Soak in the sweetness

Cooking a dish and presenting it in front of your loved ones means something different to everyone. For me, it means that I have accomplished yet another thing to be proud of.

My love for cooking began when I was in college. My mother is a great cook and I’ve always loved her preparations. I helped her out occasionally and realised that cooking can also be a fun and easy activity. I learnt a lot just by watching her. This helped a lot when I got married. Though my mother-in-law cooks well, I enjoyed making my own dishes. Both my mother and mother-in-law are my biggest inspiration and I look forward to learning from them every day. They do say that I have outdone them in cooking but I think I have much more to learn from these wonderful women.

I enjoy writing down my recipes and keeping a record of them. Back in the day, in order to make something new, you would have to ask your neighbours, search through different books or enquire about different methods — it was a tedious process. But now, everything is available at the click of a button. That’s why I decided to start my own food blog, ‘Nithyas Kitchen’, where I can keep a record of my recipes and share it with those in need.

Thanks to my love for photography, I enjoy cooking a particular dish and then taking pictures of it. My husband was the one who gifted a DSLR to me on our anniversary. I probably wouldn’t have been good at what I do if it wasn’t for his encouragement. It is a job that requires a lot of time and patience and I love every bit of the process.

My 20-year-old daughter is the one who helped me set up the blog and learn the technical aspects of it. I have also started a YouTube channel recently. I hope to get better at this and share my love for cooking with as many people as possible. I had never thought that cooking would become such an important part of my life. Though I don’t have a full-time job, creating new recipes and keeping traditional ones alive is my job. And I couldn’t have been happier!

When my family and I moved to Bengaluru 13 years ago, I didn’t know anything about the local cuisine. Thanks to my friends and neighbours, I have learnt a lot about the various preparations here. My husband is a foodie who enjoys trying different cuisines. This has also helped broaden my horizon about the food culture in the city.

The recipe that I am sharing is of ‘Shahi Tukda’, a bread-based dessert that most of us have heard about. But I have created a healthier version of it. The sugar content is lower and brown bread is used instead of white. It is a perfect dessert for those who want a light bite after a heavy meal.

Nithya Ravi



‘Shahi Tukda’

Ingredients
n Bread slices, 3
n Milk, 1/2 litre
n Sugar, 1/4 cup
n Ghee, for deep frying
n Pistachios, a few
n Cornflour, 1 tsp
n Saffron, a few strands

Method
n Boil milk by adding the saffron strands.
n Add cornflour to water for thickening of the milk. Boil till it reaches a thick
consistency.
n Add chopped pistachios.
n Switch off the flame once the mixture is thick.
n Cut the edges of the bread slices diagonally, making
triangular pieces.
n Heat oil in a pan and fry the bread pieces one by one.
n Take them out once golden brown.
n In a pan, add water and sugar and make a sugar syrup. Boil for some time till the sugar dissolves.
n Dip the fried bread pieces in it one by one.
n Take them out and arrange on a plate.
n Place the soaked bread on the serving plate and pour the ‘rabdi’ all over.
Garnish with
pistachios. Serve chilled.