Beyond simple. I wish someone had told me this when I was stuck in my grandparents’ small city of Baroda, with nothing to do and no one to see. My grandmother, Una, had just come fresh off of one of her infamous temper-tantrums, resulting in her storming out of her sister’s house (where she had been comfortably staying) and shacking up in her old, run-down apartment instead. And there I was, stuck with Una, who was just a year shy of being admitted onto the memory care floor of the old folks’ home she now comfortably resides in. Nevermind my grandfather being too sick to move, it was managing Una that was the most difficult part of this trip…her constant restlessness, her memory fading beyond repair, her inability to manage her blood sugar alone. One day, I managed to escape for a few hours to make it over to Una’s sister’s house on the other side of town. Disembarking from my autorickshaw, I saw it: the most beautiful house in the neighborhood. I picked my jaw up off the floor and rang the bell. There she was, my Veena Aunty, answering the door with an air of chill, as if to say “hey beta, welcome to my crib”. I followed her as she sauntered into the glorious kitchen, passing bedroom after bedroom (“This would have been your room if your Una had decided to stay with us”) and even an enormous bathroom with a claw-foot tub (“Oh, this? No one ever uses it! It would’ve been all yours”). I bit my tongue and silently cursed my grandmother for forcing me to sleep on a row of dingy cushions for weeks on end. But nothing could have prepared me for what the kitchen had in store. There were tuppers upon tuppers of snacks that nearly toppled out of the cupboard upon opening. I saw it all: chevdo, dhokla, sev, and above all, magas. Magas is the perfect combination of sweet and savory; with a specific nuttiness and texture I have tasted in no other barfi. I beamed at the sight of it all. Of course I did not go home empty-handed that day (no good aunty would allow such a thing, and Veena Aunty is one of the best). As I approached my grandparents’ house, although reluctant, I couldn’t help but crack a smile thinking about the mounds of magas that were hidden in my bag.

Preparation:

5 minutes

Cook Time:

30 minutes

Servings

5

Ingredients:

● 2 cups gram flour
● 1 ½ cup ghee (solid)
● ½ cup milk
● Cardamom (I like to use 4-5 spoonfuls)
● 1 ¼ cup white sugar

Preparation

● Put gram flour and ghee over heat until brown

● Add milk

● Let cool

● Once cooled (but not fully solid) add cardamom & sugar

● Set in fridge