Lacchedaar Rabri

Rabri is a milk based preparation quite common in Northern India. Milk is warmed on very slow flame in an emormous almost flat pan.

Water keeps evaporating and the malai formed is constantly scraped to the edge of the pan. After a while themalai sort of half baked remains on the pan. It is called rabri.

Now the lacchedaar rabri. It’s a legacy. Whenever my grandfather used to buy rabri he was very particular. Only thick rabri needed to be packed. Salesman usually tried to pack in a bit of milk along with the thick base. A couple of expletives from my grandfather and rabri was unpacked. Only lacchas were packed this time.

It was a customary expletive and customary unpacking. There are a lot of memories. Small mango pieces mixed in rabri and served chilled was aam-rabri. Crused ice laced with rabri and rooh-afja was chuski. Rabri,the king of summers.

My parents are visting me this week. Father has brought the same old rabri. I enquired. There was the expletive and unpacking involved as usual. Yummy!