Vegan desserts are quickly overcoming misconceptions about their texture and flavor. In addition, meals with nutritional value and health advantages are gaining importance, with chefs embracing the trend. Of the chefs and restaurateurs polled for the Kimpton Culinary + Cocktail Trend Forecast, 47% picked vegan desserts as the top trend.
The market for healthier and conscious desserts, now valued at $2.68 billion, is growing after a post-COVID rise in demand for vegan and plant-based foods. The reasoning behind choosing desserts has changed significantly for contemporary, health-conscious consumers of the 2020s, with plant-based desserts taking center stage as the ideal substitute for treats typically loaded with creams, eggs, butter, and other unhealthy animal-based ingredients.
Thetra rabdi is a vegan dish made with ingredients easily available at home. Thetra is made with apricots, which are easily available and are filled with vitamins and minerals. Rabdi is a modern addition to the dish that complements the thetra. The resulting dish is a perfect balance of both taste and health, says Anup Gupta, executive chef, Taj Lakefront Bhopal.
Thetra Rabdi, courtesy Anup Gupta, Executive Chef, Taj Lakefront Bhopal
INGREDIENTS
For the thetra
- 3 ½ oz apricots
- ½ cup fresh coconut milk
- 1 ¾ oz wheat flour
- 1 ¾ oz dry dates
- 1 ¾ oz jaggery
- 2 cups desi ghee (for frying)
For the rabdi
- 3 ½ oz cashews
- 1 cup almond milk
- ¾ oz gulkand
- Two pinches of saffron
- A pinch of cardamom powder
- ½ oz rose petals
- 1/z oz pista
METHOD
- Wash apricots in running water, then soak it in coconut milk for one hour. Strain and grind it to a smooth paste.
- Make a batter of wheat flour in a mixing bowl, adding apricot paste gradually.
- Add jaggery for sweetness. Add chopped dry dates.
- Make small patties of this batter with your hands. Rub a little ghee on your palms before making the patties.
- Heat pure ghee in a kadhai and fry apricot patty until golden brown.
- For the rabdi, wash cashew and soak in almond milk for an hour. Make smooth paste of the cashew with the almond milk. Reduce this paste on a double boiler till thick smooth and silky texture. Add gulkand for sweetness, along with cardamom powder and saffron. Cook till it attains coating consistency. Garnish with saffron strands and pista silvers.
