Heyo, sun’s out buns out, and more importantly, bring the dessert! Here are my top 7 authentic Punjabi summer desserts.
Are there more authentic Punjabi summer desserts? Of course there are. These are just my go to 7 authentic Punjabi summer desserts. With the number of varying influences that have gone through northern India, summer means eating anything from an Almond Cardamom Victoria Sandwich, to a Cardamom Saffron Rosewater Custard. When it comes to dessert I’m not sure there is a wrong answer. Whether you prefer light and airy or rich and decadent, it’s all good. I say that but then the inner rant of dense gooey shit cakes called desserts start to well up in my head. And I swear it’s nearly more than I can take.
Phew, avoided that rant with a bit of cookies an cream ice cream topped with panjiri and all was right with the world again! Oh did I mention that one of my favorite things to do is mix old and new? I love to take traditional Punjabi dishes and flavors and refresh them. Whether that’s finding new uses for traditional desserts like panjiri in parfaits or on ice cream. Or creating new fusion recipes like Mango Cardamom Crème Brûlée by fusing traditional crème brûlée with cardamom and mango, to create something wholly new and exciting. Or at least I think it’s wildly exciting.
Now instead of wasting more of your time by rambling on and on about bathing in the tube well, gorging on kulfi, boiling on a summer night on the rooftop only to spend half of it dodging effin bats that were out for your head, and oh the skeeters and flying roaches, “loved” the flying roaches. Or worse the bloggers that want to paint you a picture with their limited vocabulary and poor use of a thesaurus. I shall move on to the main event – the recipes! Eat, drink, and make merry!
Senviyan
Sweet, creamy, delicious vermicelli, milk, cardamom, and sugar cooked together into the perfect pudding.
Kheer
Sweet creamy kheer is the best version of rice pudding there ever could be.
Lauki Halwa
Sweet creamy lauki halwa is the best thing to come of opo or any squash.
Kesar Pista Kulfi
There’s ice cream and then there’s kulfi. All kulfi is good kulfi but saffron, cream, and pistachio were just made to be.
Milk Badam
Not all desserts need to be cake and or pudding. Milk badam is sweet, creamy, and nutty. The perfect drink to cool yourself down.
Mango Shake
Sweet and perfectly mango-y. This shake is perfect any time of day.
Kesar Elaichi Lassi
All lassi is delicious but adding saffron, cardamom, and pistachio just make it a special treat on a hot summer day.
One more for good luck
Meetha Puda
Our #1 recipe and for good reason. Mitha puda is fast, so easy, and a better version of an American pancake.