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Savoury sweet
This easy-to-prepare unpretentious rice dish can be served as a dessert, enjoyed with meals or even all by itself
 In
Indian cuisine, sweet-tasting delicacies occupy a special place. These
may not be desserts but many of these sweets or mithaiyaan are enjoyed
with meals or even all by themselves. Muhn meetha karana is synonymous
with sharing a happy occasion with family and friends. The travelogue of
Ibn Batuta chronicles how the Imperial banquet in the court of Muhammad
Tuglaq began with bismillah followed by a sweet bite, setting the mood
for the rest of the regal repast. Bengali mishti sandesh, one is told,
owes its name to the tradition of serving it to the bearer of happy
tidings. `A0Each region and community in our vast and varied land has a
signature sweet dish, and of course each family has a favourite! We have
a soft corner for the unpretentious meethe chawal that can be prepared
easily at home and is immensely satisfying. If you are really ambitious,
then go ahead and convert these into the famous zarda by draping a
chandi ka warq on the dish. We, on our part, are quite content with the
plain Vanilla version.
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Meethe chawal
 Ingredients
Rice 250 g
Sugar 500 g
Ghee 100 g
Raisins 25 g
Almonds (shelled, soaked, slivered) 25 g
Cloves 2 to 4
Green cardamom (crushed) 2 to 4
Milk ½ cup
Kewara jal 1tsp
Method
Pick, wash and soak the rice for half an hour, then drain and spread to dry. Heat ghee in a thick- bottomed pan, lightly fry raisins and almonds. Remove and keep aside. Put in the cloves and after 15 seconds add rice along with 1-1/2 cup of water, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium. When the liquid is almost all absorbed but the rice isn’t completely cooked, sprinkle sugar and stir gently, ensuring that the rice grains don’t break. Add cardamoms, raisins and almonds and sprinkle milk in spoons full all over the surface. Cover and let it simmer for about 10 minutes or on dum on a hot tawa. Sprinkle kewara jal just before serving. |
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