Dry Fruit Basundi

Rakshabandhan or "Rakhi" is a festival for brothers and sisters throughout India, though it is mainly celebrated in Western India, which signifies an eternal bond between the siblings. My brother and bhabhi (brother's wife) had invited us for lunch this sunday and luckily for us, my parents and my in-laws, both visiting us from India- were also present on this auspicious day and we had lots of food, fun and laughter!! My Bhabhi had made "Dry Fruit Basundi" for us and it was so good that I could hardly keep my eyes open after I gulped down 2 bowls full of this wonderful Indian sweet made from milk.

Dry Fruit Basundi

Ingredients
1/2 gallon whole milk
1 cup condensed milk (if using sweetened, add sugar accordingly)
1 cup crushed dry fruits (almonds, cashews, pistachios)
1 tbsp saffron (kesar)
2 tbsp warm milk (for diluting saffron)
2 tbsp cardamom powder
2 cups powdered sugar (more if you like it sweet like me!)
Chopped nuts for garnish

Method
Pour the whole milk in a large non-stick saucepan and put to boil on medium flame. Keep stirring almost continuously to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Slowly add the condensed milk and stir to mix well.

Now add the sugar and the dry fruit powder to this and let it simmer for 30-40 mins. If cream forms on the top of milk or on the sides of the saucepan, remove this and add it to the milk. The more the milk boils, the thicker it gets and keep doing this till it turns into a light-brown color.

Meanwhile, take 2 tbsp milk, warm it in the microwave or on stove, and dissolve the saffron strands in this by rubbing with your fingers. The more you rub, the more yellowish-orange color it will give and of course, more flavour!

Now mix this into the basundi and stir to spread the color to the entire pan. Also add the cardamom powder and lower the flame and let it cook.

Once it becomes thick, remove from flame and let it cool for some time. Then referigerate it until it's time to serve.

Garnish with remaining chopped nuts and serve with puri-bhaji!!

Basundi is a traditional dessert cherished in many Indian households, and as it's easy to make, you just can't go wrong with it!!