A king among Indian desserts, here is Everything You Need to Know to Make the Perfect, Airy Ghevar

Ghevar is a flat, circular sweet, originating from the vibrant state of Rajasthan. It was first served in the royal courts there, being crafted by the chefs especially for the maharajas. It soon reached the common people too. It has a honeycomb-like texture and is light and airy to eat. It's popular during festivals like rakhi and diwali. It is also famous in states around Rajasthan and is one of the dishes served to Lord Krishna as part of the chhappan bhog or 56 dishes. Here’s everything you need to know to make this interesting Indian dessert at home.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup ghee
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 cup ice cold water
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• few saffron strands
• chopped nuts to garnish
• yellow food colour, optional
• ghee or oil, for deep frying

For the sugar syrup:

• 5 cups sugar
• 1 cup water

Directions:

• In a pan on medium heat, add the sugar and water. Mix well till all the sugar dissolves.
• Let it cook till it develops a one string consistency. This means that when you take the syrup on your finger and press it with your thumb and then pull apart, a string forms between the two fingers. Once this consistency has been reached, turn off the heat. Your sugar syrup is ready. Set aside.
• In a bowl, add ghee. Then add one spoon of milk and one spoon of water to it. Add the flour in the pan, one spoon at a time. Use a hand mixer or blender to properly mix it. Once it's all combined, add more of the flour. Then add more milk and water, then the cardamom powder. Mix all of these items really well. Then add the rest of the flour and the saffron strands. Finally add the rest of the milk and water. You want your batter to be completely smooth and have a pouring consistency.
• At this point, you can add yellow food colour if desired.
• Add ghee to a pan. Once the ghee is hot, pour the batter into the pan, at about 6 inches high. Pour the batter into the middle. It will spread automatically. Then add another spoon of batter. Then use a spoon or other utensil to remove some of the batter from the middle so there’s a hole in the centre of the ghevar. Keep adding more batter and continue making the hole in the middle. Make sure each layer is cooking properly. Continue this process until the ghevar has achieved the desired height.
• Once the ghevar is fully cooked, turn off the heat and remove from the pan.
• Place on a serving plate and drizzle warm sugar syrup on top. Or dip the entire ghevar in the syrup. Keep in mind that the sugar syrup should be warm when you add it to the ghevar. Then place it back on the serving plate.
• Garnish with nuts like almonds, pistachios, pine nuts or walnuts. They should be sliced and unsalted. Or you can also garnish with a little bit of rabri. Enjoy!

Tips, tricks and notes:

• Use a deep seated pan so you can add layer after layer of the batter and have a ghevar of a good height.
• To pour the batter into the pan, you can use a ladle, but it's better to use a utensil with a pointed tip like a milk pitcher. This will ensure the oil splutters don't bounce back on your hand and burn you. Remember to pour the batter exactly in the middle of the pan and then let it spread on its own.
• You need to make sure the ghevar is being cooked in really hot oil so that the design forms from its splatters.
• To get the pattern of the ghevar, you need to pour the batter from a height. It will interact with the hot ghee and form the web pattern. It will be really hot ghee and splatter, so it's best to wear gloves for this step if possible.
• The cooked ghevar is really delicate and can break apart easily. So be careful not to let it fall to pieces. Handle it gently and when pouring it in the sugar syrup, be extra careful.