Saffron Curdled Milk Patties Recipes

Steps:

• Heat 2 1/4 cups of water to 208 degrees F. If you have an electric kettle with a temperature setting, great. If not, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, kill the heat and count to 20. Pour the water over the teabags into a quart vessel and steep 3 minutes before removing the bags. (Do not wring out or squeeze the bags.)
• Add the sugar to the hot tea and stir to dissolve. Then add the port, rum, Allspice Dram, and lemon juice. Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
• Pour the milk into a glass pitcher and then follow with the tea mixture. (Yes, it will curdle.) Park on counter for 1 hour. Do not shake, stir or molest in any way. Just let the magic happen. Oh, and make sure the tea goes into the milk, not the other way around.
• Line a large, fine-mesh sieve with a commercial-sized coffee filter (we like those made for 1.5-gallon machines) and strain the mixture into a wide, 4-quart container. Once completely filtered, typically about 1 hour, transfer to a quart jar or pitcher and chill to serve. (See Cook's Note.)
• Store tightly sealed in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
• Heat a heavy skillet over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Toast the allspice berries until fragrant, about 1 minute, then roughly crush.
• Combine the rum and crushed allspice berries in a quart-sized glass jar, seal the lid tightly and give it a good shake. Steep for 10 days.
• Strain the allspice-infused rum through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan and add the sugar. Heat over low, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is fully dissolved, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature before storing in a glass jar or bottle.
• Note: Any overproof rum will work here, meaning any rum over 50 percent ABV. But navy-strength rum, typically bottled at 57 percent ABV, is my favorite. Just remember: The higher the ABV of the rum, the higher the ABV of your resulting dram.

Steps:

• 1. In a small bowl, soak the saffron threads in the milk about 30 minutes. Then, in a large nonstick skillet or saucepan, mix the cream, dry milk, and ricotta cheese and cook, stirring, over medium heat until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, mix in the saffron-infused milk and the saffron, and cook, stirring often, until the mixture (khoa) is almost dry and pulls away from the sides of the pan, 7 to 10 minutes.2. Remove from the heat. Let cool about 1 hour and shape the mixture into 1-inch patties. Then, with your thumb, press into the center of each patty to make a slight depression. Press some ground pistachios into the depression and serve, preferably at room temperature.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Steps:

• 1. In a small skillet over medium heat, dry-roast half the, saffron, stirring and shaking the pan, until crisp and a few shades darker, about 1 minute. Grind in a mortar and pestle or with the back of a spoon.2. In a heavy saucepan, bring the milk to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and cool about 5 minutes. Then add the vinegar and stir lightly until the milk curdles. The curds should be very tiny (unlike the big curds of paneer cheese). Drain through a very fine-mesh strainer about 1 minute. Discard the whey, transfer the curds to a bowl, and mash them with a fork until fine. If the curds are large, process in the food processor until minced.3. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, boil together the cream and sugar until it bubbles vigorously, about 3 minutes. Mix in the curds and dry milk and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan, 7 to 10 minutes. Mix in the remaining saffron threads and the roasted saffron during the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking.4. Let cool at room temperature about 1 hour. Shape the mixture into 30 to 40 (1-inch) balls. Then, with your thumb, press down in the center of each ball to flatten them and make a slight depression. Serve, preferably at room temperature.VARIATION: To make cardamom-flavored sandesh, do not add any saffron instead, fill each depression with a scant pinch of thinly sliced pistachios and ground green cardamom seeds.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.