Basundhi

ETA: WordPress tells me that this is my 100th post! Yay!! 😀 Coincidentally I have posted a sweet recipe 🙂 I never thought I would make it this far, having reached here - I am more than determined to keep going 🙂

My sweet tooth needs no introduction. Growing up, I would ask Amma for a sweet after every meal. And when I am bored too. When there would be nothing interesting, I would ask amma for a small cup of cooked rice and some jaggery. I would made thick jaggery syrup and mix it with the cooked rice – yumm it would be. When the milk curdled at home, the happiest would be the sister and I. We would immediately start making instant paalkova and wait for the next time for the milk to curdle 😀

One of our favorite sweets growing up was Basundhi. Very rarely we would go out to have dinner in a small restaurant in our locality and at the very entrance of the restaurant, we would see a man stirring milk in a very large kadai. The aroma of the milk getting boiled with sugar would reach the insides of the restaurant. One can have it piping hot from the stove or if desired, chilled version was also served. Every single time, Amma would order Basundhi and we would end up finishing it for her. Talk about the many sacrifices of motherhood. Wonder if I would do the same in future.. Anyway, I digressed. This sweet based out of milk is cooked with sugar until thick and topped with dry nuts. It tastes amazing both hot and cold. I have used toned milk to prepare this and that way, it’s a tiny bit guilt-free.

To make Basundhi

Serves – 4

Time to prepare – 30mins

What I used –

• Toned/Low Fat Milk, 500mil
• Sugar, ½ cup
• Cardamom Powder, ½ tsp
• Almonds, 5
• Cashews, 5
• Pistachios, 5

How I made –

1. In a thick bottomed kadai, pour the milk and heat it on a medium flame. When the milk begins to boil, reduce the flame to low and keep stirring.
2. The milk should reduce to half the original quantity. Keep stirring continuously and scrap the thick layer of milk from the sides onto the milk again.
3. When the milk is reduced in half, add sugar and mix until it’s completely dissolved. Add cardamom powder. The milk would turn a bit runny again. Keep cooking for another 5mins. Remove from heat.
4. Serve immediately or after chilling in the refrigerator. Garnish with finely chopped nuts.

Note: Adjust the quantity of sugar as per preference. Cooking milk on low flame and using a thick bottomed Kadai is the key to this recipe – else the milk would begin to burn and turn a shade of brown.