Whole Wheat Pudding a.k.a. Chuna

 

Those of you who follow Indian traditions might be aware of Akshya Tritiya(an auspicious day for Hindus, also known as Akha Teej) which is soon approaching so I included whole wheat in my grocery list for this weekend shopping. On this day we make Khichdi using whole(Akha) wheat and moong, but while I wait for Akshay Tritiya I decided to make another traditional Rajasthani dish called chuna(not really sure why it is called so...). Usually it is prepared with the left over whole wheat after Akha Teej but my sweet tooth led me to reverse the process :).

Chuna is a kind of pudding made with whole wheat and milk. It is a healthy sweet dish and requires less amount of sugar compared to other sweet dishes or the regular pudding(kheer) we make with rice.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat : 1/2 Cup
Milk : 4 Cups
Sugar : 6 Tbsp [Add another 1 or 2 Tbsp if you want it sweeter]
Cardamom Powder : 1/4 Tsp
Almonds : 1 Tbsp, cut into slivers [optional]
Saffron : Few Strands

Method:

1. Wash the whole wheat and drain out all the water.
2. Put the wheat into the mixer and press the pulse button few times, you would notice the skin of the wheat coming out. Do this process for few minutes and then let the wheat dry. Rub the dried wheat with hands to remove the skin. Separate the skin from the wheat.
3. Cook the wheat with 1 Cup of water as you would cook rice.
4. Boil milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan and add cooked wheat. Let the mixture simmer in low to medium flame, stir occasional.
5. When the mixture becomes thick and creamy in consistency, add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron. Note: You can add any dry fruit also of your choice, but I prefer not to have any.
6. Cook in low flame for 2-3 minutes(until the extra water from the sugar is evaporated) and turn off the heat.
7. Serve chilled.

Sending this to Priya's "Cooking with Seeds" event and guest hosted by Suma of veggieplatter.
Sending this to Priya's Bookmarked recipe, sourced from my mom's diary and to Lisa's "Sweets for Saturday #11" event.