India’s obsession with sweetmeats is no stranger to the world. Be it any festival or celebratory occasion, desserts or the Indian mithai are usual suspects on the dining table. The culture of halwai shops in our country is also proof of the same. During monsoon, one such mithai that is stacked up outside these sweet shops is ghewar. A rich and decadent dessert, dripping with sugar syrup and nuts, ghewar is a seasonal treat for the taste buds.
Why is it so, you ask? Well, ghewar comes with a peculiar honeycomb texture packed in the disc-shaped sweet and this is possible only during monsoon. This is because the moisture required by ghewar is available during the monsoon season when the air is damp. This allows a longer shelf-life to the dessert and prevents it from drying out. The delectable treat originates from Rajasthan and has a malai-like silky texture along with a slight crispiness on the edges.
Not just monsoon, ghewar is widely made during festivals like Teej and Rakhi too. Considered a holy treat that is offered to god, married women break their Teej fasts with this sweet meat. Since the monsoon season is here and so is Teej, Chef Kunal Kapur shares a delicious recipe of ghevar for you to try at home.
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves: 3 (9-inch diameter)
Ingredients:
For the ghevar batter:
• 63 gm desi ghee
• 1100 ml water
• 250 gm maida
• 1.5 l oil or desi ghee, for frying
• Ice
For the sugar syrup:
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ cup water
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
Method:
• First, take some hot ghee on a steel plate and pour ice cubes on it.
• Rub it all over the ghee till it becomes fluffy.
• Squeeze the ghee and remove excess water from it.
• Then, take this ghee and press it on the plate continuously till it becomes smooth.
• Add some maida and mix it well.
• Once it gets thick, add some more maida and water.
• Once a smooth batter without lumps is prepared, milk is added to it.
• Mixed well, the batter is poured in a huge kadhai filled with pre-heated oil.
• Spread evenly, the ghewar starts to take shape.
• At this time, take a wooden handle of a spatula and make gaps between the ghewar.
• Simultaneously, prepare sugar syrup using sugar, water and cardamom powder.
• Give this the shape of a honeycomb.
• Finally, layer the honeycomb syrup on top of the ghewar and enjoy.