In our vastly diverse food customs, there is one delicious dish that finds its honourable place in most kinds of Indian cuisine. I am talking about the kheer - which, with some variations here and there - is quite a pan-Indian phenomenon. In the South, it's known as payasam, and in the East, payesh. And right here in the North, this dessert made essentially out of milk, is known as kheer.
A good bowl of kheer has been a part of my childhood, and, I am happy to say, it still plays an important role now that I am over-the-hill (a small hillock, really - but let's not quibble). My mother makes a delicious kheer And as a child growing up in a city like Pune, there was nothing that I relished more than a generous helping of this delicious dish
Now, this kheer is not for the faint-hearted. The recipe itself is different - first, a fistful of sevai is boiled with sugar till thesevai is done. Over this, you pour cold milk and some heated desi ghee and dry fruits such as pistas,almonds and cashew nuts on the top. And `some' is an understatement; for the helping of the ghee has to be large enough to make even some of our well-developed wrestlers break out into a cold sweat. Over the years, as a diligent researcher, I have tasted different kinds of kheer - made with rice, with boondi, oranges, rasgullahs .At one point of time, I was such an addict that I used to go my friend’s place (abdul), every Friday right in time for breakfast. And breakfast started with paranthas and ended with a bowl of kheer.
Way to Bade Mian's
But the sheer khurma was an all-time favourite of mine - till I discovered Bade Mian's kheer shop in Old Faridabad. I came to hear about the `khejur gurer' (palm jaggery) kheer, a colleague from the Walled City started sniggering. Have you,he asked me gently, ever tried the kheer at Bade Mian's?
I hadn't, and looked suitable ashamed. So, very kindly, he led me to his shop. To get to Bade Mian's, you have to reach Bata Chowk and then start walking towards a mosque. Once, you see a mosque on your left. The kheer shop is bang opposite the mosque. It is a very small shop, so you can very easily miss it. In that case, of course, you can ask any passer-by to direct you to Bade Mian's. And people of the area, they will personally escort you there and look at you approvingly as you demolish your first bowlful.
Bade Mian's shop is about 80 years old. They have been making kheer in the traditional North Indian way there - the milk and rice are cooked slowly over a wooden fire till the milk thickens. The milk is cooked till the kheer turns a beautiful shade of light brown.
And I love it because it has the smoky flavour of a wood fire. The kheer is then chilled and you can have a plateful for Rs.10.I was eating one plate after another while my friends stood around me, looking as proud as Sachin Tendulkar's folks must have been when, as a toddler, he was hitting his first fours.
So here at Bade Mian's, I gladdened all the locals' hearts by breaking my own record of kheer-eating.
A good bowl of kheer has been a part of my childhood, and, I am happy to say, it still plays an important role now that I am over-the-hill (a small hillock, really - but let's not quibble). My mother makes a delicious kheer And as a child growing up in a city like Pune, there was nothing that I relished more than a generous helping of this delicious dish
Now, this kheer is not for the faint-hearted. The recipe itself is different - first, a fistful of sevai is boiled with sugar till thesevai is done. Over this, you pour cold milk and some heated desi ghee and dry fruits such as pistas,almonds and cashew nuts on the top. And `some' is an understatement; for the helping of the ghee has to be large enough to make even some of our well-developed wrestlers break out into a cold sweat. Over the years, as a diligent researcher, I have tasted different kinds of kheer - made with rice, with boondi, oranges, rasgullahs .At one point of time, I was such an addict that I used to go my friend’s place (abdul), every Friday right in time for breakfast. And breakfast started with paranthas and ended with a bowl of kheer.
Way to Bade Mian's
But the sheer khurma was an all-time favourite of mine - till I discovered Bade Mian's kheer shop in Old Faridabad. I came to hear about the `khejur gurer' (palm jaggery) kheer, a colleague from the Walled City started sniggering. Have you,he asked me gently, ever tried the kheer at Bade Mian's?
I hadn't, and looked suitable ashamed. So, very kindly, he led me to his shop. To get to Bade Mian's, you have to reach Bata Chowk and then start walking towards a mosque. Once, you see a mosque on your left. The kheer shop is bang opposite the mosque. It is a very small shop, so you can very easily miss it. In that case, of course, you can ask any passer-by to direct you to Bade Mian's. And people of the area, they will personally escort you there and look at you approvingly as you demolish your first bowlful.
Bade Mian's shop is about 80 years old. They have been making kheer in the traditional North Indian way there - the milk and rice are cooked slowly over a wooden fire till the milk thickens. The milk is cooked till the kheer turns a beautiful shade of light brown.
And I love it because it has the smoky flavour of a wood fire. The kheer is then chilled and you can have a plateful for Rs.10.I was eating one plate after another while my friends stood around me, looking as proud as Sachin Tendulkar's folks must have been when, as a toddler, he was hitting his first fours.
So here at Bade Mian's, I gladdened all the locals' hearts by breaking my own record of kheer-eating.
So, eat your heart out, Sachin!
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