Tuesday 31 March 2015

Anokhi kheer : Royal cuisine

I always have a conflict in my mind over "Tradition v/s Modern". I don't mean here in the sense of clothes, fashion or freedom but the cultures and values that that make us who we are. In the age of modernization, the originality is somewhere lost and we are losing connection with our roots. I am not being judgmental here or biased, but i would love to see kids play outdoors than play X-boxes and Playstations. I would love to see them having their food hearing the birds chirp or watching the sky than watching Doremon's and Chota Bhim. This definitely doesn't mean you are raising a Tarzan, but life's teachings are the best than those learnt with technology. A very dear friend of mine from Spain closed his Facebook account recently and while we chatted on email, he gave me a very good reason on "Going natural". He said, we are so dependent on "Apps" that we have lost our tendency of natural instincts. No doubt, we rely so much of G maps (For some reason, i find those even more confusing :)) when we have a tendency to find the places ourselves.



On the other hand, I experienced a "hands-on" example of "Benefits of technology" recently, when my Cylinder gas finished all of a sudden on Saturday night. It wouldn't have been so much of a worry if we had just two mouths to feed (Me and Hubby). But here we had three 4-legged paws with us (My pet sitting clients) who ate home-cooked meals. So, the microwave came to the rescue. Rice, chicken and veggies - everything went straight inside and my pet-paws licked their bowls clean with wagging tails :) If not for microwave, i would have had to scratch brains what to feed them. (Of course, there is always an option of raw veggies, fruits, curd etc but some paw kids won't taste food without chicken :))

So, the conflict always remains but somehow i am a little inclined towards the traditional, old-age, historical stuff. With food too, i love to dig out old recipes, read how it's traditionally cooked and try them out. This curiosity has definitely got me hooked to this "Lost recipes" program on Epic channel. In one of the episodes, they covered all about the Hyderabadi cuisine. Normally they show 3 recipes in one episode, so one of the recipes in that was Anokhi Kheer. The recipe sounded so simple, that i at once, tried it and it tastes delicious. 



The recipe was shown cooked by Mrs. Geeta Devi who belongs to a family that worked closely with Nizams and thus has access to all the royal recipes, which are published in her book : The Jewels of Nizam - Recipes from the Khansamas of Hyderabad. Geeta Devi has been associated with the Golkonda Hotel, Hyderabad as a food consultant, and hence i believe this kheer is available at their restaurant. She describes her expertise as "Deccani cuisine" and dug into the history of Nizam cuisine to find out the traditional recipes and their methods of cooking. Cooking during those times was mostly subjected to availability of raw materials, hence this Anokhi kheer came into existence.

Anokhi kheer she says basically would have been influenced from Afganisthan and is made of dry fruits and onion. Yes, a kheer made of ONION!!!!This kheer was also eaten by poor men, as onions during those days were cheap and would be a part of the ration that one got. This kheer was eaten during summer time as onions lower body temperature. In winters, "Gobi ki kheer" or "lasan ki kheer" was made to keep the body warm. 

Ingredients:

In the program, she used 100 gm onions for 2 litres of milk, but i made it into half quantity. 

Milk - 1 litre (I used full cream, but you can use toned or skimmed milk too)
Onions - 50 gms (about 1/3 cup)
Cardamom - 8-10
Almonds - 1/4 cup (Add more according to choice)
Pistachios - 1/4 cup (Add more according to choice)
Sugar - I added about 5-6 tsp (Adjust according to taste)


Recipe:

Boil the milk and simmer on low flame till it starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, slice onions lengthwise and wash them about 4-5 times to remove the bitterness or spiciness if any (Depends on the kind of onion you are using).

Soak the almonds in water and when soft, chop them lengthwise or crush them lightly in a mortar and pestle.

Also chop the pistachios lengthwise.

Remove cardamom seeds and make them in a powder in a mortar and pestle.

Once the milk has reduced to half, add the onions. 

Keep stirring at intervals and scrape the cream from the sides.

Once it turns pinkish, add the cardamom powder.

