Cooking is something I enjoy doing even if I’ve just come back from a very hard day at work as the Executive Pastry Chef, looking after seven different restaurants and planning the launch of a few more.
Having started my career with the Taj Hotels was a dream start only a handful are able to achieve in the hospitality business. From there on, I worked as a pre-opening chef for Hyatt hotels and several overseas restaurants as well as learning from the maestros themselves. Though my foremost mentors in the kitchen remain my mother and grandmother, I have been fortunate enough to learn from the best in the business, which has instilled in me the courage to experiment and go beyond the mundane.
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The Makhan Malai
Makhan Malai or Malaiyo or Nimish is a unique sweet snack that is part of food folklore throughout Uttar Pradesh, especially in the cities of Varanasi, Lucknow, and Kanpur. If you have ever taken a stroll down a busy street in any of these cities or through Delhi bylanes, for that matter, you would’ve seen large cauldrons filled with this frothy, creamy dessert, garnished with chopped dried fruits and jellies, being emptied through the course of the day. This heavenly dessert has been described as an equivalent of a ‘moonlit night’, so there is no doubt that eating a bite of this exceptional dessert is an out-of-this-world experience! All it needs is good quality milk, the moonlight and the dew drops to turn into this light, frothy goodness! When I first tasted Makhan Malai, I was left awestruck by the simplicity of its making process. But more than that, I was mesmerized by the fact that despite having originated in the Mughal era, this traditional dessert still had fans in North India. This realization was enough for me to seek an evolutionary twist to this age-old dessert and present it to the current generation in all its reclaimed glory.
Making of a Legend
The first thing you need to realize about this legendary dessert is that it requires a lot of patience on the part of the person who is making it. That is because it takes upto 8 hours to prepare and the preparation begins a day in advance with the cow or buffalo’s milk (full-cream) being boiled in a large cauldron. Once fresh cream is added to it, the milk is boiled again and then allowed to cool under an open sky, which is the most important part of the process. It is only when the milk remains exposed to fresh, wintery dew for 4-5 hours that it turns into the frothy, lighter than a dream Makhan Malai. However, the next step is even more significant in which the dew-exposed milk is churned for another few hours next morning, then garnished with sugar, coloring and cardamom powder, before being taken to the market to be sold.
It may sound like a tedious process, that can be executed only by the most experienced of chefs. However, since I seek innovation in everything I do, it was a long-standing wish of mine to ensure that you can also make this delectable dessert at home, irrespective of whether it is winter or summer outside. So, here is an easy version of Makhan Malai that you can make at home and earn accolades.
Ingredients
1. Buffalo’s full cream milk – 1 litre
2. Dairy cream (full-fat, heavy whipping Cream) - 300 ml
3. Cream of tartar – 1 tsp
4. Silver leaf (Chandi ka Vark) – 3-4 leaves (optional)
5. Castor sugar – as per taste
6. Chopped pistachios (boiled & peeled) – 1 cup
7. Rose water- 1-2 tsp (optional)
8. Cardamom powder- 2 tsp (optional)
9. Saffron (Kesar)- 10-15 strands
Method
1. Start with an empty bowl that has been chilled before. Boil the full cream milk, cool it, pour it into the chilled bowl and keep it in the refrigerator. Once the milk is chilled, add dairy cream, castor sugar, rose water, cardamom powder and cream of tartar. Mix well and refrigerate overnight.
2. Next day, take the bowl out and start whisking the milk mixture. Keep removing the froth from the top and layer it in a separate shallow plate or tray. This part of the process might take a while. Once you realize that you’ve collected sufficient froth to make one layer of the Makhan Malai, drain any residual milk from this tray and put it back in the refrigerator to chill.
3. Next, add saffron strands to the remaining chilled milk and let the colour infuse into the milk. Start whisking it and repeat the process of removing froth, little by little, in a separate plate. Ensure that you don’t get rid of any saffron strands, which would enhance the flavour in the froth. Drain any residual milk from the saffron froth plate as well and refrigerate it.
4. You need to repeat the whisking process till all the milk mixture is consumed. Both the plates should be refrigerated at least overnight.
5. While serving, place a layer of plain froth in the tumbler, ramekin or a mini bowl, followed by the saffron layer of froth. Garnish with a sprinkle of castor sugar and chopped pistachios. Add a layer of silver leaf on top and serve immediately.
Tips to Remember
1. Don’t over-whisk the milk-cream mixture.
2. You can use icing sugar in place of castor sugar.
3. Using buffalo’s milk instead of cow’s milk ensures the creamy texture of the end product. However, if you have to use cow’s milk, ensure that you are using full-fat milk.
4. To add more texture to the Makhan Malai, add khoya/mawa and chopped nuts to the garnish.
Conclusion
Makhan Malai is a signature dessert of old India, which takes hours to make but seconds to melt-in-your-mouth. This recipe will make sure you don’t need to wait for the winters or a visit to U.P. to have your fill of this gorgeous sweet.
Author’s Profile
Executive Pastry Chef Sameer Mohammed has worked with the Taj hotels, the Hyatt hotels, and several restaurants overseas. He has done various courses in different subjects like hotel management, kitchen engineering & menu development from the American Hotel Lodging& Educational Institute, USA, HTMI in Switzerland, the RIG Institute of Hotel Management in India. Currently, he is the Executive Pastry Chef with Vanguard Company/Modern Dish Company. In his present role, he manages seven restaurants and is planning to launch three new ones.
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