Mithai

A sweet semolina cake topped with flavoured sugar syrup. Very easy to make, it is known by different names in different parts of the Arabic world - Nammoura in Lebanon, Basbousa in Egypt, Harissa in Syria and Revani in Turkey and Greece. This recipe serves 5-6 people.

This is a recipe from my mom’s friend Sharmishta who lives in Buffalo (NY). It's not exactly like milk cake in texture, but very close to it in look and flavour. The best part is it requires very few basic ingredients that are always at hand - milk powder, sugar, cream and ghee. 

If you're fond of Kalakand, you'll love my mom's take on this traditional dessert that's easy to make, tastes delicious and is healthy too because it's made from cottage cheese. Called Ras Madhur - a moniker given by a group of my friends who polished off an entire batch one day - this modern mithai is ready in 15 minutes flat! While I prefer to use homemade cottage cheese prepared from full cream milk - primarily because it's not salty - you can use the store-bought version too, although I would suggest you hunt for an unsalted variety.