Kesar Elaichi Sharbat | Saffron Cardamom Cooler

 Saffron is the most expensive spice produced in the whole world and this is probably the only crop that needs to be harvested Manually and cannot be done by any modern machinery. 

The labour intensive process involved in the production and the delicate handling makes this the world's costliest spice . 1 pound (approx 490gms) can range anywhere between  500 USD to 5000 USD .

Saffron / Kesar is cultivated almost all over the globe but Spain , Kashmir and Iran are considered to produce the highest quality pure saffron .Iran produces almost 90% of the global production of Saffron and most of it is exported world wide . Afghanistan, Greece and Italy also are involved in the production of Saffron.

Some Interesting facts about Saffron

• It takes roughly 40hrs to pick 1,50,000 saffron flowers known as Crocus 
• 2,00,000 stigmas from 70,000 flowers will yield approx 450gms of saffron.
• One saffron crocus flower produces just 3 stigmas.
• The quality and strength of the saffron isn't the same world wide . The purest unadulterated saffron will have more stigmas and red strands and will release a natural yellow color with a mild soothing fragrance when immersed in milk / water. 

Saffron Test

Despite lot of quality checks and processes in place, adulterated saffron is widely available in the markets and we need to be careful while buying them. 

• Original Saffron when immersed in milk or water , will naturally turn the water or milk to light yellow . This can take anywhere between 15 mins to 1 hr.
• Once immersed, if you rub the strands between your fingers , they shouldn't break or disintegrate .
• If the water or milk immediately turns yellow or orange or red then the saffron is adulterated. 
• If the water or milk remains colorless , then the strands aren't saffron at all.

Saffron Storage

• Always store saffron in a cool dry place .
• Preferably store it in a glass bottle .
• Never keep the saffron in plastic cover even if it comes in that packing. 

Benefits of saffron

• Mood enhancer and mild usage of saffron is known to reduce stress levels and cheer one up.
• Saffron in warm milk is said to handle PMS and mood swing issues in women.
• Saffron is an antioxidant. 
• Saffron is an aphrodisiac. 

The  266th week of FMBH is a very rich and royal week with Saffron as the star ingredient suggested by Mayuri ji of Mayuri's Jikoni. Needless to say her blog is a treasure chest of lip smacking delicacies and her latest Gujurati Thali was nothing short of a Royal feast.

As most of you know I have a special soft corner for Kesar and cardamom and no sweet I make is devoid of these two royal and exotic spices.  Donot miss to check some exotic Saffron based desserts on my blog listed below. 

Kesar Pista Kulfi

Kesar Pista Shrikhand 

Kesar  Badam Milk 

Kesar Peda

Emirati Spl Saffron Tea

This time around , though I had many sweets in my mind which use saffron,  I wanted to prepare something where Saffron was the Hero ,to do justice to the title "Exotic Saffron" .

I had the chance to taste this refreshing Kesar Sharbat  with mild flavor of saffron and elaichi at a function few years back and when I prepared the Emirati Special Karak Chai using saffron , I was reminded of this cooler and as luck would have it I get to blog it this week.  A big thanks to Mayuri ji for suggesting this and claps to all my co bloggers for having voted for this choice .

It hardly takes 10 mins to prepare this sherbet and about an hour to cool . If you are hosting a party or get together with your family or friends , all you have to do is prepare this sharbat in advance and chill it for a few hours. You are all set to treat your guests to a Royal exotic welcome drink .

Preparation Time - 10mins

Cooking Time - 3 mins

Complexity - simple

Makes 2 glasses ( 200ml each)

Ingredients 

400 ml water (2 cups)
10 to 12 strands saffron 
1 tsp cardamom powder 
4 tsp sugar ( + / - as per your taste)

Method

• Soak the saffron strands in warm water for 10 mins to release the flavor and color. 
• Boil the water with sugar until sugar dissolves. No need for any string consistency. 
• Add in the soaked saffron , cardamom powder and bring it to a rolling boil.  The saffron strands on further boiling will give out a bright orangish yellow color and a soothing aroma.
• Bring it to room temperature and refrigerate it until serving. Serve chilled . Add in some ice cubes if you wish.

