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Daulat ki chaat
Saffron milk foam
दौलत की चाट: Old Delhi's winter saffron milk foam with pistachios — an honest home version (chill 4 hours or overnight)
Daulat ki chaat appears in the lanes of Chandni Chowk only in the coldest months, from about November to February. Vendors whisk milk and cream through the night and leave it out under the winter dew, then skim off a foam so light it disappears on your tongue, topped with saffron, khoya, sugar and pistachios. It's sold before the sun gets high, because warmth destroys it. A home kitchen can't recreate a Delhi winter night, so this version uses very cold milk and cream whipped to a loose foam and layered with saffron. It comes close: airy, cool, faintly sweet. Chef's tip: chill everything, bowl and whisk included, for at least 4 hours; the colder the milk, the more stable the foam.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the foam
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 ¼ cups double cream
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 pinch saffron threadssoaked in 1 tbsp warm milk for 15 minutes
To finish
- 1 ⅜ oz khoya (mawa) (optional)finely crumbled
- ⅔ oz pistachiosfinely slivered
- 1 tbsp icing sugarfor dusting
- 2 edible silver leaf (vark) (optional)vegetarian-certified
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 2 cups whole milk and 1 ¼ cups double cream in a wide steel or glass bowl, cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight, along with a balloon whisk and 6 small serving bowls. Make sure your kitchen is cool; a warm room is the main reason the foam collapses.
5 minStep 2: Sift 3 tbsp icing sugar and ¼ tsp ground cardamom into the cold milk. Set the bowl over a larger bowl of ice. Whisk briskly with the balloon whisk, or a hand blender held just under the surface, for 3–4 minutes until a thick layer of fine foam builds on top.
5 minStep 3: Gently skim off the foam with a large spoon and lay it in the chilled serving bowls. Don't press it down. Whisk again and skim again; you'll get 4–5 rounds of foam.
15 minStep 4: After the second round, stir 1 teaspoon of the 1 pinch saffron threads milk into the bowl so the next layers are pale gold. Keep alternating plain and saffron foam. Stop when the milk underneath no longer froths well (use it later in tea).
10 minStep 5: Don't be tempted to whip the cream to stiff peaks: that makes sweet whipped cream, not daulat ki chaat. It should be a loose, cloud-like foam that melts on your tongue.
Step 6: Top each bowl with the remaining saffron milk dotted over, 1 ⅜ oz khoya (mawa), ⅔ oz pistachios and a light dusting of 1 tbsp icing sugar. Lay on 2 edible silver leaf (vark) if you like, and serve immediately while it's ice-cold.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does daulat ki chaat take?
- About 40 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of double cream?
- Whipping cream, same amount (less rich; whips softer).
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