Category: Recipes

Shrimps in smoky chipotle sauce

Post author By Anagha
Post date June 24, 2015
No Comments on Shrimps in smoky chipotle sauce

Shrimps in smoky chipotle sauce

Last night’s meal was theme based and the theme was ‘Smoke’. All the dishes made had an element of ‘smoke’. It also had another common theme that the flavors were from Mexican/Latin cuisine. So I made three dishes, ‘Barley risotto’, Roasted corn and Mango Salad’ & Chipotle shrimps. It was yummy. I loved the fact that it used the summer ingredients and was perfect for the warm weather.

I try to ensure that the meals are balanced so in this meal with have barley for the starch, shrimps for the protein and corn & mango for the vegetables.

Shrimps in smoky chipotle sauce

The recipes was based on many recipes I have read and eaten, so thank you to those folks for inspiring me. It is easy to make and you can play with the ingredients to get the right taste for your family.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb of shrimps, peeled and deveined

1 tsp crushed garlic

2 tbsp flour

1 large tomato , quarterd

1/2 large white onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 chipotle chilies

2 tbsp cilantro

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tbsp molasses

1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp paprika

Method

Saute the onions and garlic until tender, dont let them burn. Grind the tomatoes, along with the sauted onions & garlic.

Take the shrimps in a bowl,add some salt, crushed garlic, chopped cilantro & mix it well. Add a couple of tbsp of flour and mix well.

Heat some more oil in a pan. Sauté the shrimps till then are a little under done. Remember they will cook more when we heat them up with the sauce. Take the shrimps out on a plate.

In the same pan, add some more oil or butter. Add the blended tomato paste to the pan and cook for a few minutes, add molasses and worchestire sauce to taste. Once the sauce comes together nicely, add back the shrimps.

Serve with a rice or potatoes on the side. Last night I served it with the Barley Risotto & Roasted Corn Salsa.

Tags chipotle, shrimp, smoked

Fusion Rice Side dish whole grain Whole Grains

Mexican risotto…wholy Smokes !

Post author By Anagha
Post date June 23, 2015
1 Comment on Mexican risotto…wholy Smokes !

I love making dinners based on a theme, love bringing all the elements of the meal together. Sometimes the common thread can be a cuisine, an ingredient, season or sometimes it can be a cooking technique. Tonight’s meal was Smoking hot.

I love the smoky flavor in dishes, be it a spice like a smoked paprika, smoky pepper like chipotle, smoked gouda, hickory smoked meats or smoking a cooked dish using a traditional ‘Dhuri’ technique from India. I just learnt that the Dhuni technique is used very extensively in a Dham cooking. I make this condiment with Walnut Chutney, a recipe from the northern indian Kashmiri cuisine, where I use a hot coal & ghee to create the smoke to flavor the dish.

Going back to my dinner theme tonight, so if you have not already guessed, the theme was ‘smoking’. I made this Barley Risotto with a mexican twist, Shrimps in tomato based sauce & Corn salad. Each dish had a ‘smoky’ element to it. Today I am sharing the recipe for the risotto. The smoky flavors come from the roasted poblanos and smoked paprika.

As I mentioned, my family is trying to eat only whole grains and use as little processed food as possible. So I try to make different grains every day, rotating between brown rice,quinoa, bulgur, wild rice, farro, whole wheat & barley. Today it was barley’s turn. So I decided to make this dish, I think it tasted like the risotto, and since I incorporated the mexican flavors, I called it Mexican risotto. Barley is a very commonly eaten in many parts of the world. It is known for many good things including calming your stomach down. My grandmom used to give us barley water when we went a little crazy eating garbanzo beans. 🙂

Ingredients

1 cup of Barley

1/2 white onion finely chopped

1 garlic chopped

2 Poblano peppers

1 tbsp Cilantro chopped

1/2 cup cream

1/4 cup white wine ( optional)

1/2 tbsp Smoked Paprika

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp oil

Method

Pressure cook barley with a little bit of salt & 2 1/2 cups of water. I like to cook it in a little more water so it cooks and has extra starchy liquid, this makes the dish creamy with little amount of cream.
Roast the poblanos until charred. Keep them covered in a bowl and when cooled peel and chop.

