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GIL-E-FIRDAUS

✇mycurryveda
By: Shravani Abhishek
15 May 2021 at 17:46

               Gil-e-firdaus, a classic Dakhni dessert from the kitchens of Hyderabad has its presence in wedding feasts, celebrations and gatherings. A luscious and melt in the mouth dessert made with Sabudana, bottle gourd, khoya, cashew paste and milk. I remember having this dish during my stay in Hyderabad, I fell in love with this kheer instantly. This divine dessert can be served chilled or warm and traditionally served in earthen bowls, which lends an earthy taste. Hence the name GIL-E-FIRDAUS, meaning clay of paradise. 

         This classic dessert Gil-e-firdaus is commonly known as Kaddu ka kheer/ Kaddu ki kheer, as Bottle gourd is known as Kaddu in Hyderabad. As The holy month of Ramadan sets in, the intoxicating aroma of Haleem, Kababs and various desserts linger in the air around the bustling streets of Hyderabad. This divine Gil-e-firdaus a.k.a Kaddu ki kheer is also sold in the small eateries and stalls on the streets. It’s rich and luscious consistency makes it absolutely irresistible. 

The addition of khoa(khoya), cashew paste, and simmering sabudana and bottle gourd in full-fat milk makes it utterly creamy and divine.We have used Sabudana and kaddu(bottle gourd) here, but some add finely ground basmati rice as well to make it aromatic and more creamier. But simmering everything on low flame for longer period time is the key for this divine pudding. 

Ingredients needed to make GIL-E-FIRDAUS

  • Bottle gourd
  • Sabudana / Tapioca pearls
  • Full fat milk
  • Sugar
  • Cardamom powder
  • Khoya
  • Nuts

How to make this dessert VEGAN?

Substitute the full fat milk with plant based milk like coconut milk/soy milk/almond milk. And also substitute the Khoya with Cashew paste or Almond paste to get that rich consistency. 

Let’s get into the recipe now, before that check out more desserts from my blog.

Basava Kajjam

Kanda gadda Bakshalu

Pappu Bakshalu

Badusha

Pala poorilu

Godhuma thalikala paasham

Aanapakaya shegala paasham

Kesar mewa phirni

Gajar ka halwa

Healthy Sabudana payasam

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GIL-E-FIRDAUS

A classic Hyderabadi dessert made of Bottle gourd, sabudana, milk, milk solids and enriched with nuts.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Telangana
Keyword Festive food, Indian desserts, Pudding
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Soaking time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author Shravani Abhishek

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Bottle gourd peeled and grated. Discard the seeds and core.
  • ½ cup Sabudana / Tapioca pearls
  • 1 litre Whole milk / Full fat milk
  • ¼ cup Khoya / Milk solids
  • 1½ cups Sugar
  • 3 tbsp Cashew paste
  • 1 pod Cardamom
  • ½ tsp Cardamom powder
  • ¼ cup Water

Instructions

  • Wash and Soak the sabudana pearls for 1 hour.
  • Soak the cashews in warm water and keep aside.

Let's prep for the dessert

  • Peel the bottle gourd, cut into halves, scoop out the core and grate it into thick shreds.
  • Take a large mixing bowl, add cold filtered water and add the grated bottle gourd shreds to it. Squeeze the juice out of it and drain the water.
    Repeat washing the grated bottle gourd shreds for one more time until water runs clear.
    Note : This step helps in preventing the curdling of milk when we add bottle gourd.

Let's start cooking GIL-E-FIRDAUS now!!

  • Heat a Saucepan, add full fat milk, one cardamom pod and bring to a boiling point. Then reduce the flame to low.
  • In a small mixing bowl add khoya and a cup of hot milk to it. Mix it thoroughly until khoya completely incorporated well.
  • Heat a thick bottomed pan, add grated bottle gourd, water. Close the lid and cook for 10 min on low flame until bottle gourd turns tender.
  • When the water dries up, mash the bottle roughly and sauté again till the water dries up completely. Keep this aside.
  • To the boiled milk, add soaked sabudana(drain the water). Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes on low flame till the sabudana turns translucent and tender.
  • Add cashew paste, milk mixed with khoya mixture to the milk and sabudana. Give it a good Stir thoroughly to prevent the formation of lumps.
  • Remove the cardamom pod from the milk and then add in sautèed bottle gourd mixture, sugar and give it a good mix.
  • Reduce the flame to a low flame and cook until the kheer thickens up and keep stirring continuously to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  • Once the kheer thickens, turn off the stove and let the kheer cool down to room temperature.
  • Serve chilled or warm GIL-E-FIRDAUS / Kaddu ki kheer by sprinkling some chopped nuts on the top.

Notes

  • You can add in tiny pinch of edible green food color to give the dessert a traditional look.
  • This dessert tastes best when served chilled. 

If you’ve tried this recipe, please share your valuable feedback in the comments below. Also you can Tag your photo and share it with #mycurryveda on Instagram @mycurryveda  or on Facebook . 

The post GIL-E-FIRDAUS appeared first on mycurryveda.

BASAVA KAJJAM

✇mycurryveda
By: Shravani Abhishek
10 March 2021 at 00:00

Basava Kajjam, a divine dessert and one of the ancient recipes from the Land of Telangana. Tiny wheat flour balls cooked in milk and creamy moong dal, sweetened with jaggery and topped with roasted nuts. Any Celebration is incomplete without a nice sweet dish to relish, and this dessert is just the one to brighten your day. The people of Telangana savor a special porridge/pudding kind of preparation made of moong daal, wheat flour, milk, sugar and dry fruits. This delicious dish has a nice rich aroma that is enhanced with the use of fresh ghee.

