Naashpati Halwa (Pear Pudding)

Pear pudding is a delicious dessert recipe.Use soft and ripe pears.

Ingredients:

4-5 medium size pears, peeled and cut into pieces

2 tablespoons butter or ghee

3 tablespoons milk powder or khoya

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup condensed milk

2 tablespoons ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons of coconut powder

1/2 teaspoon green cardamom powder

2 drops of rose essence

Few slivered almonds for garnish

Preparation:

Heat butter or ghee in a nonstick pan.

Add peeled chopped pears in to the heated pan.

On a medium flame cook pears until a nice paste is formed.

Add all other ingredients such as sugar, milk powder or khoya, condensed milk, coconut powder, ricotta cheese.

Keep stirring on a high to medium flame until the mixture is reduced to half with no traces of liquid.

Bring the flame to low heat.

Continue to stir until the butter starts separating and mixture becomes dry.

Add cardamom powder and rose essence.

Mix well.

Garnish with almonds or any other dry fruits of your choice and a pinch of cardamom powder.

Serve hot or cold. I like both. If serving cold, try with hot Gulab Jamuns’s. It is really yum any time and at any occasion.

Note: The mixture can leave a lot of water that may require long time to dry. Another tablespoon/s of milk powder can be added to thicken the mixture and bring it to required consistency of halwa.

Rabri

Ingredients:

4 cups milk

2 tablepoons instant dry milk (milk powder)

8-10 ounce sweetened condensed milk

2-3 drops rosewater

1/2 teaspoon green cardamom powder

Few strands of saffron

Few sliced almonds

Note: Sugar free recipe:  

Use 4 drops of splenda plus 6 tablets of saccharin mix well in half cup milk instead of condensed milk and follow the same recipe. Add 2 extra tablespoons of dry milk to get the consistency of sugar free recipe.

Preparation:

Take a non-stick deep bottom pan placed on a medium flame.

Add milk, condensed milk and milk powder in a pan.

Mix well and bring the milk to the boil.

Turn the flame to low heat with constant stirring until the milk thickens at the edge of the pan.

Turn the burner off.

Add rosewater, cardamom powder and mix well.

Transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish with few strands of saffron and almonds.

Cool at room temperature and keep the bowl inside the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.

Serve chill with gulab jamuns or just enjoy as such.

***Rabri is given a shape of heart surrounding with blueberries for Valentine's special.