Lapsi is one of most humble of sweet dishes. Made with dahlia (broken what) and jaggery, traditional lapsi is very earthy, very rustic dessert, with no fancy frills. It is part of both Rajasthani and Gujarati cuisine and fairly common during Navratris. Interestingly it is a quintessential part of Bohri cuisine too.
On the eve of the islamic new years, every Bohra family eats together from a very big plate (called thaal). The tradition calls for an odd number of dishes on the thaal but the most essential item is a simple lapsi. I was quite pleasantly surprised on discovering that after marriage. The only difference I found in the recipe was the addition on grated coconut and believe me it is an addition for the best.
Lapsi
By Ashima Goyal Siraj
Preparation time: |Cooking time: |Serves: 4-5
1 cup broken wheat (dalia)
1 cup jaggery, grated
4 cups water
1/4th cup grated coconut
2 tsp green cardamoms powder
2 tbsps ghee
7-8 almonds, slivered
- Heat ghee in a kadhai and add broken wheat. Fry on medium heat, with regular stirring, till the wheat turns golden brown.
- In a separate pan, boil water with jaggery till the jaggery melts.
- Slowly, add the jaggery water to the roasted broken wheat. Add it from a side as there would be a lot of sputtering.
- Add in half the cardamom powder and grated coconut. Mix well. Reduce the heat to low and cook covered till the water is all soaked up and the dalia is well cooked. Takes about 20-25 minutes.
- Remove in a serving dish and garnish with remaining grated coconut, cardamom powder and slivered almonds.
- Serve hot.
[…] black tea, but you can use green tea as well to reduce caffeine. Also, I use regular sugar, but jaggery will also go great with the recipe. It will make a slightly darker iced tea though.You might also […]