CELEBRITY MASTER CHEF DR KAVIRAJ KHIALANI
Rabri is a sweet, condensed-milk-based dish, originating from the Indian subcontinent, made by boiling milk on low heat for a long time until it becomes dense and changes its colour to off-white or pale yellow. Jaggery, spices, and nuts are added to it to give it flavor. Created in Mathura and perfected in Varanasi, the art of rabdi travelled East and today it is a well-known delicacy around the world. Rabdi, also called rabri, is a classic North Indian treat that’s rich, creamy, and perfectly sweet. To make rabri recipe, milk is cooked until it reduces to a thick pudding-like consistency, then is flavoured with cardamoms, saffron, and your favorite nuts and dried fruits. Rabdi, Laccha Rabri is an Indian dessert made by reducing whole milk to a thick creamy consistency with layers of cream.
Rabdi is flavoured using saffron and is garnished with almonds and rose petals making a rich tasting and looking dessert. It provides calcium, useful for healthy bones and teeth. It is filled with essential minerals and vitamins, including vitamin A, which is very crucial to maintain our immune system. In the refrigerator, it stays good for 3-4 days in an airtight container. In the freezer, it stays good for up to 3 months. Thaw it on the counter for few hours or in the refrigerator overnight. If you freeze this into kulfi mould, you’ll have creamy, rich malai kulfi ready.
- Created in Mathura and perfected in Varanasi, the art of rabdi travelled East and today it is a well-known delicacy around the world
- Buffalo milk is preferred for preparation of rabri because it contains higher fat content that is responsible for the formation of a thick layer of malai
Buffalo milk is preferred for preparation of rabri because it contains higher fat content that is responsible for the formation of a thick layer of malai. Steam heating of milk is recommended because it will enable better control of temperature and prevent development of flavour defects, like smoky and burnt. Rabri is one of my favourite when it comes to choosing a sweet with Indian touch related to and it is one of those preparations which I have tried to incorporate and concoct into global fusion recipes as well and it has worked out to my expectations in impressing some of the best foodies and dessert lovers on my guest lists over the years.
Here are a few ideas as well on how to use the desi rabri in a slightly twisted way with a touch of videsi tadka.
RABRI KI JUGALBANDI
Ingredients
For the Basic Rabri
Milk- 750 ml
Sugar- ¾ cup
Condensed milk- ½ cup
Green cardamom-1/2 tsp
Saffron- few strands
Mava- ½ cup grated
Malai- ½ cup milk top
For the Fusion Elements
Rossogulla- 2-3 pieces, sliced
White chocolate- ½ cup melted
Assorted nuts- 2-3 tbsp.
Crushed peanut chikki- ¼ cup
Cherries/ mint/ choco chips- for garnish as desired.
Method
- Prepare all the ingredients for the rabri based dessert and keep it all ready.
- Choose between doing this sweet dish in individual cups/ small dessert shot glasses or a deep pudding dish for around 4-6 people.
- Start with the base of rabri, which has been prepared by simmering full fat milk in a thick bottomed pan simmered with the other ingredients for a couple of hours until it gets a nice thick consistency, cool and chill it completely before being used further in the dessert
- Place the chilled rabri at the base of the bowls/dish and continue to place the sliced rossogulla and a little drizzle of melted white chocolate, some assorted nuts, and the crumbled peanut chikki, repeat the layer of rabri on top and finally garnish the dessert with cherries/ mint/ choco chips and allow to set and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours and then serve the yummy dessert.
DEEWANI RABRI SHAAN-E- KHAAS
Ingredients
For the Basic Rabri
Milk- 750 ml
Sugar- ¾ cup
Condensed milk- ½ cup
Green cardamom-1/2 tsp
Saffron- few strands
Mava- ½ cup grated
Malai- ½ cup milk top
For the Fusion Elements
Sponge cake crumbs-2 cups
Assorted fresh fruits- 1 cup, kiwi/ berries/ mango etc
Assorted dry fruits- 2-3 tbsp. chopped
Melted mixed fruit jam- 2-3 tbsp.
White chocolate- ½ cup melted
Chocolate chips- 2-3 tbsp.
Chopped cherries- 2-3 tbsp.
Fresh cream-2-3 tbsp.
Gulkhand- 2-3 tsp.
Method
- Prepare all the ingredients for the rabri based dessert and keep it all ready.
