Sailana specialities Gosht Ka Halwa & Gulab Ki Kheer ( Royal Cuisine )

Sailana is a town and a nagar panchayat in Ratlam district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is located in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. It was a princely state with an area of 769 square kilometres. Sailana is 25 km from proper Ratlam, and hardly 50 km away from Banswada district which is in neighboring state of Rajasthan. A Fort belonging to the former princely state still stands tall in Sailana, and houses the famous Cactus Garden. Other tourist attractions in Sailana include the "Kedareshwar" temples. Sailana is only 130 km away from Ujjain and as such makes a great weekend getaway. The best time to visit is July-August in the monsoons.

Maharaja Dilip Singh of Sailana gave an unusual turn to the most common Indian sweet , halwa. He thought , if halwa can be made from dal ( legumes ) , carrots , almonds , etc , then why not out of gosht ( meat ), which predominated his kitchen. After many experiments , this dish was born.

500 g kheema ( minced lean mutton from leg or shoulder )
6 gm salt
250 g khoya ( milk solids )
250 g ghee ( clarified butter )
3 g cardamom seeds , powdered
6 ml rose water or kewda ( Fragrant screw pine ) water
A good pinch of saffron, diluted in warm water
1 kg sugar , powdered finely
50 g almonds , blanched and shredded
50 g charoli ( roasted sunflower seeds ) , blanched whole

Wash minced meat in water four times , changing the water every time. Drain.

Boil meat with salt in water . When tender , dry the water completely. Grind the meat finely . Mix khoya into the meat.

Heat the ghee and fry the meat on a low heat till golden brown.

Add cardamom , rose water, saffron and sugar. Stir and at once remove from the fire.

Continue stirring till the halwa absorbs the ghee. While serving , decorate with almonds and charoli.

Preparation time : 15 minutes
Cooking time : 1 hour
Serves : 6 - 8

50 g fresh rose petals , scented variety or Edward , Bussarah varieties , available in most flower markets
2 litres buffalo milk
250 g sugar

Pluck the petals , discarding the stigma or the central portion. Boil milk along with the rose petals ( whole ) till it reduces to half. Add sugar and boil further till the consistency thickens. Serve cold.

Information & photo credit - Jetwings



Gulab ki kheer ( 2nd recipe )

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Makes: 6-8 servings

Ingredients


Method

1. Select any scented variety of roses ? the desi roses work best. Pluck all the petals discarding the stigma (the central portion) and set aside.

2. Boil the milk along with the rose petals (leave them whole), till it reduces to half. Ensure that the milk doesn?t burn ? do it on a low flame in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add one cup of sugar and boil till its consistency is thick . Cool and then refrigerate for at least one hour before your serve. Garnish with some more rose petals.

Nutritive value of each serving - 237 kcal

Recipe & Photo credit - India Today