Thirattipal

What a rough week it was! Both my kids were down sick with severe stomach infection. I think the toughest part of parenting is to see your child sick - it is physically & emotionally exhausting - don't you agree?

Coming to the good part, I had 2 quart of whole milk sitting in my fridge which was just 2 days shy of expiry (stomach flu directly translates to no dairy for the kids). I had 3 good options in front of me - make yogurt, make paneer, make thirattipal (also called as Pal Khoa / Milk Khoa). At first, I was inclined only towards the first 2 options.

As I know that making thirattipal is very time consuming (close to 2 hrs) & needs utmost patience (attending the dish every 5-10 mins), it was in the least of my options. But, I was really curious to attempt because I have never tried it before and VJ (my hubby) is a great fan of this sweet! Though thirattipal is a time & effort consuming recipe, it is one of the simplest recipes too. All you need is milk, sugar, cardamom, little ghee and a whole lot of time & patience!

My dad is also a big fan of fresh Aavin thirattipal that you get in India. I was fondly remembering him while making this recipe. Thirattipal turned out to be absolutely tasty with perfect consistency and it all got over in just a blink of an eye! I also made few cute palkhoa packets just like the ones we used to get in India.

Ingredients

Milk - 2 quarts (about 1.75 Litres)

Sugar - 1 1/4 cups

Cardamom powder - a generous pinch

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method

Pour milk into a thick & wide bottomed vessel and bring it to a boil on medium flame. Let the milk continue to boil on medium flame until almost all the water evaporates and milk starts to solidify. Keep stirring the milk often (every 10 mins) to make sure that the milk doesn't boil over and it doesn't stick to the sides/bottom.

When the milk starts to get thick and reduces to 3/4 th of the vessel (it takes about 1.5 hrs), add sugar and cardamom powder. After adding sugar, mixture becomes a little watery again. Continue to simmer for 15 - 20 more mins. Finally, add ghee and mix it well.

Remember that thirattipal will be a little sticky/gooey when hot. Let it cool and enjoy with family & friends.