Heat oil, saute onions & garlic. When lightly browned, add the chopped poblano and paprika. Now add the wine if using and cook for 2-3 mins.

Add the barley along with the cooking liquid and mix through. Adjust the salt.

Add the cream and heat it through.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Sometimes I add chorizo to make it a one pot meal. I saute the chorizo, when cooked remove it on a plate. In the rendered fat, saute the onions etc and follow the rest of the steps.

Tags barley, poblano, risotti, smoked paprika

Curry Tamil Uncategorized

Kozhi Korma – a delicious curry with southern indian flavors

Post author By Anagha
Post date June 22, 2015
No Comments on Kozhi Korma – a delicious curry with southern indian flavors

Kozhi Korma

When I came to the US of A, I barely knew how to cook. I still remember my first attempt at making a ‘Capsicum- Potato’ stir-fry, it was a disaster. I underestimated how big the bell peppers were and created more of a mess than a stir-fry. I used to call my Mom practically every day to ask for recipes, and call to India would cost $1.2. I think I used to spend just as much money on phone calls for making dinner as I spent for groceries. Internet was not available so the only source was cook books and of course, Call Mom.

Fast forward a few years, internet came along and so did Facebook. I sometimes wonder how we lived our lives before the internet was around. I love being able to learn about different cultures, their traditions and rituals, and naturally along with that their cuisines. I love sharing what I have learnt and along the way learn a few things from people who are generous enough to share their knowledge. I am learning how to bake, how to take good pictures and so much more.

One such source is a Facebook group I am part of, it is all about honest to goodness food. Many talented chef are part of that group and share some amazing tried and tested recipes. One such recipe is ‘Kozhi Korma’, my co food lover Harjeet shared it.

It is amazingly easy to make but very very yummy. It uses very basic ingredients that you would have in your pantry and comes together very quickly. I like the fact that it comes together in less than 30 mins.

Ingredients

1 lB chicken ( I prefer using boneless since my family likes it that way)

3 Tablespoon Oil
2 Teaspoon Ginger chopped
3 Teaspoon Garlic chopped
3 Tablespoons Coconut milk
2 Teaspoons Green chili chopped
2 Teaspoons Chopped coriander
10 Curry leaves
4 Tablespoons Onions chopped
4 Tablespoons Tomatoes chopped
1 Teaspoon Aniseed
1 Teaspoon Mustard seeds
1″ Cinnamon
5 Cloves
Salt to taste
1 Teaspoon Turmeric
3 Teaspoons Coriander power
2 Teaspoons Red chili powder
2 Teaspoons Tamarind pulp
1 Teaspoon Curry powder

Method

Heat oil in a Lagan add mustard seeds,cinnamon,clove & curry leaves
Add onion and sauté for them for a while.

Now add chicken along with chopped ginger, garlic, green chili & stir fry for a while. Add all dry spices and sauté them for a while,add some water and cook till chicken is little tender.

Kozhi Korma 4

Add chopped tomatoes and add coconut milk. Add tamarind pulp and check for seasoning.Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with steamed rice.

Kozhi Korma 3

Tags chicken, chicken curry, coconut milk, curry leaves, easy

Middle eastern Side dish whole grain

Bulgur polow with barberries & Pistachios

Post author By Anagha
Post date June 18, 2015
3 Comments on Bulgur polow with barberries & Pistachios

As a family we have decided to minimize the consumption of processed food, and we are trying to eat more whole grain as possible. As a part of this exercise I make many different grains like Barley, Whole wheat, millet etc, but sometimes when I am in a hurry, I use bulgur wheat, it cooks faster than the whole wheat and can lend itself very well to many dishes.

Bulgur polow

I like to use similar flavors throughout the meal. So when I decided to make Grilled Halloumi with mint sauce, I also decided to flavor my bulgur with the same flavors. This bulur packs a lot of delicious flavors and compliments any meat / veg dish.

Ingredients

1 cup bulgur

2.5 cups water

salt to taste

1/2 cup barberries ( if you can not find these, you can use cranberries instead)

1/2 cup lightly roasted pistachios

1/4 cup mint leaves

dressing

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Method

Cook the bulgur as per the instructions and keep aside to cool. I boil the water, add bulgur and cook for 7-8 mins, cover the pot and let it steam to complete cooking.

