I have to be completely honest.  I have never cooked an Indian dessert, at least that I was aware of.  When I saw this interesting contest at Fun and Food Cafe, I thought I would give it a try.

I put on my “wet suit” and did some internet “surfing”.  I came across several recipes and a few versions of an interesting, yet simple dessert called “Apple Rabadi”.  I didn’t choose it because the dessert was going to look pretty. I chose this dessert because it sounded so easy, so tasty, and, well…like “milk pudding”.  

Rabadi
`Rabadi` is a recipe made of churned curd that is chhachh or mattha and flour. Rabadi is a very common dish in villages in north-west India. Category:Rajasthani cuisine Rabadi is a sweet dish made by reducing the milk by 50 – 60% and sweetening it with sugar. It can be flavored by various things like saffron, cardamom, rose water, kewda water, nutmeg etc.
Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabadi

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Apple Crumble’s Apple Rabadi – Serves 6

Approximate preparation time:  15 minutes.  Cooking time: 25 minutes. *Should be served immediately, but read to the end where I comment on this.

  • 3 cups Milk (I used Reduced Fat Milk – but this is up to you)
  • 3 TBS Granulated Sugar
  • 1 TBS Dark Brown Sugar
  • 2 Medium Apples – Peeled and Shredded in your food processor (like “carrots”)

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  • 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
  • 6 x 1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder (you will use this to top the plated dessert)
  • 6 x 1 TBS Toasted Sliced Almonds (again, you will use the almonds to top the plated dessert)

Put the milk in a pot and bring to a boil.

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Add the sugars (granulated and brown) to the boiling milk, reduce heat to a lower setting (low enough to maintain a high simmer) and reduce the milk-sugar mixture to about half.  This will take approximately 20 minutes. 

Using a wire strainer and strain the milk mixture for any burned milk bits on the bottom of your pot.  Put the milk mixture back in the pot after wiping it clean.

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Add the apples to the reduced milk mixture, increase the heat to medium, and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.

Stir in the cinnamon.

Serve immediately in dessert dishes. Top each dish with 1/4 tsp Cardamom first, then sprinkle on 1 TBS of the toasted almonds.

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You can add whip cream or ice cream on the side:

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Or really show the colors of the dish and add sliced apples on the side

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NOTE: If you, for what ever reason, can’t serve immediately, be prepared for the dessert to separate. Especially if you use reduced fat milk as I did. You can see this in the last photo with the apple slices.  If you are not concerned about it looking as thick and nice, then don’t worry about the separation because this dish STILL tastes great. 

For an easy, rich in calcium and fruit dessert with only a few ingredients, this classic Indian dish is a winner.

Make sure you check out the site Fun and Food Cafe and enter your own recipe in this fun challenge!

Joanne

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