South Indies: Belgaum Kunda

Thursday, September 12, 2013

One of the fewer sweets I love is this decadent Milk based Halwa, Kunda from a small city in Karnataka called Belgaum. This was made for Ganesh Chaturti since we decided to give more traditional sweets like Puran Poli & Payasa a miss. 

I guess Kunda is very similar to Palkova from Tamil Nadu especially in the taste department. Except, that we use semolina to give kunda that grainy texture.

Belgaum Kunda

You Will Need:

  • 2 cups Milk
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 tbsp semolina
  • 1 tbsp fresh curds
  • 3 tbsp desi ghee
  • 1 tsp cardamom powder
  • Almond slivers for garnish

How To:

In a heavy bottomed pan, add a tbsp of ghee. once the ghee is warm, add a tbsp of semolina & saute until it gets slightly changes colour & is aromatic. Add Milk & bring it a boil. once the milk boils, add a tbsp of yogurt & turn off the stove.

In another heavy bottomed pan, add sugar & caramelize over low flame. once the sugar gets caramelized, add the split milk & mix well. Cook on medium flame until the mixture becomes slightly thick & start leaving the sides of the pan.Add the remaining ghee & mix well. Do keep stirring at regular intervals to avoid the bottom from getting burnt. 

Turn off the stove, Add cardamom powder & give it a good mix. Garnish with Almond slivers before serving

NOTE:

Kunda gets a little thick on cooling. So you may want to stop cooking when the mixture is still slightly runny. If you find the mixture too thick, add some more milk & cook for a while.

You can serve kunda at room temprature, however, I love my Kunda warm. Since, Kunda thickens when refrigerated, I warm them in the microwave to get a Halwa like consistency. Just add a little milk & give it a nice mix before you put it inside the microwave

Try serving Kunda along with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on the side & give that Gajar ka Halwa a break


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