HYDERABAD: Think of those Dickensian scenes when the view outside the window is wrapped in fog and the protagonist is still wrapped in thick warm blanket awaiting that plate of pancakes dripping with maple syrup. The taste stays with you as does the craving. What better way to satisfy your dripping tongue than to wear your coat and go to the nearest patisserie or that sweet shop to grab those plates of waffl es with blueberry jam and dollops of cream or just savour those nolun gurer rasgullas with the hint of fresh jaggery which keeps the human body warm. As the days get cooler, the body craves for food that can be stored in the tissues to be utilised when the days are much sunnier. Well, while you curl more in your chair we bring to you the list of a few desserts that will fi ll you with delicious warmth, of course, if you try cooking these in your own balmy kitchen:
Date Palm Halwa
The tree is known as sacred and is said to connect to heaven. Rich in nutrients and a handful of these desert fruits ensure that your energy levels remain high during the day. Sweet in itself, the fruit when cooked doesn’t need any sugar in it. Preparation of halwa needs a box of fresh juicy date palms de-seeded and cooked on slow fl ame in milk. The result is a velvet mixture dark like wild honey. A small bowl with a glass of milk is enough to keep you warm.
Andey Ka Halwa
Well, the Chinese mythology propounds that the ‘universe began as an egg’ – this food item with its marble white shell is of course universal when it comes to breakfast. Break a dozen of this elliptical wonder into a pan and whisk till it turns to froth. Add sugar, milk and a few spoonfuls of ghee and put the mixture on the low fl ame. It needs to be continuously stirred with a wooden ladle till it thickens turning into a fresh yellow mixture. Add cardamom powder and a handful of nuts and relish the warmth fl owing in your body in each spoonful. Closer to this halwa is Andey Ka Lauz that food blogger Arundati Rao lists as a lesser-known recipe. “It’s cooked on slow fi re and with a lot of labour.”
Beetroot Halwa
Yes you heard it right. It’s the grated beetroot that’s cooked in thick creamy milk. The mixture simmers over fi re slowly for a good number of minutes that thickens to a pulpy consistency. A handful of nuts like pistachios, almonds, hazel nuts, walnuts, cashew nuts and few green raisins add to that crunchy nuttiness we all relish. Beetroot is the offspring of darkness beneath earth and gives that royal ruby colour when cooked on its own. It takes to a light sheen when a few spoonfuls of sugar is added. You can store this delight for a day or two. Though simple, this dessert isn’t easily available. You can savour it at Taj Falaknuma Palace Hyderabad where the chefs call it by the fancy Persian name Urusa which means bride.
Jaggery kheer
The goodness of the poor cousin of sugar has the delicious taste quite reminiscent of rural India that author Premchand shaped up his stories with. Not just used in Bengali rasgullas during winter, jaggery gives the humble ‘sparrow of desserts’ kheer a unique taste that lasts for months. The trick is simple sugar is replaced with jaggery and the milk dessert is cooked slowly on fi re till one gets the desired consistency. Try it at home and your family will love you for it.