#BohriKitchen: How to make Kalamra

The good folks at The Bohri Kitchen share this recipe of a divine concoction of rice, curd and sugar.

Hi there, welcome to The Bohri Kitchen!

TBK is originally a home dining concept (check it out here), but we have learnt over time that with great power comes great responsibility.

Today via TBK we can feed only 24 people per week -- but demand is significantly greater, so we decided that the human race needs to be made, self sustainable in its quest to eat bohri food! And we will do this one recipe at a time.

Let's start with something traditional and hopefully simple, but an absolute favorite at The Bohri Kitchen.

Introducing the Kalamra!

This delightful concoction of rice, curd and sugar is prepared in celebration of Prophet Muhammad's birthday.

It looks something like this:

Photo Credits: Chaiwala

Cooking Credits: TBK Mother Chef, Nafisa Kapadia

Now for the recipe!

Tangible and intangible ingredients:

• 200 gm of plain rice (surti kolam types)
• some boiling water
• a strainer
• some cold water
• 150 gm of sugar or a can of yummy milkmaid (how is this even a choice)
• a grinder with a 'slow speed' setting
• a lovely big bowl
• a friendly egg beater
• 300 gms of solid curd (the Amul plastic dabba in fridge types)
• dessicated coconut (fancy way of saying dried coconut powder)
• sliced but still crunchable pista & almonds (basically not too thin.. so when you bite into it, there is still that satisfying crunch)
• whole pieces of raisin, pomegranate seeds and rose petals
• a spoonful of patience
• a dollop of love
• and one Facebook like ;-)

Let's start with squishy rice

• Now, take 200 gm of plain rice and wash it. And put some water to boil.
• Cook the washed rice for 10 mins in boiling water, until it's well done.

"Take a grain of rice between your fingers, if it squishes easily, you've cooked the rice right!" -- Nafisa Kapadia

Be cool :-)

• Next, put the cooked and probably steaming rice in a strainer to drain out the excess water.
• While the rice is in the strainer, pour tap water over it -- this is to bring down the temperature and ensure the rice does not overcook.
• Once the rice has cooled down completely and is not warm at all, move to the next step!

Grinding it right

• Take the now cooled rice and 150 gm of sugar (or one can of Milkmaid), grind it very carefully, 2-3 churns only, at super slow speed.

"Put small quantities in the grinder, do not fill the jar, this makes sure that it's consistently ground and helps to avoid over grinding it"

Beat up the dahi

Take a large-sized bowl, empty 300 gms of dahi (curd).

Take solid dahi, the Amul dabba in fridge types, drain out any water

Now use an egg beater, to blend the dahi yourself, by hand.

We don't use a machine, as the heat generated by it tends to destroy the curd's consistency.

And everything comes together

• Now pour the rice and sugar mixture into this large bowl of dahi, blend it with the egg beater until you have a smooth consistency. Aim for a thick, smooth texture.
• Pour this into a nice flat dish and garnish with desiccated coconut (dried coconut powder), hand sliced almonds & pistas (not too fine, people should still get that crunchy feel) and whole raisins, pomegranate seeds and rose petals.
• We suggest you put this beauty in the freezer since its best served cold.

More about The Bohri Kitchen here.

More recipes and food stories here.