Basundi is a traditional Indian dessert famous in Maharashtra, Gujarat and some parts of Karnataka. It is basically a thickened and sweetened milk flavored with saffron and cardamom and lot of nuts are added to give it a nice crunch. When ever we have sudden guests at home and there no other option to serve for desserts, basundi is my dessert of choice. Before starting to cook, I put a pot with milk on simmer and by the time I am done with my cooking, my basundi is ready too. If you are in a hurry to serve, just keep it in the freezer for an hour or else refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Here is the recipe.



Preparation time - 5 minutes
Cooking time - 2 hours
Serves - 4

All you need is

Full cream milk - 1 and 1\2 liters
Saffron - a generous pinch
Sugar - 2 tbsp ( you can adjust the sugar according to your taste )
Cardamom powder - 1\2 tsp
Rose water - 1\4 tsp
Slivered almonds, pistachios and cashew nuts - 1\4 cup



Method of preparation

Put the milk in a heavy bottom pan.
Heat till it comes to a boil.
Take 2 tbsp milk from it in a bowl.
Add saffron and keep aside.
Simmer the heat and let the milk thicken for almost 2 hours.
Keep stirring in between.
When the milk is reduced to 1\3 rd, add saffron soaked in milk, cardamom powder, sugar and rose water.
Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the slivered nuts.
Chill nicely before serving.

Notes

Keep in mind that basundi with thicken a little more while cooling. So keep the consistency accordingly.
The consistency of basundi is like that of condensed milk.
If you like your basundi very creamy and smooth, just blend it in a blender before adding the nuts for a few seconds to give that silky smooth texture.
Do not blend when the basundi is cold otherwise butter may separate.