It is the 4^th of July weekend and it is a celebratory weekend at my café. We are celebrating 19 years of matrimonial bliss and the husband’s birthday all in the same week. I had to whip up something special. Had been working on this dessert  for some time and grabbed this occasion to make a huge lot before the mango Gods bid adieu.

So here is presenting  Mango Gulab Shakri.

Gulab Shakri is a dessert from the Indian state of Rajasthan. Interestingly, it has no gulab/rose in it. Legend has it that it was first made by a certain ‘Gulab Halwai’ of Jodhpur. I had it at a pukka Rajasthani wedding years back. Loved it so much that made sure it was on the menu for the next family wedding and stood by the halwai (sweet maker) watching it get made. This is after a few twists to the basic recipe in a very flavorous mango avatar.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

Whole Milk – 1 litre
Lemon Juice- 1 Tbsp
Mango pulp- 1 cup (I got mine from two large dussehri mangoes, any type of mangoes work fine as long as they are sweet)
Saffron/Kesar- a huge pinch, steeped in ¼ cup of warm milk for 30 minutes
Sugar- 3 Tbsp( or more if you like sweeter)

1. Boil the milk and reduce the milk to less than half. Keep stirring to avoid scalding.

2. Add the lemon juice drop by drop till the milk is somewhat separated. You may not need to add all of 1 Tbsp. Add slowly till you see it separating, boil a little and add some more if you feel you haven’t got the grainy texture. Stop adding once you see the grains.
3. Add the mango pulp and cook for another 10 minutes.

4. Add the sugar and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Let cool till it is warm and stir in the saffron.
6. Chill and serve garnished with mango slices and almonds.

I made some mini- Rasgullas and added them in- worked beautifully!

I am taking this very Indian dessert from my hometown to Angie’s weekly Fiesta 🙂 I am loving my weekly trips there!