 Making the godhuma pindi undalu, tiny wheat flour balls requires huge amount of patience. The basava kajjam is a pasta porridge that is made fresh and it can be made within an hour. The undalu is the main player of the game, a tad high patience is required to say the least. Each grain of undalu is molded from a mixture of whole wheat flour individually using nothing but bare hands. 

More about Basava kajjam 

Basava kajjam is an age-old traditional dessert prepared using Moong dal, whole wheat flour, milk, jaggery and nuts. And what makes this dessert special is the mini wheat flour balls, we call them as undalu. Traditionally they are shaped as tiny balls similar to the size of split moong dal. Making these tiny wheat flour balls requires huge amount of patience, but trust it is all worth it. Just a tablespoon of this dessert will take you back to your grandma’s kitchen. 

This traditional dessert is absolutely comforting, and nourishing, each spoon of this dessert feels like a warm hug. Even though I’m from Telangana, I have never tasted or heard about this dish until my dear friend Chandana has shared her heirloom recipe with me. She was sweet enough to share the details of the recipe and allowed me to share it with you all. Please do checkout her Instagram page, she’s a passionate cook and has immense love for her culinary heritage of Telangana.

She told me that her Grandma used to make this dessert specially for her in her childhood. And that this dessert is traditionally made on festivals like Maha Shivaratri and Bathukamma as an offering to the deity. Also I have done a little research on this regional delicacy, where some people call this dish as BASAVA GARJANAM. With the rustic Telangana dialect, the name could have been slowly settled as BASAVA KAJJAM. 

Ingredients needed for BASAVA KAJJAM

  • Moong dal
  • Whole wheat flour
  • Jaggery
  • Milk
  • Nuts
  • Ghee

How to prepare this Dessert?

Initially we need to soak the lentils for about an hour or two, which helps in cooking the lentils quickly. In the meanwhile we need to make a firm dough of whole wheat flour. Rest the dough for 30 min, later make tiny balls/undalu using dry flour and keep aside. 

Now we need to cook the wheat flour balls in the boiling water, add soaked moong dal and cook until the wheat flour balls are 90% cooked. Add in jaggery, milk and cook for 5 more min. Later roast some nuts in ghee and add it to the cooked moong dal and wheat flour balls. Basava Kajjam is all ready to Serve now.

Is this dish VEGAN ?

You can make this dish VEGAN-FRIENDLY by substituting the regular cow milk with plant based milk. Skip roasting the nuts in ghee and add them directly while cooking the wheat flour balls.

And if you have GLUTEN INTOLERANCE, I would suggest you to use gluten-free flour to make Undalu/balls.

Checkout more traditional festive foods and more Telangana delicacies.

Godhuma thalikala payasam

Kanda gadda Bakshalu

Pappu bakshalu

Nuvvula bakshalu

Vadapappu bellam panakam

Godhuma Nooka sheera

Shegala payasam

Sattu Pindi

Print

BASAVA KAJJAM

A divine and delicious moong dal and wheat flour balls porridge, which is sweetened with jaggery. An age-old recipe from the Land of Telangana.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian, Telangana
Keyword Bathukamma special, Porridge, Telangana cuisine
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Soaking time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 4 Servings
Author Shravani Abhishek

Equipment

  • Saucepan

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Split moong dal
  • ½ cup Whole wheat flour
  • ¾ cup Jaggery
  • ⅓ cup Milk
  • ¾ cup Water
  • ½ tsp Cardamom powder optional
  • 2 tbsp Ghee optional
  • 1 tbsp Melon seeds optional

Instructions

Prepping

  • Wash and soak the moong dal for about an hour.
  • Take a mixing bow, add whole wheat flour, add water gradually and knead to make soft dough. (Similar to the Indian roti dough)
  • Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 mins.

Make the Tiny wheat flour balls

  • Take a wide plate and sprinkle some dry wheat flour on it. Now take a handful of dough at a time, take a tiny amount of dough to the size of moong dal/coriander seed and roll into a ball.
  • Now place the rolled tiny wheat flour ball on the plate with dry flour.
  • Repeat the process for the remaining dough.
    Note : You can skip this time-consuming process by rolling the dough into flatbread and then cut into diamonds.

Let's make BASAVA KAJJAM now!!

  • Heat a saucepan, add water and bring it to a rolling boil.
  • Now add in rolled tiny wheat flour balls, soaked and drained moong dal and give it a good mix.
  • Cover the pan and let them cook on a medium flame until the moong dal is fully cooked. This will take around 15 min.
  • Now add in milk, grated jaggery, cardamom powder (if using) and cook until everything is cooked thoroughly.
  • Heat a small pan, add ghee and once its hot add in melon seeds and fry for 30 secs. Add these roasted melon seeds to the cooked BASAVA KAJJAM.
  • BASAVA KAJJAM is done and it's all ready to be served. Dig in and enjoy.

Notes

  • You can skip the rolling of wheat flour balls and instead roll the dough into flatbread and then cut into diamonds using knife or pizza cutter.
  • If you want a vegan version, substitute the Regular milk with Plant based milk or you can just totally skip adding it. Also, do not roast the melon seeds in ghee, instead add them while boiling the moong dal.

 If you’ve tried this recipe, please share your valuable feedback in the comments below. Also you can Tag your photo and share it with #mycurryveda on Instagram @mycurryveda  or on Facebook . Also follow @taste.of.telangana on Instagram for more traditional recipes, culture and stories.

The post BASAVA KAJJAM appeared first on mycurryveda.

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