Make dressing by whisking together the pomegranate molasses and olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Mix in the cooled bulgur. If you are using cranberries, you can add a little more molasses since the cranberries are not as tart as the barberries.

Mix in the barberries, pistachios and mint. You can serve this as a side to the Chicken Koobideh Kabab.

Middle eastern Side dish

Grilled halloumi with mint sauce

Post author By Anagha
Post date June 18, 2015
1 Comment on Grilled halloumi with mint sauce

I love summer…love the hot weather, abundance of produce and of course there is light till much later. We love to sit out on the patio and have dinner. So I try to make simple dinners for summer, something that show cases the fresh herbs, light and fun to eat.

Last week in the farmers market I got a really nice bunch of mint and eggplants. I wanted to make something with those..then when I went to Trader Joe’s, I saw fresh halloumi and there…dinner was planned.

I decide to make grilled halloumi with mint sauce along with grilled eggplants.

Ingredients

Halloumi cheese sliced

1 Large eggplant

Mint sauce

1/2 cup of mint leaves

1 clove of garlic

1/8 th cup Cashews

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Method

Slice the eggplant in 1/8th inch thick slices and salt them from both sides. Set aside and you will see that the salt takes out some moisture along with some bitterness.

After 30 mins, dry the eggplant slices and grill them on a griddle pan.

Wash the halloumi to remove any excess salt it might have, pat dry and also grill on the griddle. I use Cuisinart Panini maker.

Sauce

Grind all the ingredients till well blended.

To present stack the eggplant slice with the cheese slice, drizzle with the mint sauce and top with ‘Pomegranate molasses pearls’. You can buy Pomegranate molasses in any middle eastern store, I love using it many recipes. It is basically pomegranate juice that is reduced till it gets a thick syrupy consistency. I make pearl using agar agar and pomegranate molasses.

I love making this as a part of the middle eastern feast- Chicken Koobideh, Bulgur polow & the grilled cheese with mint sauce.

Tags bulgur, halloumi, middle eastern, pomegranate molasses

Condiments French Jam & Preserves

A tale of two friends-Apricot lavender jam

Post author By Anagha
Post date May 16, 2015
3 Comments on A tale of two friends-Apricot lavender jam

I love spring. The weather is perfect, there are blossoms everywhere and the air is fragrant. I go the farmer’s market every week. And when you start seeing fresh green pea shoots, you know that Spring is here. A few weeks go by and then suddenly you see heaps and heaps of fresh spring peas, sweet, tender and just plain delicious. Right about this time you also see fresh apricots in the market. Although I am not a huge fan of apricots as a fresh fruit, especially when compared to nectarines and peaches, I love dried apricots.

This week I got two gifts from my friends..my neighbor gave a bag full of Apricots and my farmer’s market friend gave me a bunch of Lavender. Last year she had told me about this place not to far from where we live, ‘Lavender Hollow’. As the name can tell it is a Lavender farm and the visit was just amazing. The air was filled with the beautiful lavender frangrance adn there were bunches of fresh cu lavender everywhere.

I thought it was very sweet of my friends to share these things with me so I decided to make something that I can share back with them. So here is how I combined the two to make one yummy preserve.

Apricot jam with fresh apricots, dried apricot, Fresh lavender & Riesling!

First time tried it with lavender and it was delicious.

Apricot Lavender Preserve

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds fresh apricots

• 12 ounces dried apricots

• 4 cups sugar

• Juice of 1 lime

• Juice of 1 orange

• Zest of 1 orange

• 10 ounces of Riesling

• 1 tsp Lavender flowers

Method

Chop dried apricots, place in glass bowl, add wine and soak overnight.

In a new bowl, quarter fresh apricots, remove seeds, chop to a bite size bit

In nonreactive pan, add fresh apricots, sugar, orange zest/juice, and lime juice.

