Tikhri (Moong and Jaggery Pudding) has so many fond memories for me. This is my grand mother's recipe, am sure there are numerous variations to this dish, but this is how my granny used to make it when we visited her during summer vacation, she still does. Summer vacation was so much fun when I was a kid. Usually summer vacations would mean a trip to my granny's place in Sambalpur. Sambalpur is situated in western Orissa and get's super hot in summer. When we (me and my cousins) arrived at granny's place we would all go on a weighing scale. The idea was to make sure we put on a few kilos before we left home. flash forward... years later... they expect me to become thin, how is that even possible :P I inherited the love of food ;)
This recipe has very few ingredients but the important thing is to get it to a consistency that solidifies when kept in the refrigerator and can be cut into slices like you would cut a cake. The recipe is full of protein from the lentil, although it even requires a good amount of sugar so I wouldn't say it's completely healthy only because of the amount of sugar/jaggery that goes into making this dish but way better than any preservative laden dessert. So here goes my attempt at going back into the memory lane :)
This recipe has very few ingredients but the important thing is to get it to a consistency that solidifies when kept in the refrigerator and can be cut into slices like you would cut a cake. The recipe is full of protein from the lentil, although it even requires a good amount of sugar so I wouldn't say it's completely healthy only because of the amount of sugar/jaggery that goes into making this dish but way better than any preservative laden dessert. So here goes my attempt at going back into the memory lane :)
| PREP TIME | COOKING TIME | SERVES |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 1 hour + overnight freezing time | makes around 16 medium sized pieces |
INGREDIENTS
| Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Moong Daal (skin removed) | 2 cups |
| Jaggery/Sugar | 1 and 1/2 |
| Water | 1 cup |
| Cardamom powder | 1 teaspoon |
| Ghee/Clarified Butter/Butter | a pinch (for a vegan version use vegetable oil) |
PREP
- Wash the moong daal and use a food processor or blender to make a smooth paste
PROCEDURE
- In a heavy bottomed vessel add water and jaggery
- Once the jaggery+water mixture starts boiling, add the moong paste while stirring continuously to avoid any lumps.
- Keep stirring until you get a thick consistency as shown in the picture below. The mixture should reduce approximately by almost half a cup of what it was before when you started. It takes a while to get to this consistency but yumminess guranteed besides its a very good arm exercise ;) I used a pot but I believe if you use a wider vessel the cooking time will get reduced drastically.
- Add cardamom powder and mix well, add a few raisins (optional). Taste your mixture, it should taste super sweet, the sweetness will reduce later as you will eat this dessert cold. If it does not taste sweet enough add more sugar.
- Take wide shallow vessel and apply a little ghee or vegetable oil for the vegan version. Spread the mixture on the plate. I used a plate that was a little bit shallow, your tikhri should not be too thick so if you have a deep dish then spread less of the mixture and use more dishes.
- Once the mixture cools down put it in the refrigerator overnight. Do not put in the freezer.
- In the morning your tikhri will be ready to be cut and devoured.
- Tikhri is a great summer dessert as it eaten cold. It stays good if kept in the refrigerator for almost a week. Make sure you keep it covered or store in a box otherwise they will become dry.
- Tikhri can leave a little bit of the jaggery water later but even that is delicious.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Eat cold and enjoy
Feedback and comments always welcome!
