GHEVAR

INGREDIENTS

For Ghevar

Ghee (clarified butter) 1/4 cup

Full Cream Milk (chilled) 1/4 cup

Maida/All Purpose Flour 2 cup

Chilled Water 4½ cup

Food Colour (yellow) a pinch

Ghee or Oil for frying

For Sugar Syrup

Sugar 1½ cup

Water 1 cup

Saffron a few strands

Cardamom (crushed) 2-3

For Malai Rabdi

Full Cream Milk 1 litre

Sugar 1/4 cup

Kewda Essence 2-3 drops

Cardamom Powder 1/4 tsp

Dry Fruits to garnish

PREPARATION

For Ghevar

In a bowl, whisk ghee and milk till light and fluffy. Add maida and whisk well. Add water and make a runny batter without any lumps. Add the food color and mix well. Take a small saucepan (4 inch) and fill with ghee till half. Heat the ghee on high flame. When the ghee is very hot, pour a ladle of batter from at least 1 feet high in the centre of the pan at a steady speed and as fast as you can. Do not simmer the heat. The batter will splutter a lot. Be very careful at this stage. If the batter starts to overflow, stop pouring more batter. Let the bubbles in the ghee settle down.

Pour another ladle of batter on top the previous batter. Let it cook for a minute. Repeat the process 3-4 times. Make a hole in the center with a skewer. Let the ghevar fry on high heat till it is browned from top. Remove the ghevar from ghee using a fork. Keep it on a tilted plate so that extra ghee is removed.

For Sugar Syrup

Heat sugar and water in a pan. Add saffron and cardamom. Heat till a one string sugar syrup is formed.

For Malai Rabdi

Heat milk in a heavy bottom pan. Cook till it is reduced to half. Add sugar and cardamom powder. Cook till it is reduced to one quarter. Add kewda essence. Dip the ghevar in sugar syrup for 10 seconds on each side. Remove on a plate using a fork. Pour malai rabdi on top. Garnish with almond and pistachio slivers.

(Courtesy: Nitish Chopra – Sous Chef, Aloft Aerocity, New Delhi)