Simmer about 10 minutes, mixing all ingredients together until sugar dissolves

Remove from heat, cover, refrigerate overnight. Next day, add dried apricot mixture to fresh apricot mixture . Stirring, simmer until thickens

Add Lavender Flowers

Put the jam in jars and seal in water bath

I tend to simmer only for a short time and shut off the heat, letting the jam cool. I reheat for a short time again to thicken the jam. I usually make just enough to last for a few weeks so dont necessarily can it.

I love serving it with some creamy mascarpone cheese on crackers. It makes for a very fancy looking appetizer.

Cakes dessert Mexican

Tres Leches ( or Quatro Leches) cake

Post author By Anagha
Post date May 5, 2015
2 Comments on Tres Leches ( or Quatro Leches) cake

When I came to the US amongst other things I missed eating what we call ‘Pastries’ in India. Desserts like pineapple pastry, Black forest cake, they all tasted different than what I was used to. So when I my husband brought a piece of this cake, I was not to keen on trying it. He insisted and said, ” I guarantee you will love it”. He was right, very first bit and I fell in love with this cake. There was something in it that reminded of the Indian desserts I am very fond of, that cake was ‘Tres Leches cake’

Tres leches cake is a classic mexican dessert, which translates to ‘Three Milk Cake’. Here I share a recipe that is actually Quatro Leches Cake.I also make an Indian version of this cake, I love it. If you want to try here is a link for ‘Thandai Leches Cake’

Ingredients

For the sponge cake

4 eggs at room temperature separated

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp Vanilla essence 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Sift flour with baking powder & salt.

Mix the Thandai Masala with the milk.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for 1min till they start becoming a but frothy.

Add sugar and beat till soft peaks form.

Add one yolk at a time and keep whisking.

Add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively.

So it will be something like- 1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup flour

Take a baking pan and butter and flour it well. It is very important since that will ensure that the cake comes out of the pan in a clean way.

I also put a parchment paper for extra ease.

Now pour the batter in the prepared pan. Make sure the pan in at least 10 inches round or even 9x 13, if you take a smaller pan the cake is too tall and the liquid does not get absorbed very well.

Bake for about 30 mins until the knife comes out clean.

Let the cake cool on a stand for about 30 mins.

Now the fun part…

Milk goodness mixture

1 14 oz can of condensed milk

1 can of evaporated milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix all the liquid ingredients.

Transfer the cake to a deeper dish, large enough to hold the cake and also hold all the liquid volume.

Poke a lot of holes in the cake

Now pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly paying extra attention to the edges.

Keep it in fridge ideally overnight. I feel that it allows the cake to take in all the liquid and develop some harmony.

As you can see the entire amount of liquid is all absorbed.

Frosting

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup of powdered sugar ( optional)

Whip the cream with or without the sugar until soft peaks form.

Now the bestest part

Serve yourself a nice big slice. Turn some nice music on. Sit down and enjoy the cake.

You can top the slice with fresh fruit. I like it with strawberries, I feel they add a nice tang that helps cut through the rich sweet, milky cake.

This recipe inspired by a couple of chefs on food network, Alton brown and Marcella.

Tags dessert

Cakes dessert Fusion Indian Mexican

Thandai leches cake

Update : March 2021

This time I made this recipe as cupcakes in these cute clay pot silicone molds, they look exactly like how the Thandai is served in India for Holi

I love deserts especially when they involve dairy :). So when I first ate ‘ Trés Leche Cake’, I fell in love with it. All this while I had eaten cakes that were that were like a pound cake so I could not get over the fact that this cake was so moist and yummy, my Aai also loved it and we knew we had to make it at home.

Usually I try to make something special for my close friends’s birthdays. This very good friend celebrates her birthday in April which is also the time when Indian celebrate ‘Holi’ , the festival of colors.

As you know I love to put an indian twist on dishes. As I was making this cake around Holi, I thought why not make this cake with ‘Thandai flavors’!

Thandai is a milk based drink made on Holi. The literal meaning of the word is ‘ a cooler’, something that cools the body. It is perfect for Holi since that is summer time in India. To make Thandai, a paste is made with various spices and almonds etc and then mixed in sweetened milk. It so served in small clay cups. The paste has nuts like almonds and some interesting seeds like watermelon & cucumbe which had creamy sweet taste, and spices like black pepper add some heat. You can even make a dry powder of the ingredients and store it in a container.

