Chocolate Basundi
According to the Hindu Calendar the month of August marked the beginning of the auspicious month of “SHRAVAN”. That usually means a lot of festivals and good times with friends and family. With that in mind I am going to keep my craziness in check for a while and make those recipes I grew up eating on such festival days. In India no festival is going to be complete without a variety of sweets so I am going to start of by making the quick and easy “BASUNDI”. It is a rich and delectable dessert flavored with cardamom and garnished with pistachios for a bit of crunch.
Basundi is typically milk which is thickened on a low flame and then sweetened and flavored as per taste. Now you may think that this dish is going to be extremely time consuming. But here’s the good news!!! You can use condensed milk to drastically reduce the cooking time. If you find sweetened condensed milk too sweet then use the unsweetened version and add sugar later on. It is usually made on special occasions in my home state of Maharashtra as well as our neighbor Gujarat. In the northern parts of India there is a similar preparation known as “RABRI” but its consistency is slightly thicker than the Basundi.
Growing up my mom always reserved this delicacy for the king of all festivals i.e DIWALI. But my mind works a little differently. I couldn’t wait for Diwali which wasn’t going to come for another two months. I decided to make it for the RAKHI festival which just happened to be this week (LAUGHS!!!!). Just look at the picture!!! Can y’all seriously blame me for being that impatient??? (CHUCKLES!!!).
RAKHI is a festival celebrating the special bond between a brother and sister and is celebrated with a lot of fanfare all over India. If my sister was with me on this special day then this dish would have been like a cherry on top of my chocolate ice cream so to speak. The truth is she is not here so I can’t have my chocolate ice cream but I can at least have “CHOCOLATE BASUNDI”. My sweet tooth always wants chocolate so I couldn’t resist making this variation of the traditional recipe by using chocolate milk instead of regular milk.
It is extremely easy to make and requires very few ingredients. Simply get milk to a boil on medium heat. Then add the sweetened condensed milk and simmer for about 10 minutes. Scrape the sides as milk thickens. Finally add cardamom for extra flavor and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Top it with pistachios or any nuts of your choice. Serve warm or chilled. Rest assured, one sip is going to make you want to drink the entire bowl in one go!!!!
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Chocolate Basundi
Ingredients
- 3 cups Chocolate Milk
- ¾ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
- ¼ cup Pistachios
- 10 Cardamom Pods
Instructions
- Get milk to a boil on medium heat.
- Then add the condensed milk and simmer for about 10 minutes. Scrape the sides as milk thickens.
- Peel the cardamom pods and grind the seeds into a fine powder.
- Then add cardamom for extra flavor and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Top it with pistachios or any nuts of your choice.
- Serve hot or cold as per taste.
Hi very creative and yes am very much tempted to try this… BTW chocolate milk is like the normal milk available in the market right… Can u pls lemme knw the name
Thanks Matilda.. You are right chocolate milk is simply regular milk but flavored with chocolate. You can use any brand like nesquick, horizon, yohoo etc.
Very innovative recipe Rahul…an you please let me know which brand chocolate milk you used? Also do you need to use full fat milk? Thanks in advance
You can use any locally available brand of chocolate milk. And there is no need to use full fat milk since I used regular 2% milk.. 🙂
Thanks for the quick reply..I am going to make this over weekend..
Let me know how it turns out.. 🙂
What is the meaning of SHRAVAN? Besides enjoying delicious sweets to the likes of this beautiful basundi! 🙂
The name Shravan is derived from the name of a star which rules the skies and this month is actually considered the holiest month according to the Hindu calendar. Which is why there are a bunch of festivals in this auspicious month.. 🙂
Sweets and festivals are made for each other! 🙂 I love basundi and chocolate basundi sounds like a genius idea. What else would a chocolate lover dream for? 🙂
Very well said Anu. Any festival just feels incomplete without sweets. The chocolate idea hit me when I saw the chocolate milk right next to the regular milk. After that the temptation to use the chocolate milk was just too much to resist.. 🙂
I don’t blame you at all for not waiting for Diwali, Rahul – this Basundi sounds insanely delicious! Love that you made a chocolate version of it – hope you and your sister got to celebrate Rakhi even though y’all were far apart.
I have such a sweet tooth Shashi that it is just impossible to wait too long.. 🙂 Rakhi celebration or any celebrations for that matter is the one time I really miss being in India with family. All I can do is just talk or skype with them on the phone..
I couldn’t have waited either!! This looks like such a dreamy treat 🙂
Thank you. I guess great minds think alike Megan.. 🙂
WOW! This looks gorgeous. My husband would love if I prepare this for him. Thank you so much for sharing!
It tastes great too.. Hope you guys like it Kushi.. 🙂
You are right Rahul. Any festival is incomplete without any delicious and tasty recipes. Yumm recipe !!!
Food just makes these happy occasions extra special Puja.. Even simple recipes like this one..
Sounds like a fun — and tasty! — dish. And one I’ve never made. Thanks for the primer!
It sure was John and oh so easy to make… 🙂
So creamy and rich…chocolate and pistachio are super together.
You are correct Angie. Its a tried and tested combination which never fails.. 🙂