khubaani ka meetha ..an apricot dessert from Hyderabad..

Made with fresh juicy apricots . Yes , I am back from my cycling expedition with a Hyderabad special dessert made using the freshest of apricots i picked up from Leh .

Sounds like a perfect North South connect ?

Yes it is. I used to wonder how this khubaani (apricot) reached Hyderabad to please the taste buds of the navabs . How stupid i was to forget the fact that the mughal rulers entered India passing through the same terrains where this wonderful little fruit grows. The Himalayas. And true foodies they were to enjoy the apricots in the form of khubaani ka meetha , made from dried apricots too .

I have tried this dessert with fresh and dried apricots both in the past years , dried apricots result in the same consistent taste every time but fresh apricots taste different depending of what variety they are. I saw many types of apricots for the first time growing fresh on the trees , fallen from the trees and in the markets too , fresh and dried both. I was reminded of an apricot tree our neighbors had in their backyard when i was growing up in Chandigarh , i used to climb that tree to pluck apricots , usually unripe because ripened ones fall off the tree anyways. But we had no patience as any other children :)


If using dried apricots , you need to soak them overnight and cook with sugar to sweeten till soft . It is cooked to a jam consistency and is usually served with fresh cream or home made malai.

I usually prefer fresh apricots whenever in season for a fresh flavor and nice color too. Apricots do not keep well  for long and have to be used up within a week even when refrigerated, so it's always a good idea to stew them with some sugar and keep for longer duration in the fridge , especially when you have had your fill of the fresh ones...

This time i halved them to remove the stones....

A knife is not required to do this , just press along the groove and split the fruit in two, remove the seed and keep the flesh for stewing...

Add some sugar ... For 2 cups of halved fresh apricots i used 3/4 cup of sugar . You can use more if you want it very sweet , the Hyderabad version is too sweet for me.

I placed everything in a ceramic bowl and microwaved it for 3+3 minutes and that's it. You can always cook on gas stove to stew it slowly for 15 minutes or so. To the consistency you like.

A shiny look on the cooked apricots is an indication it is yummy cooked to be called khubaani ka meetha. I used half of the apricots to make a thick jam too . I like it sometimes as a topping on ice creams or trifles . Home made chunky jams are so versatile you know.

Now is the time to serve the Khubaani ka meetha with fresh malai . You can go for whipped cream too but i always like my good old home made malai for this....

Out of this world flavors..best served at room temperature.... small servings are wiser you know...just one tablespoonful of stewed apricots and 3/4 tablespoonful of malai . The flavors are so intense you wouldn't need more to get high on it.

Getting high on the fruit of the highlands....I am sharing a picture from my cycling expedition before i leave ...

This was the first day of our cycling from Kullu . It was drizzling and a great start to a wonderful journey ahead. We ate many fresh apricots, apples and soft pears directly from the trees in kullu and finally i bought these golden apricots with rosy cheeks from a Leh market to take back home. I am happy i did bring these beauties home as they made a nice start to my home cooking after a long crazy trip.....

Apricots from Delhi markets also make good Khubani ka meetha and jam . I have posted an apricot compote stewed with orange juice long time back and that was made using the apricots available in Delhi....

Fresh apricots can be versatile you see...stew them the way you like and enjoy !!