So back to my cake. It is a basic sponge cake soaked with goodness of the wonderfully flavored Thandai Milk. It is actually ‘Quatro Leche Cake’, you will see how. The batter has the dry Thandai powder and the soaking liquid has the paste, the result is perfectly moist and delicious cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Sift flour with baking powder & salt.

Mix the Thandai Masala with the milk.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for 1min till they start becoming a but frothy.

Add sugar and beat till soft peaks form.

Add one yolk at a time and keep whisking.

Add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively.

So it will be something like;

1/3 cup flour ,1/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup flour ,1/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup flour

Take a baking pan and butter and flour it well. It is very important since that will ensure that the cake comes out of the pan in a clean way.

I also put a parchment paper for extra ease.

Now pour the batter in the prepared pan. Make sure the pan in at least 10 inches round or even 9x 13, if you take a smaller pan the cake is too tall and the liquid does not get absorbed very well.

You can also make cupcake with this batter

Bake for about 30 mins until the knife comes out clean.

Let the cake cool on a stand for about 30 mins.

Now the fun part.

Mix all the liquid ingredients.

Transfer the cake to a deeper dish, large enough to hold the cake and also hold all the liquid volume.

Poke a lot of holes in the cake

Now pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly paying extra attention to the edges.

Keep it in fridge ideally overnight. I feel that it allows the cake to take in all the liquid and develop some harmony.

As you can see the entire amount of liquid is all absorbed.

Frosting

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup of powdered sugar ( optional)

Whip the cream with or without the sugar until soft peaks form.

Now the bestest part

Serve yourself a nice big slice. Turn some nice music on.

Sit down and enjoy the cake.

I have made the cake toppers with brown edible clay. Filled it with the milk mixture and topped with the whipping cream.

Ingredients

Cake

4 eggs at room temperature separated
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 Pinch of salt
2 tbsp Thandai Masala you can buy it in any store
1/2 cup whole milk.

Milk mixture

1 14 oz can of condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 – 3/4 cup of ‘ Thandai Syrup’

Frosting

1 Cup Heavy whipping cream
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Tsp Saffron

Topping

3 Tbsp Dried Rose petals
3 tbsp Chopped pistachio
1 tbsp Fennel seeds

Instructions

For the cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Sift flour with baking powder & salt
Mix the Thandai Masala with the milk.
Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites for 1min till they start becoming a but frothy.
Add sugar and beat till soft peaks form
Add one yolk at a time and keep whisking.
Add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively

Prepare the pan

Take a baking pan and butter and flour it well. It is very important since that will ensure that the cake comes out of the pan in a clean way.I also put a parchment paper for extra ease
Now pour the batter in the prepared pan. Make sure the pan in at least 10 inches round or even 9x 13, if you take a smaller pan the cake is too tall and the liquid does not get absorbed very well.
Bake for about 30 mins until the knife comes out clean.
Let the cake cool on a stand for about 30 mins

Milk Mixture

Mix all the liquid ingredients.
Transfer the cake to a deeper dish, large enough to hold the cake and also hold all the liquid volume
Now pour the milk mixture over the cake slowly paying extra attention to the edges.
Poke a lot of holes in the cake
Keep it in fridge ideally overnight. I feel that it allows the cake to take in all the liquid and develop some harmony.

Frosting

Mix the saffron thread in milk
Mix this with the whipping cream along with the sugar
Whip till soft peaks form
Frost the cake

Topping

Sprinkle all the toppings and enjoy

Tags cake, holi, holi dessert, holi sweets, sponge cake, thandai, tres leche

Chicken Thai

Thai basil chicken

If I had to pick my favorite food it is obviously Indian, I grew up in India and that was the only cuisine I ate until I came to the USA. When I came to the United States is when I tasted Mexican and Thai cuisines. And now these two cuisines are my favorites. I love the use of fresh herbs in thai cuisine. Galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and of course Thai basil. These aromatic herbs add a lot of flavor without any fat and most of these also have medicinal properties. In spring you get many kinds of basils in the farmers market and one of these basils is ‘Lemon Basil’- it has a unique flavor which is a combination of lemongrass and basil. I love it. Today’s recipe is super simple and can be made in 15 mins if you have all the ingredients ready.

