold water so the flakes do not stick together.
    2. Pour the milk into a heavy, wide pan and bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring so it does not catch.
    3. Add the drained ada and the sugar. Lower the heat to low-medium and simmer, stirring every few minutes and scraping the bottom and sides.
    4. Continue for 50-60 minutes. The milk will reduce by about half, thicken, and gradually turn from white to cream to light pink.
    5. When the payasam is pink, creamy and the ada is completely soft, add 1 tbsp ghee and the cardamom powder.
    6. If using, fry cashews and raisins in the remaining ghee until golden and add to the payasam.
    7. Switch off and let it rest for 15 minutes; it will thicken further as it cools. Serve warm.

    Tips

    • A wide, heavy pan speeds up reduction and prevents scorching.
    • The pink colour comes only from long, slow cooking of milk and sugar together; do not rush it on high heat.
    • Pressure cooking milk, sugar and ada on low heat for 45 minutes, as some caterers do, also gives the pink colour, but watch it carefully.

    Serve with

    Served warm at the end of the sadya, traditionally with a small crushed pappadam.

  • Rava Kesari

    Rava kesari is the sweet Tamil households make when guests arrive without notice or when a small offering is needed for a pooja. It takes under half an hour, uses only pantry staples, and it is the sweet served at almost every South Indian wedding breakfast alongside ven pongal and vada. The name comes from kesar, the saffron that gives it its traditional orange-gold colour.

    Well-made kesari is soft, glossy and melt-in-the-mouth, with each grain of semolina distinct and coated in ghee. It should not be gluey or dry. The flavour is buttery and sweet with cardamom, and the fried cashews add crunch. Pineapple or banana kesari are popular variations using the same base. A spoonful is often the first thing served at a South Indian wedding.

    At a glance

    RegionTamil Nadu
    CuisineTamil
    DietVegetarian
    CourseDessert
    Prep time5 minutes
    Cook time20 minutes
    Total time25 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeNo
    Key ingredientssemolina / ghee / sugar / saffron / cashews

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup fine rava (Bombay rava / semolina)
    • 1/2 cup ghee, divided
    • 12 cashews, halved
    • 1 tbsp raisins
    • 2.5 cups water
    • 1 cup sugar (up to 1.25 cups if you like it sweeter)
    • a generous pinch of saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
    • pinch of orange food colour (optional)
    • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
    • pinch of salt

    Method

    1. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a heavy kadai on medium-low heat. Fry the cashews until golden, then the raisins until they puff. Remove and keep aside.
    2. In the same ghee, add the rava and roast on low heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring continuously, until aromatic and each grain looks dry and separate. It should not change colour much.
    3. Meanwhile bring 2.5 cups water to a rolling boil in another pan with the saffron milk and food colour if using.
    4. Reduce the heat under the rava to the lowest setting and pour in the boiling water slowly, stirring all the time. It will splutter, so stand back.
    5. Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes until the rava absorbs all the water and turns thick. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 minutes so it cooks through.
    6. Add the sugar and a pinch of salt. The mixture will loosen and turn liquid again; keep stirring on low heat for 4-5 minutes until it thickens.
    7. Add the remaining ghee a spoon at a time, stirring after each addition, until the kesari is glossy and starts to leave the sides of the pan.
    8. Stir in cardamom powder, fried cashews and raisins. Serve warm, or press into a greased plate and cut into pieces once set.

    Tips

    • Add sugar only after the rava is fully cooked; sugar added earlier stops the semolina from softening.
    • The water must be boiling when added, or the kesari turns lumpy.
    • Use 1:2.5 rava to water for soft kesari, 1:2 if you want firm pieces that can be cut.

    Serve with

    Ven pongal and medu vada for a classic South Indian festive breakfast.