- Choose between doing this sweet dish in individual cups/ small dessert shot glasses or a deep pudding dish for around 4-6 people.
- Start with the base of rabri, which has been prepared by simmering full fat milk in a thick bottomed pan simmered with the other ingredients for a couple of hours until it gets a nice thick consistency, cool and chill it completely before being used further in the dessert
- Place the chilled rabri at the base of the bowls/dish and continue with the further assembly of the sweet dish. In a mixing bowl combine together the cake crumbs, the melted white chocolate, a few nuts, choco-chips and melted jam and mix well, rub them all into bread crumb consistency and sprinkle that over the base of chilled rabri in the bowls, drizzle some whipped cream, place some cut fruits and continue to layer.
- Garnish the sweet with chopped nuts, cherries etc and allow to chill for 1-2 hours, then serve the yummy dessert and relish the flavours.
BAKED RABRI KI KHWAHISH
Ingredients
For the Basic Rabri
Milk- 750 ml
Sugar- ¾ cup
Condensed milk- ½ cup
Green cardamom-1/2 tsp
Saffron- few strands
Mava- ½ cup grated
Malai- ½ cup milk top
For the Fusion Elements
Chocolate brownie- 1 cup cut into cubes
Choco chips-2-3 tbsp.
Vanilla flavoured custard-1 and a half cup chilled
Rabri-1 and a half cup
Jalebi- 3-4 pieces, broken up
Any leftover mithai- ¼ cup crumbled like pedha / burfi etc
Assorted chopped nuts- 2-3 tbsp.
Cherries/ candied peel/ mint/ caramelised fruits- as desired for garnish of the sweet dish.
Method
- Prepare all the ingredients for the rabri based dessert and keep it all ready, pre-heat the oven to 170 deg celsius.
- Choose between doing this sweet dish in individual cups/ small dessert shot glasses or a deep pudding dish for around 4-6 people.
- Start with the base of rabri, which has been prepared by simmering full fat milk in a thick bottomed pan simmered with the other ingredients for a couple of hours until it gets a nice thick consistency, cool and chill it completely before being used further in the dessert
- Place the chilled rabri at the base of a greased bake and serve dessert bowls/greased baking dish and continue with the assembling of the other ingredients one by one starting from crumbled chocolate brownies, assorted nuts, any indian mithai of your choice, jalebi, drizzle over some vanilla custard and repeat the layers.
- Place the loaded dessert in the oven for baking cover with foil on the top and allow to bake for 20-25 mins, remove and serve it warm with some chilled cinnamon flavoured whipped cream, and dark chocolate truffles.
RABRI AAM-E-KHAAS
Ingredients
For the Basic Rabri
Milk- 750 ml
Sugar- ¾ cup
Condensed milk- ½ cup
Green cardamom-1/2 tsp
Saffron- few strands
Mava- ½ cup grated
Malai- ½ cup milk top
For the Fusion Elements:
Fresh mango cubes- 1 cup
Fresh mango pulp- 1 cup
Pista- 2-3 tsp sliced
Cashews-1-2 tsp sliced
Raisins-2-3 tsp chopped
Dates- 2-3 tbsp. chopped
Digestive biscuits- 1 cup powdered
Fresh cream-1 cup sweetened
Mint leaves- 4-5
White chocolate chips-2-3 tsp
Praline/ walnut soil- 2-3 tsp for garnish
Method
- Prepare all the ingredients for the rabri based dessert and keep it all ready.
- Choose between doing this sweet dish in individual cups/ small dessert shot glasses or a deep pudding dish for around 4-6 people.
- Start with the base of rabri, which has been prepared by simmering full fat milk in a thick bottomed pan simmered with the other ingredients for a couple of hours until it gets a nice thick consistency, cool and chill it completely before being used further in the dessert.
- Place the chilled rabri at the base of the bowls/dish and continue with the assembly of the dessert. At the base place some chilled rabri, top with some fresh mango pulp, the digestive soil, some fresh mango, some nuts, some fresh cream and repeat the layers.
- We can also add assorted fruits as well with mango, also another way of doing it is to use some sliced cake crumbles, or some leftover crumbled up lemon flavoured muffins/ cupcakes etc as well.
- Finally garnish it and top it up well with mint/ cherries/ chocolate chips etc and allow the dessert to chill in the fridge for around 2-3 hours and then enjoy the real flavour of the mango this season in this combination.
