Ghaau No Sheero - Pallika

There are so many stories attached to this one. Here's one that comes to mind..When mom was a very little girl (Maybe 10-12 years), she made a small quantity of this exactly as per the recipe...the right proportions, and the right order and everything. Everyone in the house was extremely impressed..wow..little Beena made Sheero? They all loved it. The next time, when Baa was away, mom decided to make it again. This time, she wanted to make a lot of it, so everyone can have enough..just that .. she thought Baa was being too picky (Why is it that three generations later, this sentiment hasn't changed much?). She thought this whole process of heating up ghee, waiting for it to melt, roasting the atta, waiting for it to brown, adding the milk, waiting for it to be soaked up, adding the sugars and waiting for them to be reduced...was all too cumbersome...so she did the smart thing...She just put everything together in a big pot - ghee, flour, milk, sugar, gud - a good quantity of it..and started stirring everything together...for a while...You really don't want to know what happened...!!

Fast forward some 50 years...her daughter, that is, me was faced with making this dish in a large quantity. Actually, I'de been married only for a few days, and the tradition at my in-law's place is that the new bride doesn't enter the kitchen until a special ceremony is performed. And as part of that ceremony, she makes something sweet for the whole family. My mom-in-law asked me what I wanted to make, and I picked this. It's called Atte-jo-Seero in Sindhi. Just that my in-laws sometimes make it with oil, and water, and sugar (no Gud). I wasn't very comfortable with that version, but my mom-in-law said "Just tell me what you need and I'll prepare everything for you". She got everything out, and then left the kitchen, so I could cook without any pressure. Yeah, right..No pressure! Well..thankfully, I had made this several times..and so it turned out really well..and it's all we had for the meal that day (except, my mom-in-law also asked me to roast some papads to go with it(incidentally,in the old days, a new bride was asked to roast papads to check if she knows how to cook). Like all other wedding ceremonies, this one also ended with me being loaded with cash, including my hubby!!

So, here's the actual recipe. If someone know the exact measures, pls post them in the comments..

Heat up a good amount of ghee in a pan. Let it melt. Now add regular roti atta (as much as to make a thick paste). Keep roasting till it turns a nice golden brown and gives out wonderful aroma. Add milk to this and continue stirring (so as not to form lumps) till you get a soft mass. Now, with a spoon, get this soft mass to occupy only half of your pan, so that the remaining half can be used to measure the sugars. Fill half of the empty half with white sugar, and the remaining half of the empty half with chopped Gud. Mix everything well. Once Sheera consistency is reached, remove from fire and add cardamom, nutmeg and nuts. Serve warm.