Beyond Biryani

@guiltyasframed

DESSERT

MAYUR TIWARI

Executive Chef, The Ritz-Carlton, Pune

@mayur.tiwari.794

mayyurt

GULKAND PHIRNI

UTTAR PRADESH

“Phirni is a wonderful, fantastically rich, creamy, silky-smooth rice pudding that is a popular festive dish. Gulkand phirni is a creamy dessert made with ground rice combined with milk, gulkand and saffron strands for flavouring. The key to a good phirni is to grind the rice well.

Phirni with gulkand flavour is the ultimate comfort dessert in a bowl. The main stars of this dessert are the rose and gulkand, which, when added to the basic phirni recipe, lend it an aromatic fragrance.”

Serves: Six

Prep time: 35 minutes + overnight soaking

Cooking time: 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS

100g rice, soaked overnight
2 litres full-cream milk
400ml condensed milk
10g dried rose petals + extra for garnishing
100g gulkand
5g cardamom powder
5ml rose water
150g sugar
10g chopped pistachios
10g chopped almonds
10g chopped cashew nuts

METHOD:

Drain the water from the soaked rice completely, and grind the rice in a mixer to a coarse paste. Dilute the paste with ¼ cup of water, and set aside.

Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan over a medium-high flame. Reduce the flame to low and add the ground rice paste. Cook, stirring continuously, on a low-medium flame until the milk thickens like a porridge and the rice paste is fully cooked. Keep on scraping the dried milk that gets collected on the sides of the pan, such that the cream of this milk-rice mixture adds a nice texture to the phirni.

Once the rice is completely cooked to a porridge consistency, add the condensed milk, dried rose petals, gulkand, cardamom powder, rose water and sugar, and cook for a few more minutes until everything blends well.

Take off the flame, and set aside to cool. Chill for at least three to four hours.

Serve garnished with the pistachios, almonds, cashew nuts and dried rose petals.

MAIN

CHEF GUNTAS SETHI BHASIN of the Chef Guntas stand-alone patisserie kitchen, Mumbai, and recipe curator

@chefguntas

AKKI ROTI

KARNATAKA

“Akki roti, which literally means ‘rice bread’, is a specialty from Karnataka cuisine. This type of roti is slightly similar to the thalipeeth of Maharashtra, but the ingredients are rice flour based. Very simple to make, it can be served as a snack or for dinner and is an excellent substitute for the usual dosas. One can make different kinds of akki roti, but the base and common ingredient is always rice flour. You can make a plain akki roti, masala akki roti or akki roti with Indian herbs like methi leaves (fenugreek leaves), kothmir (coriander), etc. It also makes for a great gluten-free and vegan dish.”

Makes: Five to six

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp oil + extra as needed
1 cup warm water + extra as needed
Ghee (optional)

FOR THE ROTIS:

2 cups rice flour¼ cup grated fresh coconut1 carrot, grated2 tbsp finely-chopped dill leaves¼ cup finely-chopped spinach2 tbsp finely-chopped coriander1 onion, finely1 inch ginger, finely chopped2 green chillies, finely chopped½ tsp cumin seeds¼ tsp asafoetida (hing) Salt, to taste