Rakhi is a time of joy and celebration. Families come together to celebrate the special bond shared by brothers and sisters, aunts and nieces and so on. Sisters tie their brothers rakhis, a band on the wrist, which signifies their love and strong bond. They feed their brother something they have made themselves, normally something sweet, and the brothers in turn present a gift to their sisters. In this way, the bond is solidified and they express their love for each other in a unique and holy way. Of course, you can feed your brothers a Chocolate Mousse or a Chocolate Barfi. But we recommend something more traditional and wholesome — ghevar. Simply follow this detailed guide to making ghevar on your home and impress your brother and family with the hearty dessert.
Ingredients:
For the batter:
- 400 gms ghee
- 1 block of ice
- 240 gms flour
- 120 ml milk
- 500 ml chilled water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For the sugar syrup:
- 200 gms sugar
- 100 ml water
Other ingredients:
- Oil/ghee for deep frying
- Dry fruits, to garnish
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- Silver vark for garnishing
Directions:
- In a pan, place the ghee and turn on low heat. Stir it around until it melts. Then turn off the heat.
- Transfer the ghee to a bowl. Place the ice block in the ghee and mix the ghee around the ice. The ghee will start to thicken and turn whitish.
- Then remove the ice and add the flour to the ghee and mix well. First add a spoonful, mix that in, then add some more and so on. In this way, add all of the flour and mix it in thoroughly. Since the ghee has been cooled, the resultant mixture will resemble a crumble. Do not knead it but just simply mix it in roughly.
- Then add the chilled milk to the bowl and mix it in. Do not overmix. You just want the ingredients to be well incorporated with each other.
- Next, add the chilled water and lemon juice and mix them in to create a smooth, flowing consistency. You can use a whisk if needed. The fast speed will help the ingredients to incorporate more smoothly. Keep beating till no lumps remain.
- Add ghee to a pan and turn on the heat. The size of the pan will determine the size of the ghevar. Or you can add in a ring if you want a specific size or you're using a kadhai.
- Once the ghee has become hot, add a spoonful of the ghevar batter to it. When adding, make sure the spoon is straight on top of the pan. Keep some distance and let the ghee fall down in a stream consistency. Keep some distance from the pan so it drops into it.
- The batter will splatter but the froth soon subsides. Then add another spoonful of the batter in and wait for it to settle down. In this way, add all the batter and let it fry.
- As you add more batter, keep a spoon in hand to place the batter properly. Push it to the sides, ensuring that there’s a hole in the middle.
- Fry on medium heat.
- Once thoroughly cooked, turn off the heat and pull the ghevar out. Drain out all of the oil and set on a large plate. Set aside.
- In a pan, add the sugar and place on medium heat. Then add the water and mix continuously until the sugar has fully dissolved. Keep stirring so that the sugar does not stick to the bottom of the pan or it will burn. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat and set aside. It should have a two string consistency. This means that when you touch the syrup with your finger and then press another finger against the first and then pull them apart, the syrup should form two strings between the fingers.
- Pour the sugar syrup on top of the ghevar and let it sit so that the ghevar has time to absorb all of the syrup.
- Garnish with chopped nuts and a sprinkle of cardamom powder. Add silver vark and rabri on top. Serve immediately.
Notes, tips and tricks:
The batter needs to be chilled to achieve the honeycomb texture.
Leftover ghevar can be stored in an airtight container for a month.