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Basundhi

I am not sure from which part of India this dessert is from, but all I can say is, I used to love asking my mom to buy this for me every time we would go to a restaurant, which was extremely rare. Going out to eat was a treat, a privilege and sometimes a very stealthy affair. My father was the villain of the piece. He did not like eating out because of sanitation issues and would give us gory details on what may happen in the kitchen of a restaurant, but as kids we forget that in a jiffy and drool over the sweets the vendor is frying on the streets or the pani puri that is so meticulously being served to college kids “hanging out”. We would wait for the D-day my dad had to go on an official trip, on that day homework was done on time, uniform ironed and laid out for the next day and even our shoes polished. Mom would walk us to the street side vendor and treat us to some street foods or order take out from the restaurant next door.  That was one of the first times, I tasted basundhi.

Basundhi is milk that has been simmering on the stove for hours  until  it reduced to about ¼ the quantity, add sugar, nuts and voila it is done. In India, this was something that most homes will not venture to make, because they have to worry about the gas cylinders getting empty (gas is not piped into homes, like here in the US, and is delivered home in portable tanks as liquefied petroleum gas or LPG which is hooked up to a 2 burner stove) So basundhi was another treat that made its appearance very rarely. It is an easy task, if you have the time to let the milk simmer for 4-5 hours and give it a stir once in a while. It is that simple.

One of the most important things is to simmer this is in a heavy bottomed dutch oven. We either use le creuset french oven or a stainless saucepan.  We have slowly been eliminating non stick pans from our kitchen and moving to all steel. Teflon coated utensils when cooked at very high temperatures release toxins into our food and I would rather have a teaspoon more of oil than have toxins as my appetizer. Now, the key is to invest in good stainless steel pots and pans, ceramic or cast iron skillets.

This was the first time we made basundhi at home.  And both of us enjoyed it!

2 % fat Milk – 1 gallon

Sugar – 10 tsp or more to taste

Cardamom powder- 1 tsp

Almonds – 1/3 cup, chopped

Pistachio – 2 T, chopped

• Heat milk on medium low in a heavy bottomed pan.
• Continue to simmer the milk until it reduces by about 25%. While the milk simmers, a  layer cream  will form on the top.
• Remove the layer with a spoon and set it aside in a small bowl.
• As the milk simmers, the color of the milk changes to a light brown.
• Stir the milk occasionally and set aside the cream as they layers form, repeat this process.
• When the milk has reduced, add sugar, the cream, cardamom powder and chopped almonds
• Allow it simmer for 5-8 minutes until the sugar has melted.
• After the basundhi cools down, let it chill in the refrigerator.
• Serve in individual cups garnished with pistachios.

Notes:

• The key is to stir the milk at regular intervals.
• Do not add saffron to this dessert.

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