Lapsi: A Gujarati Delicacy (Broken wheat pudding)

First of all " happy bhimana amavasye/bheemeshwara vrata to all Kannadigas". Yes, this year Bheemeshwara vrata falls on 9th August.

I always feel that there is a similarity between the Gujarati & the South Canara vegetarian food. Both are sweet, sour & spicy (like the menaskai, sambar, rasam etc). May be that could be one of the reasons why our family loves Gujarati food. The other reason being, the limited usage of garlic & onion in Gujarati Jain  food.

Last year during our parents & in-laws visit, we took them to one of the Gujarati restaurants here. They enjoyed the meal thoroughly & most importantly they were all tasting the Gujarati meal for the first time. My mom being off to garlic & onion also enjoyed eating their paneer burji, khichdi, phulkas, chaas & what not! My mom-in-law was fascinated by a dessert served there & wanted to know how they prepared it. We had no clue about it & when asked about the same, we were told it is an authentic Gujarati dish made using broken wheat.

Later this year, when I visited one of my Gujarati friend's house warming ceremony, they served me the same sweet dish & she gave me the recipe too. This is what she said " ek katori mein dalia le lo, use thode ghee mein fry karlo. Baad mein dhai cup paani dhaal ke 2 seeti karo. Cooker ka pressure jaane ke baad, lid nikalke, thoda shakkar aur ghee dhaal ke mix karlo. Hogaya lapsi thayyar" (The English translation of the same is given below)

Ingredients:
Cracked wheat/broken wheat/godi rave/dalia: 1 cup (1 cup holds 100ml water)
Clarified butter/ghee: 3 tbsp
Sugar: 3/4 to 1 cup (adjust according to your family needs)
Powdered green cardamom: a pinch
Water: 2.5 cups


Method:

• Add 2 tbsp clarified butter/ghee & broken wheat to a pressure cooker. Saute the broken wheat until it leaves a nice aroma & it changes it color (the broken wheat will go a shade or two darker). 
• Add the water to the sautéed broken wheat, close the pressure cooker lid & cook the broken wheat for 2 whistles. Turn off the flame. 
• When the pressure goes, open the cooker lid(cooked broken wheat needs to be hot), add the sugar, cardamom powder, remaining ghee & mix well. Close the lid & let the mixture sit for 10mins. 
• Lapsi is ready to be served.

Notes:

• After adding the sugar to the cooked broken wheat, the mixture will ooze out some water. But, there is no need to worry. During the resting time, it will absorb the water. 
• The same can be prepared without using the pressure cooker too. Repeat the same procedure on a large non stick pan(Keep stirring once a while to avoid sticking of the broken wheat to the pan).