Theratty paal or milk kova

Being my first post on my first blog, I thought I will start with a sweet note. I happened to do the sweet dish that holds a very important place in the place where I come from. The great Theratty Paal or Paal Kova. For the novice, this is nothing but a product of prolonged heating of the milk. I remember my mom putting about 3 to 4 litres of milk in a big thick bottomed vessel and heating it and constantly stirring. After the dish is done and she transfers it to a dabba (box) my brother, my mom and I would sit around the vessel to get every bit of thick milk stuck to it and trust me it was so yummy.

With my baby around and living in a place where we do not have the luxury of someone coming and doing the cleaning and washing, standing close to the stove and constantly stirring the milk for hours is not an option for me. More importantly, my husband had bought me a very nice microwave oven this week and I wanted to make full use of it. So I decided to make Theratty paal just as I was cleaning the kitchen. Here is my version that yielded one cup of paal kova...

1 pint of whole milk (that is about half a litre)

4 teaspoons sugar

A microwave oven proof dish and ladle

Pour the milk into the dish and heat on high for 6 minutes

Stir and again heat on high for 6 minutes and repeat the process once again

Add sugar (we do not like anything too sweet but you could add more depending on your taste)

Stir and heat on high for 10 minutes, stirring in between at 5 minute interval

Paal Kova is ready !!

Depending on your taste, you could add cardamom powder or saffron with the sugar. The time may vary slightly depending on the wattage of your microwave, mine is 850W. Keep breaking the cream layer while stirring as this enables cooking sooner and better.