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Doodhpak

The milk is slow-boiled down before serving and it is eaten with puris rather than on its own.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (whole milk).

Ingredients

Method

  1. THE MILK IS SLOW-BOILED DOWN BEFORE SERVING AND IT IS EATEN WITH PURIS RATHER THAN ON ITS OWN. Its article is short and both halves are in it: the milk is slow-boiled to thicken and sweeten, and the dish is accompanied by pooris. That second part is what makes it a different proposition from Kheer, as on its own page. This is not a bowl of dessert eaten with a spoon -- it is poured over or scooped up with hot deep-fried bread, which means it has to be thick enough to sit on a puri without running off it, and sweet enough to carry plain fried dough.
  2. SO THERE IS LESS RICE AND MORE REDUCTION. Eighty grams of rice to a litre and a half of milk, and the milk is reduced by about a third before the rice is even soft. The body comes from the milk rather than from starch, which keeps it pourable.
  3. IT IS A LONG SLOW BOIL, NOT A SIMMER WITH A LID. An hour, uncovered, stirred often. Covered, nothing evaporates and you have thin sweet rice.
  4. THE RICE IS RINSED AND GOES IN AFTER THE FIRST REDUCTION. Twenty minutes into the boil, so the grains spend their time in milk that is already concentrating.
  5. THE SAFFRON IS A REAL QUANTITY HERE. Its article names saffron in a four-item ingredient list, which tells you it is a main flavour and not a tint. A good pinch, ground and steeped in warm milk.
  6. THE SUGAR GOES IN LATE AND IT IS TASTED AGAINST THE BREAD. Once the rice is soft. Sweetness that is right in a spoonful on its own is thin against a plain puri, so taste it with a piece of bread rather than alone.
  7. THE NUTS ARE CHOPPED AND STIRRED THROUGH, NOT SCATTERED. Its article says garnished with chopped dry fruits and nuts. Stirred in, they are in every mouthful; on top they fall off the bread.
  8. IT IS SERVED HOT WITH THE PURIS STRAIGHT FROM THE PAN. The contrast of hot crisp bread against thick sweet milk is the point, and it lasts about two minutes.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

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