Basundi Recipe (Gujarati Reduced Milk Sweet)
Slow-cooked reduced milk sweet with cardamom, saffron, and nuts. Classic Gujarati festival dessert; serve warm or chilled.
Equipment
- Wide heavy kadai or Dutch oven
- Long silicone spatula or flat wooden spoon
- Small pan (optional, for toasting nuts in ghee)
Ingredients
Basundi
- 1 L full-fat milk whole milk; do not use low-fat
- ½ cup granulated sugar or to taste
- ¼ tsp green cardamom powder freshly ground if possible
- 1 generous pinch saffron strands optional; bloomed in 1 tbsp warm milk
- 2 tbsp mixed almonds and pistachios slivered or chopped
- 1 tsp ghee optional; for toasting nuts
Instructions
Reduce the milk
- Pour milk into a wide, heavy-bottomed pan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring often so the base does not catch.
- Lower to low or medium-low and keep at a steady simmer. Every 5–8 minutes, scrape cream from the sides and stir back in.
- Cook until reduced to roughly one-third volume and visibly thicker and glossier (often about 45–60 minutes; timing varies by pan and heat).
Sweeten and finish
- When the milk coats the back of a spoon in a thin, slow-moving layer, add sugar. Stir until dissolved, then simmer on low 8–12 minutes until silky.
- Stir in cardamom. If using saffron, add bloomed saffron milk now.
- Optional—warm ghee in a small pan, toast nuts 30–60 seconds until fragrant, then stir in. Or add raw slivered nuts.
- Taste for sweetness (it reads slightly less sweet when chilled).
Notes
Add sugar only after meaningful reduction to reduce graininess; keep heat low after sugar.
Reheat gently with a splash of warm milk if too thick after chilling.
Store in a clean airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2–3 days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!