This Independence Day awaken the spirit of national pride and bring home the sweetness of freedom by creating this layered dessert that incorporates the various saccharine delights that had originated in different parts of our country. This dessert is as vibrant and diverse as our beloved country and the tricolour fusion of sweet flavours celebrates the tiranga, the symbol of our freedom. Without further ado, let’s get on with the recipe for this unique dish.
Top Layer: Motichoor ke Boondi
Motichoor ke Laddoo is a nation-wide favourite but for the purposes of this recipe, we don’t actually have to shape it into laddoos. We just need to prepare the boondi and use it for our top layer of this dessert.
Image Credit: YouTube @Saroj Sharma
Ingredients:
• 4 tbsp ghee
• 2 cups grated lauki
• 2 cups full-fat milk
• 8 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp rose water
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 4 drops of edible green food colouring
Method:
• Heat ghee in a kadhai on medium-low flame.
• Add the grated lauki and turn the heat on to medium. Saute the grated lauki with the ghee.
• Once lauki has released all its moisture and is almost dry, add the whole milk bit by bit and stirring constantly.
• Cook continuously on medium-low flame till the milk comes to a bubble.
• Once the milk has reduced considerably and incorporated with the lauki, add the sugar, food colouring and rose water one after the other, mixing them well with the contents in the pan.
• The halwa will thicken after the addition of sugar. Once it releases ghee from the sides, switch off the heat and put it aside to chill.
Assembling the tricolour layered-dessert:
Garnishes:
• Chopped pistachios
• Chopped cashews
• Slivered almonds
Method:
• In a wide glass, one that can be used to serve drinks old-fashioned, add the green layer of lauki halwa up till 1/3rd of the glass and press it in evenly. Make sure not to stain the sides of the glass and if some part of it does stain the sides, take a wet paper towel and clean it.
• Add the chopped pistachios on its sides around the glass and slivered almonds in the centre, in an even layer. The chopped nuts were not added during the preparation of any of these desserts so that it doesn’t take on the colour of the food colouring or get soft and soggy while cooking and then cooling.
• Then add the middle layer of creamy, white kheer and garnish the top with chopped cashews. Make sure the layers are distributed evenly, both from the top and from the sides.
• Add the motichoor ke boondi to cap off the top layer and your layered tricolour dessert is ready!
