TREATS TO RELISH:

THESE recipes are taken from Mountain Berries & Desert Spice by Sumayya Usmani. Published by Frances Lincoln. ISBN: 978 0 7112 3852 7

Bakar khani (Sweet puff pastry biscuits) (Makes 8-10)

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp ghee for greasing tray and fingers
• 320g/11¼oz packet ready-rolled puff pastry
• plain flour, for dusting
• 2 cardamom pods, seeds removed and finely ground
• 1 egg yolk
• 1tbsp white poppy seeds
• 1tbsp sesame seeds
• 2tbsp caster sugar

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ gas mark 4 and grease a baking tray. Spread out the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface and cut out pastry lengthways into 2.5cm/1 inch strips.

Sprinkle the ground cardamom over each pastry strip, then rub a tiny bit of ghee on your fingers and roll up the strips until you have a small cylinder.

• Using your palms, press each cylinder down flat, spreading the corners so that the pastry is a little thinner at the edges compared to the middle of the disc to allow the biscuit to rise in a dome.

Stir the egg yolk and milk together in a small bowl and brush the egg wash over the pastries.

• Sprinkle with the poppy seeds, sesame seeds and sugar, and then place on the prepared baking tray.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until gold­en brown and puffy. Serve warm or cold. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Rose and lychee sagodanna pudding (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 150g/5½oz /1 cup tapioca pearls
• 350ml/12fl oz/1½ cups milk
• 150ml/5fl oz/2-3 cup coconut milk
• 50ml/2fl oz/ scant ¼ cup water
• 2tbsp dried milk powder
• 2 cardamom pods, seeds removed
• 200g/7oz/generous 1 cup caster sugar
• 180g/6oz can lychees, in a heavy syrup
• 50ml/2f oz/scant ¼ cup rose syrup

To decorate:

• 8 dried rose petals
• tbsp slivered pistachios
• canned lychees

Method:

• Wash the tapioca pearls, then soak in a bowl of water for one hour, or overnight.

The next day, drain the tapioca, discard the soaking water and place the tapioca in a sauce­pan with the milks, water, milk powder, carda­mom seeds, sugar and lychee syrup (set the ly­chees aside).

• Cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes until the tapioca is cooked through and transparent. Add half the lychees and the rose syrup, then turn the heat to low and cook for another five minutes.

Pour the tapioca into a serving dish and allow to cool completely before chilling in the fridge for four-five hours before serving. When ready to serve, decorate with rose petals, slivered pis­tachio and lychee.

THESE recipes are taken from Chai,Chaat & Chutney by Chetna Makan. Published by Octo­pus Books. ISBN: 978 1 78472 287 6

Falooda (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon sweet basil seeds (sabja seeds)
• 500ml (18fl oz) water
• 50g (1¾ oz) glass noodles (falooda sev)
• 8 tablespoons rose syrup
• 400ml (14fl oz) chilled milk
• 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream
• handful of pistachio nuts, finely chopped
• handful of almonds, finely chopped

Method:

• Soak the basil seeds in the measured water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the packet instructions and leave to cool completely. To assemble the falooda, pour two ta­blespoons of the rose syrup into a serving glass.
• Add two tablespoons of the now much expanded soaked basil seeds, then 100ml (3½ fl oz) of the chilled milk. Add a handful of noodles and top with a scoop of ice cream. Sprinkle over pistachios and almonds. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to create four servings and serve immediately.

Cardamom and Pistachio Kulfi (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 litres (2¾ pints) milk
• 50g (1¾ oz) gold­en caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped pis­tachio nuts, plus extra to decorate

Method:

• Pour the milk into a large, heavy-based saucepan. Bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for three hours, stirring every five-seven minutes to ensure the milk does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Once the milk has reduced by two-thirds, measure it to ensure the volume has reduced to 500ml (18 fl oz), then return it to the pan. Add the sugar and cardamom and stir for one min­ute, then add the pistachios.

• Pour the mixture into a jug and leave to cool a little. Divide the mixture between six kulfi cones (use plastic containers if you don’t have any) and freeze overnight. When ready to serve, dip the cones in warm water for a few seconds, then turn out the kulfi onto individual serving plates. Sprinkle with the extra pistachios to serve.