Qubani Ka Meetha - Dried Apricot Dessert

 The first season of Masterchef was something that I would drop all tasks to watch without fail.  Over the years, I just got tired of watching it; the thrill was no longer there.  Until - I saw Sarah Todd, and her posts on instagram. I started to follow her, mainly because she was in India and posting so many Indian dishes that I had never heard of. Qubani ka Meetha is one of those - and I know she made it look 5 star in the show, but I wanted to taste the original because I have never heard of it - leave alone taste it!  

Since the show I researched it and found out that apricots or qubani were introduced to India during the Mughal era and was enjoyed by the Royals as it was an expensive fruit. It slowly found its was to the South of India, where it became a signature dish of Hyderabadi cuisine. These days it is served in Hyderabadi weddings - and the best part is it is easy to cook. All you need is dried apricots and sugar.

Ingredients:

225 grams dried apricots

100 grams sugar

a pinch of rock salt

A tablespoon of flaked almonds

a few arils of pomegranate 

a dill frond

Method:

I got a small pack of dried apricots - this is the brand I used:

Rinse once in cold water and soak in about 2 cups of water for atleast 8 hours.

The dried apricots swell up and look plump and juicy.

Add sugar ( I added 50 grams first, tasted it near the end of cooking process and then added another 50 grams.)  You might want to add less or more sugar depending on the sweetness of your apricots and how sweet you want dessert to be. I also added a pinch of rock salt just to balance out the tartness.

Cook in a low heat until the apricots start to get mushy and the dessert has a "jam" like consistency.  At this stage, add the slivered almonds.

Serve warm with some arils of pomegranate and a dill frond - both of these are optional, I just added it for the colour and for the "pop" from the pomegranate.

There are several serving suggestions like icecream, thick cream, etc, but I liked it just simple and warm.  Perfect dessert for an icy cold Melbourne winter.