Tips 

• If you feel the sugar has a lot of  dust, then add a few drops of lime juice to remove the scum. Filter the sugar syrup and then add the saffron strands to prepare the sharbat.
• You can add a few drops of rose water if you like the taste.I kept it plain because the flavor of saffron is very soothing and refreshing 

Chai Karak - Emirati spiced Tea

 Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds made us take a virtual food tour of UAE / Middle East and explore their cuisine by suggesting #EmiratiEats as the theme for the 265th week of Foodie Monday Bloghop weekly activity.  

She was liberal enough and allowed us to stretch beyond the boundaries of UAE and even explore Middle Eastern cuisine if we weren't comfortable just with options from the countries of United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi , Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain.)

Initially, I was a little doubtful if I would be able to pull through this challenge because of paucity of time to procure certain ingredients which were not available easily at the local stores and the online delivery dint have an immediate delivery slot. So, I continued reading and researching further on the various vegetarian recipes prepared in the Middle East / UAE to zero down on something which can be prepared with what is available at home.

While doing so , I found that there is quite a lot of similarity in the Indian Cuisine and the Middle Eastern cuisine especially in sweets and hot beverages. It was nice to read about the usage of various spices in their cuisine. 

The Arabs love their spices and no recipe is complete without the addition of the exotic spices. Rose water , cardamom and saffron occupy the top place in their recipes.Needless to say , I too love the flavors of cardamom and saffron which I widely used in Indian Desserts too.

I found 3 recipes which were very interesting of which I finalised Chai Karak / Karak Chai - I too love my tea with exotic flavors just like the Emiratis so this really caught my attention.  

The other two recipes Khabeesa and Laban / Leben were equally intriguing to try which I am sure to do soon.  

• Khabeesa is a close cousin of the Indian Sheera / sooji / aate ka halwa but made using date sugar and flavored with rose water.  Some recipes use wheat flour as main ingredient while some call for sooji/semolina/ Farina .
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• Laban or Leben is plain buttermilk which is obtained after churning the yogurt to extract butter from it .

Chai Karak 

Sources from the internet quote that Tea /coffee culture has been a part of the Emirati Hospitality since time in memorial and every guest is treated with a cup of coffee or tea along with some dates . The Arabian Coffee is served as Black Coffee while the Tea is generally brewed with milk and some spices.  

Karak/kadak in hindi means "Strong".

Karak Chai means the tea prepared has a stronger brew . The tea concoction is simmered along with the spices until all the flavors are infused into the decoction.

The traditional Emiratis or older generation love their tea spcied with cardamom and saffron and sweetened using sugar . Other spices like cinnamon, ginger etc are added depending upon personal preferences. 

 I could sense the emotional connect between the Desi Cutting Chai and the Emirati Karak Chaai.

Just as we Indians love to sip on our tea at the " Chaai Tapris/ Tea kadai "  the Nationals of UAE also have a special love for tea and the tea shacks are open 24 hrs along the highways where people throng to catch a cuppa of nice hot tea flavored with spices as they drive along. 

Some recipes call for the using of Evaporated milk in the preparation of Karak Chai but it tastes equally good with regular milk too . If you follow Vegan diet , you may substitute with Almond or Soy Milk. 

