Monsoon fare.. miss it not

Ghewar from Rajasthan

Rabri Ghewar

Monsoon in  India means many things. Songs celebrating rains in Bollywood films. Better power supply, a bit of a let up in the water shortage. Farmers will have reason to cheer. Indra's blessings come with rains!

But in North India, it also means  malpuah and kheer, hot jalebis, and ghewar--all sweet dishes-- just as much as it means a  hot cup of tea with pakoras .

While tea and pakoras are easy and best made at home, the sweet dishes, are best eaten out, particularly if one happens to be living in a city where these are made by the local "halwais".

For one, many of them would have acquired a reputation for being excellent with one or the other of these items. And for another, they will be much better than what we can make at home, given their long experience; call it specialization if you will.

But more important is a reason my sister-in-law Guddi adduced, very sensibly. "You will shudder when you realize the quantity of sugar or ghee that goes into it. Anyway, how much are you going to eat? Just once or twice in the season. Buy a little from the best halwai, and enjoy," she suggested. I saw the sense in it, and decided to go with her advise.But also decided to take it one dish at a time.

Plain & Richly garnished Ghewar

Yesterday it was "Ghewar", a dish made in Rajasthan to celebrate "Teej", really , the monsoons. Made of all-purpose flour (maida), sugar and ghee, it can come in basic plain "ring"shape, or be garnished with "rabri" or "malai" or "khoya", topped with dry fruits, notes and so on. The texture is soft, the look is spongy, though that it is not. Though  dunked in sugar syrup, oftentimes, with strands of saffron, it can be eaten hot, cold or the way I like it--at room temperature.

And I scouted many halwais of Chandni Chowk, and settled for Haryana Paneer store-- hardly a store, the shop has a range of namkeens(savories), any sweet --Indian mithai-- you can think of, and of course there are mountains of cottage cheese or paneer--which gives the shop its claim to fame , and its name.


But like I said, each locality to could have a shop that's good at it, as would most cities in the North.

Get some home, top it up with kheer, or honey, or any fruit crush...or get innovative and make a yummy sauce in place of the rich rabri! The possibilities are endless.


Don't let this monsoon pass without taking in some of its best delicacies.