Thai Basil Chicken

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, chopped in small pieces 4 cloves of garlic 4 thai chilies ( adjust as per your spice level preference) 1/2 tsp oyster sauce 1/2 tsp sweet soy sauce 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce 1/2 tsp sugar A handful of basil leaves

Method

Make a coarse paste with the chilies and garlic. Don’t make it extra fine. I feel like the ingredients are simple and so is the technique. I prefer using mortar pestle for making the chili garlic paste. Heat oil in the pan. The pan should be super hot. Make sure you are ready with all the ingredients, you don’t want to eat burnt garlic. Sauté the garlic paste for a few seconds making sure it does not burn. Add chicken pieces and sauté for another 30 seconds. Add the liquid mixture of soy sauces, oyster sauce and sugar. If the chicken is cooked, add the basil leaves and turn the heat off. Cover and let the basil flavor infuse in the meat. Serve with brown or white rice. Vegetarian option It is made exactly the same way as the chicken. I like to use vegetables like mushrooms, snow peas, broccoli, bell peppers and onions. Make sure you cook the vegetables on high heat so that they don’t give out water and become soggy. Once ready you can also mix these vegetables into your chicken to combine to make a wholesome dish. I always include vegetables in our meals and also if you have any vegetarian friends they can also enjoy the lovely flavor of the lemon basil if you make this variation.

Tags Basil, chicken, healthy, quick, Thai

dessert Indian

Lychee Phirni with a touch of orange blossom

Post author By Anagha
Post date April 29, 2015
2 Comments on Lychee Phirni with a touch of orange blossom

I am born and brought up in India so me liking dairy based dessert is very natural. Most of the indian dessert have dairy in them in some or the other form. The famous rosogulla has paneer, which is like fresh cottage cheese. Gulab jamun have ‘khoya’, which is milk boiled till it is a semi solid clay like texture. The famous mango lassi has yogurt. So you see my love for dairy based desserts is but natural.

When the weather starts warming up, I like to make dessert that are cool. So today’s dessert is perfect in the summer months.

It is an indian equivalent of ‘arroz con leche’. The recipe is simple and the ingredient list is small. 🙂

I love playing with flavors, so decided to put a twist of this traditional Phirni. I love the intoxicating perfume of ‘ orange blossom water’. It is typically used in Mediterranean dessert. I love adding it even to my bath water. I buy it from a local middle eastern store and use it very regularly. Also, I love adding surprises to my dishes. When you think of Phirni, you don’t anticipate anything crunchy. I feel that this addition goes really well with the rest of the components and adds a clear element of surprise and variety of texture. I add chopped Litchi to my Phirni.

It does take time and patience but it is not complicated at all. It uses the ingredients that are typically available in homes.

Ingredients

1/2 gallon of whole milk

1/2 cup of rice, soaked for 30 mins( I have used basmati)

1/2-3/4 cups of sugar

1 tsp orange blossom water

1 can of lychee chopped

Method

Take milk in a heavy bottomed pot and heat on a medium flame until the milk comes to a boil. Make sure you’re stirring constantly so that you do not get a skin formed on the top surface and the milk does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

This is where your patience comes into picture, you must store patiently on low flame unto the milk is reduced to pretty much half of its original volume.

While the milk is boiling, grind this soaked rice with very little water. Make sure you do not make a paste. You do want a mixture that is granular.

Now add the rice mixture to the milk in a steady stream. Make sure you’re starting the milk as you add the rice make sure so that no clumps are formed. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, take the mixture on a spoon and check if the rice is cooked.

Now add sugar and keep starting and cooking until you get the desired consistency. Remember the mixture will thicken as it cools down so make sure you do not cook it too much. If you end up with a very thick mixture after it is cool down, You can add a little bit of milk to thin it down.

Once the mixture has come to the room temperature, add the chopped the lychee pieces and the Orange Blossom water.

Serve chilled.

Tags arroz con leche, dairy, dessert, Indian, vegetarian