Preparation Time - 5 mins

Brewing Time  - 15 to 20 min

Serves - 2 

Complexity - Easy 

Ingredients 

2.5 tsp good quality tea leaves 

1.25 cups water 

1 cup milk 

2 tbsp condensed milk (optional) 

2 tsp sugar ( + or - as per your taste)

3 to 4 green cardamom coarsely powdered 

7 to 8 strands saffron / kesar

Method

• Take the water in a sauce pan and add in the tea leaves and bring it to a simmering boil .
• Once it begins to boil, add in the cardamom powder and saffron strands and continue simmering on low flame .
• When you feel the aroma of saffron , cardamom and tea waft through, add in the sugar . 
• By this time , the tea decoction would have brewed in well .  Remember to keep the flame low at all time else the tea leaves on excess boiling will bring in a bitter taste and we don't want that.
• Lastly , add in the warm milk and condensed milk , stir well and bring to a boil.
• Strain this tea and serve while hot . You can add on a few strands of saffron while serving for added flavor and taste.

Tips

1. Condensed milk already has sugar , so adjust sugar keeping that in mind. 
2. Coarsely ground cardamom powder gives a nice flavor to the tea rather than finely ground cardamom powder.
3. The slow simmering is the technique to get the Karak Chai right , so donot lose patience and increase the flame to brew the tea. 1.25 cups of water must reduce to 1 cup by way of simmering. 

Some lipsmacking Middle Eastern/ Emirati recipes from my fellow bloggers 

Minty Lentil & Walnut Pilaf  ;a delicacy from Oman by Kalyani 

Lavaash / Lavaas by Archana ; a flat bread variety from Middle East 

Mint Almond Hummus by Sujata  is a delectable hummus with a flavor of mint.

Shorbat Adas by Mayuri ji is a lentil based shorba/ soup popularly made during Ramadan for breaking the Fast / Roza.

Spicy Carrot Hummus by Swaty is absolutely colorful and spiced up using Sriracha sauce. 

Baba Ghanoush by Poonam is a lipsmacking dip made using roasted Brinjals and flavored with tahini sauce. 

Linking this Karak Chai to week #265 - EmiratiEats of FMBH

Basundi - Traditional Indian Dessert (under 10 mins)

Basundi is a traditional and famous Indian dessert famous in Gujarat and Maharashtra regions of India . This dessert makes use of full fat milk and the milk is simmered on a low flame with regular stirring and when the milk is reduced to half and appears creamy sugar is added and it is garnished with dry fruits, saffron and cardamom powder . The traditional method of making this recipe is time consuming and needs a lot of patience .

Today , I will present to you the microwave version using condensed milk and the dessert can be ready in 10 mins flat . This , very rich dessert can be quickly prepared in case of unexpected guests or sudden sweet cravings .

Always use full fat milk or a cream rich milk for the  best experience. 

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 10 mins
Serves - 3-4
Complexity  - Simple

Ingredients
500ml full fat milk boiled
400 ml condensed milk
2 tsp sugar
Roughly chopped badams(almonds)and pista (pistachios)
1 tsp cardamom powder
Few strands of saffron/kesar

Method

• Take the boiled milk and condensed milk in a wide microwave safe bowl.
• Add a few strands of saffron and mix them all well.
• Microwave it for 5 mins. 
• Take it out , stir it well , add the dry fruits , cardamom powder and microwave again for 5 mins 
• Take it out , mix well, add 2 tsp of sugar and microwave for just 1 more min.
• Allow it to cool down to room temperature and then chill it in the refrigerator or serve it warm .
• If you want it slightly more thick,then microwave it for another 2 or 3 mins till you reach the desired consistency. 

Notes :
Preferably use the glass bowls which are microwave safe as it can withstand the heat well.

The bowl should be wide and have enough space so that the milk mixture doesn't over flow while cooking.