Stir in sugar and mix well. Simmer till sugar dissolves and milk reduces little more.

Add half of the dry fruits and mix well.

While serving, add rest of the dry fruits on top to garnish.



Anokhi kheer is ready :)

By the way, for all my friends who don't know Hindi, Anokhi means "Different or unique". An onion kheer is definitely unique, isn't it?

I have purposely kept the consistency a little thin, but you can thicken it as much as you want. Just make sure it shouldn't be too thick like a halwa.

Happy Cooking :)



24 comments:

  1. That recipe is unique and I enjoyed the story behind it. Boy, I hear you on the phone thing. I don't even have an i-phone. When we were at Universal Studios theme parks a couple weeks ago it was very disturbing to see how everyone was literally led around the park by their phone. There is so much visual stimulation at the parks, but it was still not enough for people to unplug for awhile. And no one can just enjoy an experience anymore with out sharing and bragging to their friends in real time. Good grief!

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    1. Thanks Sharon, glad you liked it :) I totally agree with you. The last time we went to Mughal Gardens at President's house here in New Delhi, we experienced the same. Its sad how technology was overpowered the young generation ( makes me feel too old ) Hahah

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  2. Its the same story over here. Kids prefer computer games and they already have a Ipad by the time they are two years old. Not sure what but parents are the reason. Mmm!! In fact, they have no time to talk or even greet people for being engrossed on playing. The kheer is nice and never knew onion can be added.

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    1. Yes Nava, there are no more board games or outdoor games being played. Parents yes, are responsible to some extent, but i see parents have no choice but to give up on kids demands and kids know their way to get stuff from parents. Well, it's a never ending debate! Thanks for appreciating the kheer :)

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  3. Wow, Gauri, that's a unique kheer indeed and really tempting to find out what the flavors would taste like:) Technology has its positives and negatives...I think it's become the ultimate test to see what people are really made of, in the face of temptation and vanity.

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    1. I agree Peri. Though i feel, technology is important, it is also important to imbibe the "Natural" things in yourself and people around you, otherwise they are often neglected and hence said we have rains in April!!! Ignoring nature will definitely lead to worse :(
      Glad that you liked the kheer!

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  4. Beautiful and indeed a royal kheer Gauri. Love it. As always, your presentation is awesome. I love the way you have narrated the story behind. I can relate completely to this. :)

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    1. Thanks a ton Ritu, appreciate your words :)

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  5. Wow Gauri! This 'Anokhi Kheer' is indeed anokhi. A kheer with onion? I mean is it for real! OH! I love onions, and I bet this kheer would taste as delectable as it sounds! Just one word for this kheer - AMAZING! Loving it! :)

    Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen

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    1. Hahaha, i had the same thought but it really turns out great :) Try it out sometime

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  6. hi, looks like tairu here or vege yogurt. its simply delicious

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  7. totally loved reading through your post:) I guess technology is good, but depending on it completely is a no no for me. I like to use pestle for grinding.
    the kheer is indeed anokhi :)

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    1. Yes, me too have stopped getting the readymade ginger garlic paste. I always grind a fresh paste in mortar and pestle. Thanks Shweta :)

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  8. thats a very unique kheer..have never heard of using onions in kheer...truly ANOKHA recipe.. Thanks for sharing.. tempted to truy soon

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    1. Sure dear, do try it out and let me know how it turns out for you :)

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  9. Interesting post and I agree with your thoughts here.
    Anyway this dessert looks delicious....

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  10. This is definitely a royal kheer..no doubt..Loved it dear:)..Very unique recipe:)..I totally agree with your thought on technology:)

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    1. Thanks dear Padma for you encouraging thoughts always :)

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  11. Lots of great looking dishes here! I can't keep up with all the dishes I want to make...there's always so many good ones :)
    Indian Restaurants in Laxmi Nagar

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  12. I just wanted to make a quick comment to say GREAT blog!….. I’ll be checking in on a regularly now….Keep up the good work restaurant in karolbagh

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Appreciate your comments, Thank you so much for for dropping by :)!!!