An Invitation to Indian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey [112]
In a 10-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium temperature. When hot, put in the rectangles of bread. Fry until both sides turn golden brown. This should take about a minute on each side. You may need to add a bit more oil. Pour out oil if any is left.
Pour the saffron milk over the bread and let it sit for 5 minutes. Turn the rectangles over once during this period.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar to the boiled-down milk and pour this over the bread as well. Bring the contents of the skillet to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. Turn bread gently once or twice with a long spatula.
Lift bread gently and place on a rimmed platter for serving. Any flat dish with a shallow rim will do.
Allow to cool. Garnish with vark, almonds, and pistachios. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve cold.
Malpua
SERVES 6
This is a pancake immersed in a sugar syrup.
1¼ cups sifted dl-purpose white flour
½ cup milk
¾ cup heavy cream
3 cups sugar
2 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (more may be needed)
Mix the flour, milk, and cream with a whisk. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Make the syrup by combining the sugar, 2 cups of water, and the cardamom pods in a pot. Bring to a boil without stirring. Lower heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, or until all the sugar dissolves. Put syrup into serving bowl large enough to hold pancakes as well.
Heat the oil in a 10–12-inch skillet over a medium flame. Pour in enough batter to make two 4–5-inch pancakes at a time. Cook pancakes slowly so they get golden brown and crisp. As each two pancakes are done, lift them out and put them into the syrup. Finish all the batter this way. Adjust heat so as not to burn pancakes, and add more oil as you require it. There should be about 3 tablespoons of oil in the skillet constantly.
Malpua can be served either at room temperature or slightly warm. Bring bowl of pancakes and syrup to table. Each person should serve himself—only the pancakes, not any of the syrup.
Kheer
SERVES 4
This is my mother’s recipe for kheer, a dessert made with milk and rice. Please do not call it a “rice pudding.” This sweet has been served to kings at banquets and to brides at wedding ceremonies—in no way does it resemble the stodgy rice pudding seen around in the Western Hemisphere!
When my mother made the kheer she set it in shallow half-baked earthenware bowls called shakoras. As a result, it picked up the delicious fragrance of freshly moistened earth. You could serve your kheer in individual custard bowls, or, if you prefer, you could put it all in one shallow bowl from which each person would serve himself.
4 cups milk
1 tablespoon long-grain rice
4 whole cardamom pods, slightly crushed
1 tablespoon sugar
10 pistachios, unsalted and slivered, plus a few more for garnishing
Vark, if available
Combine the milk, rice, and cardamom pods in a heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to boil. Lower heat and reduce milk until you have 2 cups. This may take about 1¼ hours. Turn off heat.
Remove cardamom pods and discard. Add sugar and nuts. Mix well. Leave to cool.
Mix again. Pour into serving bowl. Decorate with vark. Sprinkle a few more slivered pistachios on top of the vark. Cover bowl with light plastic wrap. Refrigerate.
Serve cold.
Gulab jamun
SERVES 6–8
This is a simple, very sweet dessert which can be served warm or at room temperature. It is made with dried milk. You could call it “fried milk balls in syrup.”
4 cups granulated sugar
3 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
2 cups powdered milk
½ cup all-purpose white flour
½ cup melted vegetable oil
½ cup milk
Vegetable oil for deep frying, enough to have 3 inches in pot
First make the syrup. In a 4-quart pot, combine 4 cups water, the sugar, and the cardamom. Lower heat. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes, or until all the sugar has been dissolved. Do not stir.
Pour half the syrup into a serving bowl (about a 3-quart size). Leave the other half in the pot, with the cardamom pods.
Combine the powdered milk, flour, oil, and milk in a bowl. Make a soft dough.