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Masala Doodh | Flavored Milk

Summer holidays in childhood were synonymous to outings and of course occasional indulgence into some cold drinks or chilled beverages.  I ,as a child would look forward to such trips so that I can also enjoy the privilege of my favorite beverages. Mom was very strict to not allow drinking any aerated drinks, so it used to be either fruit juice or  the yummy and tasty chilled Masala Doodh which was aptly called as "Energee" by Aarey Diary ( the govt recognized dairy of Maharashtra).
There used to be Elaichi flavor, Pista flavor which were always the top choices for most kids and we would love to sip the chilled milk with straws from the cute glass bottles. Those days , there were no take  away plastic bottles, so we had to stand at the stall, drink and give the shopkeeper the bottle back . Wow..such lovely memories of childhood.
Well, today to beat the extreme heat, I made my own version of Masala Doodh with the richness of dry fruits and some mild spices and enjoyed the chilled Milk .

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Complexity: simple
Serves- 3

Malai Kesar Pista Kulfi | Indian icecream | Indian Frozen Dessert

Kulfi or Qulfi is an Indian frozen diary dessert which is popular across the Indian Subcontinent . Kulfi is similar to ice cream but it is dense and creamier as there is no whipping involved in the process of preparation. The milk is reduced to a thick consistency and the necessary flavors are added to the reduced milk and then frozen . As the consistency is thick and dense ,kulfi doesn't melt as easily as an ice cream.
The typical flavors are elaichi (cardamom),pista (pistachio) ,saffron (kesar/zaffran) ,almonds + pista (badam + pista) and combination of various flavors like kesar ,pista,badam ,cardamom.

Today's recipe involves just 3 main ingredients and it can be made easily at the comfort of your home.
There are kulfi moulds in which you can set the kulfi or it can be set in a normal container and can be scooped out and served.

Preparation Time - 5 mins
Cooking Time - 30 mins
Setting Time - 8-10  hrs
Complexity - simple

Ingredients

1/2 litre milk with minimum 4.5% fat .( You can also use full fat cream milk)

400 ml condensed milk ( I have used milkmaid)

handful of badam and pista (almonds and pistachios)

2-3 cardamoms

1/2 tsp saffron strands / kesar 

Method

• In a blender jar, pulse the badam, pista and elaichi into a fine powder . Donot grind it more as it will start releasing the oils from the nuts.
• In a thick bottomed saucepan or even a 3 litre pressure cooker , boil the milk . As the milk boils reduce the flame and add the saffron strands and keep cooking for 7-8 mins until the milk reduces and becomes slightly thick . Keep stirring the milk,else it will stick to the bottom and burn .
• Add the can of condensed milk and continue to cook for another 4-5 mins . (Do not stop stirring) 
• Add the powdered badam pista , quickly stir it so that the lumps are not formed and if you see any lumps, break them using the back of a ladle.
• Turn off the stove and completely cool the mixture till it reaches to room temperature .
• Transfer it into kulfi moulds or you can even set it in a food grade plastic container or a stainless steel box and freeze it for 8-10 hours. (Adjust the freezer compartment settings to Maximum)
• If setting in a container, make sure you put a cling film cover before you can close the lid. This will prevent crystallization of ice .
• You can scoop the kulfi out and serve in ice cream bowls or de mould from the kulfi mould and serve it 

Tips:

• While the mixture is boiling ,keep scraping the milk that solidifies or sticks to the sides of the pan . This will ensure the mixture doesn't burn and it becomes easy to clean the pan later.
• Remove the kulfi container or mould and keep it in the refrigerator compartment about 5-10 mins before serving .This will make it easy to demould or scoop .

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Kesar Badam Milk | Saffron Almond Milk | बादाम दूध

Kesar Badam Milk is an Indian Beverage which is loaded with the richness of almonds and subtle flavor of saffron (kesar) and cardamom powder. Almonds possess a lot of health benefits and nutrition which is good for children as well as elders .
I offer Badam Milk as prasad /neivedhiyam to the Lord on festive days .A very very rich and flavorful drink which can be prepared in less than 5 mins if we have the Badam powder ready with us . I shall detail out the steps to make this Badam powder at home and store it for prolonged use.
Badam Milk can be served warm or even chilled.

Preparation Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 5mins
Complexity : Simple