[5th contest] Kharwas

Kharwas

Detail

Serving: 4 People

Total time: 60 minutes

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Shelf period: up to 5 Days if refrigerated

Ingredients

½ cup Hung curd/ Greek yogurt

½ cup Milk powder

½ cup Heavy cream

¼ cup Coconut milk

¼ cup Jaggery powder/ Sugar

½ tsp Agar powder

2 tbsp water

¼ tsp raw Cumin powder(optional)

½ tsp Cardamom

1 Pinch Turmeric powder/ Saffron (optional)

Instructions

1. In large bowl, mix hung curd and milk powder with a whisk, making sure there are no lumps and keep aside.

2. Mix agar powder and water in a small bowl and keep aside for 5 mins or till it is dissolved completely.

3. Take a saucepan, pour heavy cream, jaggery powder/sugar and wait till it is dissolved.

4. Add raw Cumin powder, cardamom powder, pinch of Turmeric powder and add dissolved agar powder.

5. Boil the above mixture on medium flame for 5 mins and then turn off the flame. Wait for the mixture to be at room temperature.

6. Add above mixture and coconut milk to bowl (mix hung curd and milk powder) prepared in step1 and whisk until fully combined.

7. Pour the mixture in deep container and steam in steamer or pressure cooker without whistle for 5 minutes over medium flame and then 25 mins over low flame.

8. Let it cool and serve it at room temperature or chilled. Traditionally it is served as is. I like to serve this with fresh fruits, but it is completely optional.

About Chef

Name

Karuna Parsekar

Story

I am Indian currently residing in America with my husband, vegetarian and food lover. After working in the IT industry for 7 years, I decided to quit and pursue my passion. I like to paint, bake, and do all sorts of creative art stuff.

When I heard about this contest, a recipe with agar that reminds me of childhood Kharwas came to my mind instantly. Traditionally agar is not used and made of colostrum milk. Growing up being vegetarian and the love for animals, I somehow feel colostrum milk belongs to calves and not in our food that’s when agar helps getting the right texture to this recipe.

Kharwas is an Indian traditional dessert recipe made with Colostrum milk. This recipe is a version made with agar powder, Hung curd and heavy cream instead of colostrum milk. There are many versions of this dessert based on the different regions within India. This one is basically inspired from coastal regions of Maharashtra which uses coconut and cumin to enhance the flavor.