Avocado Gulkhand

  














Back in India there used to be a shop at Malleshwaram in B'lore where people used to queue up for Gulkhand...I remember it was my 'Iyer Ponnu' who introduced me to the lusciousness of Gulkhand....Gulkhand seems to be a Persian influence, like Kewra or Rose water.It is said that making Gulkhand is an art and traditionally,a ritual....Pink wild roses are picked before full moon....the petals are removed carefully in the evening after the sunset.It is then layered in a silver vessel almost an inch thick(1 angulam thickness i.e.,1 finger length,they say).On top pure cane sugar crystals are spread...this is repated and finally on top honey is poured generously.The vessel is now covered with a silver plate and kept in the prayer room for 15 days.On the 16th evening,everything is mixed together well and stored in a glass jar. This has been a traditional mouthfreshener for Indians for several centuries together...This isnt just a mouthfreshner, rather is considered to be medicinal too.It is used a lot in the Unani treatments. It is considered to be a wonderful coolant for the stomach and the nervous system; good for stomach ulcers,stroke,aids digestion etc.No wonder it is an important ingredient in some of the 'Pan Beedas' that we get in India.When kids hesitate to drink milk, gulkhand is given first and then a hot glass of milk!!Eating Gulkhand in the night is believed to bring rosy dreams!!( a nice excuse perhaps someone found out to fight the bad breath of the partner!!)But if you are sensitive to cold and if you are phlegmatic, it is better not to have rosy dreams!!...Gulkhand is best eaten in the summer, rather than the winter because of its cooling property.


I had some avocados in my fridge and I wanted to make something out of it...Avocados can generally be permuted into hot n spicy or sweet combinations... and are generally good to make dips, or chutneys or desserts...I had some stock of Gulkhand left in my pantry still, but very little,I thought of combining both...I had very little Gulkhand so had to substitute Kewra(rose water) for the major share of the flavour....But the outcome was a heavenly dessert!


Ingredients:


Fully ripe Avocados-5(scooped out)
Gulkhand-20g
Kewra/Rose water-1tsp
Honey-3 tbsp
Dried nuts-25g
Dried fruits-25g

Method:

Cut the Avocado into half.Scoop out the pulp.Mix it with dried fruits, dried nuts,gulkhand,kewra,and Honey.Mix well.Scoop it back into the empty shell and a drizzle of honey on top.Enjoy the treat...Kids would love this.You could even scoop a little vanilla ice cream to make it richer!