It is often made during festivals like Dhanteras, Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, Holi, Janmashtami, etc. It is considered an auspicious signal (‘shagun’ in Hindi) hence it’s made for pre-wedding ceremonies. Many make it on any special occasion like birthdays, buying a new car/house, getting a job, the naming ceremony for babies, etc. That time lapsi is offered to God first and then eaten by family members.
Not only in Gujarat, but Lapsi also widely made in other western states of India like Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The procedure and ingredients are slightly changed here and there like sugar or jaggery as a sweetener, milk or water, etc. But the main ingredient is always cracked wheat (broken wheat or dalia or fada).
Ingredients :
- ▢¼ cup Ghee (clarified butter)
- ▢1 inch Cinnamon stick
- ▢2 Cloves
- ▢1 cup Dalia (Fada or Broken wheat or Cracked wheat or Bulgur)
- ▢3 ½ cups Water (hot)
- ▢½ cup Sugar
- ▢¼ teaspoon Green cardamom seeds powder
- ▢2 tablespoons Almonds sliced
- ▢2 tablespoons Cashew nuts chopped
How To Make Lapsi Recipe?
1) Heat the ghee in a saucepan on medium heat. Once hot add cloves, cinnamon stick and dalia (fada).
2) Stir and start roasting. In the beginning, fada will absorb all the ghee.
3) On another stove, heat the water till it starts simmering. You can do this in a microwave.
4) Keep stirring constantly and continue roasting till it becomes aromatic and light brown in color. It took me about 5 minutes. As it gets roasted, you will get a nice toasted aroma and also notice that ghee starts to ooze out and starts bubbling.
5) Now add hot water and bring it to a boil.
6) Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium-low and cook till it gets cooked and soft.
7) In between, you can open the lid and stir to check it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. If the water dries out and still not cooked then add some more warm water. This is how it looks after 10 minutes.
8) This is how it looks after 20 minutes. At this time fada looks soft and cooked, but there is still some moisture left.
9) So at this time, keep stirring constantly and cook till it becomes almost dry.
10) Now add sugar and cardamom powder.
11) Mix, as the sugar melts it becomes runny again. Keep stirring and cooking until it becomes almost dry again. It takes about 5-6 minutes.
12) Now turn off the stove and garnish with sliced almonds and cashew nuts.
Serve lapsi hot or warm.