GULABI RABRI KI BAHAAR
Ingredients
For the Basic Rabri
Milk- 750 ml
Sugar- ¾ cup
Condensed milk- ½ cup
Green cardamom-1/2 tsp
Saffron- few strands
Mava- ½ cup grated
Malai- ½ cup milk top
For the Fusion Elements
Milk- 2 cups
Khari biscuits- 6- 8 no
Condensed milk- 2-3 tbsp.
Rose syrup-1/4 cup
Cashews- 2-3 tsp. chopped
Raisins- 2-3 tsp. chopped
Raisins- 2-3 tsp. chopped
Dates- 2-3 tbsp. chopped
Gulkhand- 2-3 tsp.
Dried figs/ Anjeer- 2-3 tbsp. sliced
Walnuts- 2-3 tsp chopped.
White chocolate- 1 cup melted/ shavings
Mint/ cherries to garnish
Method
- Prepare all the ingredients for the rabri based dessert and keep it all ready.
- Choose between doing this sweet dish in individual cups/ small dessert shot glasses or a deep pudding dish for around 4-6 people.
- Start with the base of rabri, which has been prepared by simmering full fat milk in a thick bottomed pan simmered with the other ingredients for a couple of hours until it gets a nice thick consistency, cool and chill it completely before being used further in the dessert.
- To proceed further with the pre-prep for this sweet in a saucepan warm up the milk, add condensed milk and once it comes to a little boil, turn the flame off, add in crumbled khari biscuits, rose syrup and allow the khari to soak up the milk and get thickened up in around 12-15 mins.
- Now to assemble the dessert, place the chilled rabri at the base of the serving bowls/dish layer it with the assorted nuts and dates etc, place some white chocolate as well in between the layers, drizzle a little Gulkhand too, place the khari mixture and continue to layer the sweet.
- Allow to chill for around 2-3 hours in the fridge before serving this delicacy. It is best enjoyed with some a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and hot chocolate sauce to go alongside.
FUSION RABRI JALEBI KI PESHGI
Ingredients
For the Basic Rabri
Milk- 750 ml
Sugar- ¾ cup
Condensed milk- ½ cup
Green cardamom-1/2 tsp
Saffron- few strands
Mava- ½ cup grated
Malai- ½ cup milk top
For the Fusion Elements
Jalebi- 6-8 no
Mava pedha- 2-3 no
Assorted nuts- 2-3 tbsp. chopped
Chocolate sauce- 2-3 tbsp.
Peanut butter- 2-3 tsp
Honey- 2-3 tsp
Gulab Jamun- 2-3 no
Cherries/ mint/ chocolate shavings- for garnish as desired.
Method
- Prepare all the ingredients for the rabri based dessert and keep it all ready.
- Choose between doing this sweet dish in individual cups/ small dessert shot glasses or a deep pudding dish for around 4-6 people.
- Start with the base of rabri, which has been prepared by simmering full fat milk in a thick bottomed pan simmered with the other ingredients for a couple of hours until it gets a nice thick consistency, cool and chill it completely before being used further in the dessert.
- To proceed further with the pre-prep for this sweet slice the Gulab Jamun and crumble the mava pedha, combine together the chocolate sauce, peanut butter, honey and mix well add a little rum or brandy as well to make it more exciting.
- Now to assemble this dessert, start with the base of the chilled rabri and continue layering with the sliced jamuns, drizzle over the chocolate mixture, sprinkle the crumbled pedha, some nuts and repeat the layers.
- Allow the dessert to chill in the fridge for around 1-2 hours before deciding to serve it, since the chilled temperature adds to the taste when we relish this sweet dish.
Celebrity Master Chef Dr Kaviraj Khialani is a Mumbai-based hotel-restaurant and food consultant. He is specialised in over 33 international cuisines and has quality experience with hotels and airlines as a part of his long journey of over two decades in his chosen field. Chef Kaviraj is a renowned author, academician, food designer, writer and has also been awarded several national awards and global recognitions for his talent & outstanding achievements. Besides having been featured on several food shows on ColorsTV and Star Plus he is a mentor, coach and guide to aspiring to be future chefs and hoteliers of tomorrow.
He can be contacted at twitter: @kaviraj_chef, Mobile: 91 9820939336
