Thursday, March 1, 2012

Gulkand-e-khaas

'Desserts', when I thought of choosing this 'cherubic word' for my first event, I was elated, excited and anxious at the same time. In my menu list, you will always find (always mean always, just at any point of time! :P) desserts and sweets as toppers among all other varieties. The mere reason being that since I started cooking, this was the only area that allured me the most, and also contributions received from my darling hubby who has a colossus sweet tooth. :) I remember preparing halwa or kheer every other day just after my marriage because I hardly knew anything apart from these two. As days passed by, I felt his blase indifference with the same stereotyped 6-7 recipes, so finally I had to pull my socks on, wear the gearing cooking helmet, and upgrade myself (like upgrading your lappy or PC after a new version emerges) for a brand new start. I surfed hundreds of recipes, from Tarla Dalal's to Sanjeev Kapoor's, from Manjula Aunty's to Nisha Madhulika's, and believe me, I realized that preparing sweets was much easier than reading Anatomy books. My mother makes a lot of traditional sweets and I used to ask her every now and then from Manila as how to begin, what should be the gas mark, how much to roast and so on. The classes (both online and on call) were rigorously heading on and I became a voracious eater (I don't like calling myself a 'reader') of recipes, gulping each and every one that came on my way, absorbing the basics and then crusading new ingredients that riffed through my mind. In this red-letter journey, I have experimented the most on milk and milk powder, and there are around 15 recipes that can be materialized in a jiff, using the microwave. Most of the recipe pics are stacked up in my personal folder, and I keep postponing the thought to post them every time I have a glance at. But yes, I'll soon announce an event that can at least button me to post them in a series. For now, there is an authentic, windy recipe which also has a quick, microwavable version. The flavor is nonpareil and the aroma spectacular.


GULKAND-E-KHAAS

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 40-45 minutes
Serves: 4

Health Meter:
Milk is counted to be one of the major sources of Protein and Calcium. For those who are worried about the fat content can surely switch to the slimmed/low fat version. This is perhaps one of the best things to consume for kiddos, pregnant women, lactating women and diseased or weaker constitutions.
Rose is world-known not only for its fragrance but the cooling properties it comforts within. Besides being an ornamental pleasure to the eyes, it is also an important ingredient in many sweets, imparting its aroma and calmness.
This recipe is a special treat for summers when the heat melts your body and you crave for soothing delights to freshen up your worn out cells. It is suitable for anyone and everyone. Those who intend to skip refined sugar may replace it with honey/jaggery for the guilt-free natural sweetness.

Ingredients:
1. Milk: 1 litre
2. Sugar: 6 tbs or as per taste/ Honey/ Jaggery
3. Cardamom Powder: a pinch
4. Gulkand/ Rose Marmalade: 6 tbs



Method:
  1. Take milk in a big heavy bottomed pan/wok.
  2. Let it boil on high flame and then simmer for about an hour with occasional stirring till it reduces to 1/4 the original amount.
  3. Keep scrapping the cream (malai) that layers out on the sides of the pan; this will help in improving the texture and consistency of the pudding.
  4. Towards the end, start stirring frequently to avoid any milk sticking to the bottom and burning.
  5. When the milk is thick and creamy, add in sugar/crushed jaggery and cardamom powder. Simmer for 2-4 minutes with regular stirring till the sugar/jaggery dissolves.
  6. Let it cool completely.
  7. Now refrigerate for 2-3 hours till it goes chilled.
  8. Just before serving, spoon in 6tbs of gulkand/rose marmalade and give a stir.
  9. Serve chilled with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and plop into the creamy, rosy delight.
Suggestions:
  1. In absence of gulkand/rose marmalade, this can simply be enjoyed as it is. In fact, this is nothing else but 'Rabdi with Gulkand'. :)
  2. You can also push in some nuts/dry fruits if you wish.
  3. Be extremely careful after the milk has reduced to 1/3 because it generally scalds at the bottom of the pan if you miss out even for a minute.
  4. Never add gulkand/rose marmalade before the reduced milk has completely cooled down. 
  5. For a quick microwave version, refer to this recipe of Rabdi. Use this in place of reduced milk and just add rose marmalade to it at the end.
  6. If using honey, add it towards the end with the rose marmalade, and not during cooking.
 

 The recipe takes off to:
My event: Cakes, Cookies and DessertsHoli Hai and Beat the Heat at My Cook Book,  
Midweek Fiesta at Food Corner, Just 4 Fun by Sobha,
Walk Through Memory Lane by Gayatri hosted by Roshan,
For U Mum  by Nupur, Summer Spunk at Tomato Blues,
Healthy Morsels- Pregnancy at Taste of Pearl City
Cook Eat Delicious Desserts by Raven hosted at Sensible Veg
Summer Splash by Kalyani hosted by Sangee,
Spotlight- Colorful Holi  initiated by Indrani and hosted by Chandrani,
 Color n Sweet - Holi Fest by Preeti,
I'm The Star by  Veg Food and Me

44 comments:

  1. Healthy and Delicious!!!!

    Nice event!!! I will send my entries soon

    Ongoing Events Mar 1st to March 31st:
    Foodies Nest
    Announcing Dish it out-Bread/Burger/Veg Sandwich and Veg Salad

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  2. Awesome, love that lovely pink color, I think in the place of ghulkhand we can also add a little rose milk essence rt..

