Basundi is a very popular Maharashtrian sweet dish. I have tasted it couple of times when I was a kid. But since I am very intolerant to sweets, I never actually gave any attention to any of the sweets. Though I had seen this recipe a million times in my recipe collections, I never felt like trying it. All changed when Aruna went through recipe request page and sent this recipe. I think my husband saw the mail and he asked for Basundi on his birthday. Anyway I was planning to make it, so I tried it immediately when he asked. This came out really very good.
Aruna said, “ Basundi is basically as Maharashtrian sweet and is made by reducing milk to half, it is served with puris . When the milk is reduced to 1/4 it is called Rabadi or rabdi in North India. My mom keeps milk for boiling and reduces the flame when it starts boiling. Once the milk reduces to half add the sugar. I would not be able to tell you the exact qty of sugar, but i use my judgement and then check if sugar is more or less. Then add kesar for color (presoaked in warm milk). Add elachi powder and sliced almonds for garnishing. My mom never adds cashews and even I have not seen it elsewhere. My mom adds sayi ( malai ) when boiling and her basundi is the best I have eaten. In weddings in Mumbai usually cold basundi is served, but I get a lot of smell of cornflour in that.
In US when I have kept the milk for boiling, even if I have stirred it continuously it touches the base of the pan. Last I made, I used Half and half for that and added some whipped cream. The results were good and it was faster and took less time”.
Ingredients: 3 cups milk or half & half 3/4 cup sugar(approx) 3-4 saffron strands 1/4 tea spn cardamom powder 2-3 tbl spn heavy whipping cream 1 tea spn sliced almonds
Sugar needs to be adjusted according to individual taste. Milk in US sticks to bottom, so use half & half instead. This is available in any grocery stores. In India, use normal milk.
Method: Heat milk in a thick bottomed pan. Keep the heat on medium and cook till the milk reduces to half. Add the sugar and cook till the sugar is dissolved. Now add saffron strands diluted in little warm milk (I directly added saffron to the cooking mixture). Add whipping cream and mix well. The consistency of the milk should be very thick. Take out from heat, add cardamom and almonds. Serve hot or cold.
Serves : 2-3 Preparation time : 20mins
There are many ways of making the popular batata vada ( batata -potato, vada -a kind of deep fried snack). I had posted a recipe for it few days ago. I promised to post my Aayi’s version, but somehow never got to post it. I tried it again last week, so here it is now.
In this recipe, apart from potato, all other ingredients are used raw. So it has completely different taste. Aayi usually makes it for evening snacks and serves with coconut chutney . While growing up, my brother and I used to love this dish. I still remember those days, during power cuts – since my native is a small village, we have 8+ hrs of power cuts most of the time :(, she used to serve these hot vadas with ketchup and we used to throw a big tantrum. I wish we had some sense in our minds at that time.
Well, I am very careful, I never make chutney and have told my husband that these vadas are always served with ketchup. When my brother is with us, he catches me when I try to act smart :).
Ingredients: 1 cup boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes 1/3 cup finely chopped onion 1/2 tea spn finely chopped green chilies 1 tea spn chopped and crushed garlic(do not use ready made) 2-3 strands coriander leaves 1-2 tbl spn fresh/frozen coconut 1 cup(approx) besan (gram flour) 1/2 tea spn chili powder Salt Oil
Method: Mix besan , chili powder, salt with water. The batter should be quite thick so that when the vadas are dipped into it, they get a thick coating of batter. Keep aside. In a separate bowl, mix potato, onion, garlic, green chilies, coconut, coriander leaves and salt. Make small balls of the mixture. Heat oil for deep frying. Dip the potato balls in the batter and deep fry in oil. Serve hot.
Preparation time : 15mins Serves : 2-3
PS: Usually if the shape is round, it is called ‘ batata? bonda ‘ and if it is slightly pressed, it is called ‘ batata vada ‘. So technically, the one in the above picture should be called batata bonda . Since I didn’t want to confuse the food newbies, I thought of going with the name batata vada , which is more popular.
