Laapsi - a traditional Rajasthani dessert

Laapsi - kadhi

Laapsi is a traditional Rajasthani dessert. It can be found on menus across jeemans (a traditional sit-down meal to celebrate an occasion). Laapsi is a triple whammy of sorts as it is easy to cook, is delicious and to top it all, is nutritious too. Kadhi is my favourite accompaniment with laapsi. I like to pit my sweet tastebuds against the savory ones and preside on the debate as I douse them alternatively with the sweetness of laapsi and tanginess of kadhi! The battle generally draws in favour of whatever the cook has done a better job with, but if both are well made, then it's a difficult but an eventual draw.

One day, when I hadn't cooked or even planned anything for dinner, I was rummaging my mind for a quick-fix. Suddenly , I remembered laapsi and went to the kitchen with a spring in my step.

Ingredients:

Broken wheat or daliya : 1 cup

Ghee : Can range from 4 tbsp to 1 tbsp. The more, the tastier!

Water : 4 cups 

Jaggery (or sugar) : A little less than 1 cup. If you lean towards less sweet, go for 3/4th cup. 

Cardamom : 6-8 pods, crushed

Almonds : Sliced, 1 tablespoon

Saffron: a pinch, dissolved in a teaspoon of milk

You can use sugar in place of jaggery but I prefer jaggery as it wins on nutrition and authenticity quotient. I had organic gud (jaggery) from my father's village, so loved it all the more. 

Way to go:

1. Pour ghee in a pressure cooker. Roast daliya on low-medium flame for about 7-10 minutes till it turns golden brown.
2. Add water and broken jaggery. Mix well. 

3.Pressure cook with 3- 4 whistles. Keep on low flame for 2 minutes. 

4.Garnish with diced almonds, cardamom and raisins.

5. Serve piping hot just like that or with hot kadhi. 

I love the dark brown colour!