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    Replies
    1. Hi Hema,
      For sure you can add it provided it's natural. Also you can add some fresh/dried rose petals. :)

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  3. Loving that color. Looks so creamy n yummy dear

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  4. wow dis pink dessert luks so beautiful...and rose flavour is a hit...!!!i also jst love desserts and yeah its realy fun and easy making desserts !!

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  5. wow....so gorgeous luking dessert.....awesome dear....

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  6. Thank you Anjali for linking this delicious and healthy recipe to our event. This looks so apt for our theme !
    http://www.leckerandyummyrecipes.blogspot.com/2012/03/healthy-morsels-journey-begins.html

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  7. tempting dessert with a lovely presentation.

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  8. coming across something with gulkand after ages. i used to love it so much!
    and for some reason i prefer (and end up) making desserts too - even if they're more time consuming, they somehow feel more worth the effort :D

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  9. Such a pink start to the event "BEAT THE HEAT" :)
    Thank U linking it to Holi Hai & Beat The Heat :)
    Luks so Lovely & Tempting...

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  10. thats one lovely recipe Anjali .. love the colour..

    Thanks for linking to my event For U - Mum

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  11. wow..... wow... yes, at my home also, u will always find desserts...

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  12. this looks simple and yumm too.....tasty one too....

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  13. Looks lovely Anjali. Thanks for linking to my event.

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  14. thats a lovely treat to beat the heat :) this sounds delicious n loved its romantic pink color..too good!!
    thanks you so much for sending over..
    Spicy Treats
    OnGoing Event:
    kitchen Chronicles - Summer Splash

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  15. The gulkhand Rabdi looks soo delicious and creamy... Thanks for linking it with Healthy Morsels. :)

    By the way, how do you get Gulkhand marmelade? Is it readily available on stores?

    - SchmetterlingWords

    http://schmetterlingwords.blogspot.com/2012/03/healthy-morsels-journey-begins.html

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    Replies
    1. Well, not readily. Actually a friend of mine got this from Romania and she says it's readily available there. Gulkand can be caught on every 'Paan Ki Dukaan' in India, but in other countries you could find it as Rose Jam/ Rose Marmalade.

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  16. love the pink color.. reminded me of rose milk :)

    Ongoing Event: I'm a STAR

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  17. Loved the colour & ofcourse the recipe! Feel like tasting it right form the screen :)

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  18. I can just feel the aroma of gulkand in this girlie pink dessert. Thank you for linking with Healthy Morsels :)

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  19. wow!really nice..........i love desserts too!my whole family does.i love this recipe....i'm extremely allergic to complicated recipes...yours is just perfect!

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  20. Totally royal treat....looking yummy, thanks for linking it to SPotlight : Holi..

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  21. Love the colour! So tempting!!

    Chef Al dente On going event: Gimme GREEN!

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  22. LOVELY! It's soo inviting & delicious! :)

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  23. That colour is beautiful Anjali. Nice to know about your experiments with sweet dishes

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  24. looks lovely. lots of ur desserts are on my 'to make' list :)
    love the colour.

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  25. OMG Gulkand-e-khaas looks sooooo pretty and super delicious. Nice clicks.

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  26. Have already commented previously n the beauty of this dish..Thanks for linking it.. Would be really happy if u could post the logo to ur blog..:)..

    Ongoing Event: I'm a STAR

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  27. Looks divine Anjali, lovely pink dessert :-)
    Thanks for the follow at my space dear, following you back :-) Keep in touch..

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  28. very yummy dessert..loved the colour too

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  29. wow, what a lovely colour, feel like having it right now...wonderful dessert dear..Thanx a lot for linking it to my event dear :)

    Join the Just "4" Fun event :)

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  30. delicious looking colourful dessert

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  31. Love rose flavors and dish made with rose always sounds exotic. This is surely a win-win recipe with me. Beautiful!

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  32. Hi Anjali, I am new to your blog. You have a lovely space. Love the lovely pink colour of the kheer. It is looking yummy :-) Your new follower Suchi

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  33. first time here ... glad to follow you ...lovely blog ...yummy gulkand .. very nice color..
    visit my blog www.sriyafood.blogspot.com

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  34. This is such a pretty looking dessert. I can only imagine how delicious it must be. Love the beautiful pink color.

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  35. I love the beautiful pink color in your recipe. What a gorgeous looking recipe!

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  36. lovely gulkand happens to be my favorite right from childhood

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  37. thannks for linking this recipe with my event

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