Basundi Recipe | How To Make Basundi

It was another day when I was suddenly feeling low and disappointed with everything that was happening. I know that they are nothing different from the regular routine but still it was too frustrating and I wanted to get out of it as soon as I can. Cooking makes me produce more oxytocin :P and makes me feel better in ways people cannot, so I chose to cook something sweet to just drive away things that had been driving me crazy. And when thinking of boosting up your mood there's nothing like desserts to do the job right don't you agree? I now remembered the one sweet which I was in love completely but hadn't eaten for long with no specific reasons. Basundi was it and I felt that it will calm me down instantly, the moment I start off to cook. Luckily (yes that's a very uncommon scene in our kitchen) I had a lot of milk leftover and fresh spices and nuts lying in the pantry. So now I was all set and with the disappointment still haunting me I was reaching out to the ingredients and things and as I started the preparation I felt that my highly irritated soul was slowly starting to settle down. The beauty of the cream forming over the milk the fragrance coming out from the dish and filling the air made me lose myself in cooking. I was excited with the flavors coming out and enjoyed the way they were soothing my mood. I was at ease finally and the beautiful dish was ready in about 30 minutes. I refrigerated it and waited, now all I could think was about the lip-smacking Basundi!! then I enjoyed it chilled,  the creaminess, the crunchy tit bits of nuts and the appealing flavors and aroma from cardamom and saffron made me feel delighted, excited and light. I was unbelievably okay :) This special Indian dessert, Basundi, can change your mood from one extreme to another. Though it is a bit time consuming it is easy and definitely worth the try! This sweet recipe is said to be from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka and I'm not sure of its origin. This one is served plain or with a few variations. Sometimes it is paired with Gulab jamun, Poori, Jelabis, Rasmalai etc. I love it plain somehow as I feel it would be calorifically a lot more heavier when paired. 

Apart from other issues, I was somehow losing interest in things as I was asked (or should I say forced) to stop blogging without any real reasons! At such a time I found that my recipe picture "sweet heart shaped maida paniyarm" was used as the cover picture for the famous Tamil magazine Aval Vikatan's Kitchen Magazine (Feb 2015). I knew the recipe was gonna get featured but I never knew that it would be used as the cover pic and I am so soooo excited and thrilled and obviously happy too!! You can find the recipe here and it is a simple South Indian recipe that got its complete makeover as a Valentine's day special. What more do I need this Valentine's month and do I need more motivation than this and the loving readers emails? And now I know why I shouldn't stop blogging! Apart from these, I love cooking, baking, styling my food, plating them photographing, sharing them with the world and I know I do not bother anyone with my passion. So I guess I should continue!

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2 people
Total Time - 30 to 40 minutes

1. Milk - 400 ml (full fat milk preferred) 
2. Sugar - 100 grams
3. Saffron strands - A pinch 
4. Cardamom pods - 4 to 5 crushed well
5. Almonds & Pistachios - A handful 

PREPARATION METHOD

• Pour milk into a wide nonstick or heavy bottomed pan and place on flame.
• Let it simmer on a low flame. 
• After leaving it undisturbed for a while you will notice cream forming on the top as shown in the below pic. 

• You will also find thickened milk on the sides of the pan. Just gather the cream and scrape the thickened milk using a spatula or spoon and drop it into the simmering milk. Do this each time the cream forms. 
• When the milk reduces to 3/4th the original volume, add sugar, crushed cardamom pods, saffron strands, chopped/sliced nuts and stir well. 

• Now let it simmer on low flame and keep gathering the cream as it forms and scraping the thickened milk. 

• Do the same until the milk reduces to a little less than half of its original volume. The milk should be creamy and flowy.

• Now remove from flame. Leave aside until it tunrs warm and then serve. Else refrigerate after it reaches room temperature and serve chilled garnished with nuts.  

TIP 1: To fasten the thickening of milk use condensed milk. (For 200 ml of milk use 50 ml of condensed milk) If you are suing sweetened reduce the amount of sugar very well. Add condensed milk first and then check for sugar and add only if needed else it will taste too sugary. yikes!

TIP 2: Make sure you stand besides the pan while the milk is simmering as it may get burnt at the bottom easy and quickly within seconds. 

TIP 3: If you do not want any cream in your basundi and you just want the thickened milk, then keep stirring as it prevents the formation of cream.