Kadhai doodh (kesariya doodh)
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Milk simmered for hours in a wide iron kadhai, sweetened, flavoured with saffron and served hot with a layer of malai.
Region: Old DelhiOccasion: Winter evenings and nightsTime: 1 hourServes: 4Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 litre full-cream milk
- 3–4 tbsp sugar
- A pinch of saffron
- 4 green cardamoms, crushed
- 1 tbsp chopped almonds and pistachios
Method
- Bring the milk to a boil in a wide, heavy kadhai, then lower the heat.
- Simmer for 40–50 minutes without stirring too much, so a thick layer of malai forms on top; push the malai to the side as it forms.
- Add sugar, saffron and cardamom and simmer for 5 minutes more.
- Pour the milk from a height between two jugs to make it frothy.
- Serve hot in clay cups (kulhads) with some malai and nuts on top.
History
Milk shops in Old Delhi keep huge kadhais of milk simmering over coal fires through the evening, a tradition of the city's halwais.
Significance
A kulhad of hot kadhai doodh is a classic way to end a winter evening in Old Delhi's food lanes.