Indian vegetarian cookbooks AND recipe for easy milk burfi

[Guest guest]

I've got more than twenty Indian vegetarian cookbooks, gleaned all over

India and all over Europe. I'll tell you which are my favourites that you

can possibly find in the West:

 

Madhur Jaffrey: Eastern Vegetarian Cooking - Jonathan Cape, London (not only

Indian, but mainly so. Wonderful recipes, I've done many many of them!)

Adiraja Dasa: The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking - The

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (Los Angeles, London, Paris, Bombay, Sidney). I

insist on that one, if you can get your hands on it.

Yamuna Devi: " Lord Krishna's cuisine: The art of Indian Vegetarian cooking " .

(More than 500 recipes- big book. Got the Cookbook of the Year award.) -

Bala Books, Poway, Caifornia.

If you find it too much, there is a shortened version, " The best of Lord

Krishna's cuisine " , with a selection of recipes.

Mridula Baljekar: " Vegetarian 30 minute Indian cookbook " (for simple and

quick things)- Thorsons, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, London 1997

ISBN 0-7225-3410-8

Kumud Shah: " Quick after-work Indian vegetarian cookbook " (again quick

dishes with smaller list of ingredients) Piatkus Publishers Ltd, London

1997, ISBN: 0-7499-1701-6

 

For non- vegans, here is a recipe from Yamuna Devi's book, for a very quick

and easy way to make something that usually is quite laborious, and one of

my favourite desserts in the world. It's done with condensed milk. Usually,

the way to do it is boil the milk until it becomes a paste. You can guess

how long that takes, especially since you have to turn and turn so it

doesn't stick, watch that it doesn't boil over etc... Now Yamuna has devised

a way to do it with powdered milk. It's ready in less than 15 minutes! My

children just adore it, but for obvious reasons I don't make it often (one

of the obvious reasons is that I also adore it).

 

Quick and easy milk burfi

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (110 gr) white or brown sugar or jaggery

1 cup (240 ml) water

(or 3/4 cup =180 ml liquid sweetener such as rice or barley or malt syrup:

in that case omit the water)

3 tbs (45 ml) ghee or unsalted butter

1 2/3 cups ( 165 g) low fat milk powder, or as necessary ( it may take a bit

more to make the desired thick consistency, depending on the liquidity of

the sweetener)

1/3-1/2 cup ( 50-70 gr) powdered mixture of almonds and cashews

nut or dried fruit pieces for garnishing

Method:

Combine the sugar and water ( or just put the liquid sweetener) in a

heavy-bottomed 3-quart/litre nonstick saucepan (preferably karhai or wok

style, that is with rounded bottom/sides) and place over moderately low

heat.

Stir until the sugar dissolves, then raise the heat lightly and gently boil

for 8 minutes or until the temperature reaches 45 degrees Celsius.

Add ghee or butter and nuts and, stirring constantly, pour in the milk

powder. When the mixture is smooth, place the pan over moderate heat and

cook, constantly stirring and scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with

a wooden spatula, for up to 4 minutes.

When the mixture is reduced to a thick paste that draws away from the sides

of the pan, remove the pan from the heat.

With a rubber spatula transfer the past onto a buttered platter. Spread out,

pat and mold into a smooth square about 2cm thick.Garnish with nuts at

regular intervals.

When cool, cut into squares or lozenges with a knife dipped in hot water and

dried before each cut ( each piece should have its nut garnish).

Keep refrigerated in airtight containers for up to 4 days. Bring to room

temperature before serving.

 

Variation: Instead of almond/cashews mixture, use 1/2 cup ( 75 gr)

pistachios , add 1/4 tsp ( 1 ml) powdered cardamom seeds and 1 tsp (5 ml)

rose water.

 

 

Irene's note: I've found that the powdered milk is too much. Don't put it

all, all at once.