Losar is celebrated to commemorate the Tibetan New Year. It is considered as the most significant holiday in Tibet. Though the celebrations last for 15 days, the most important ones are the first three days. The Tibetan New Year begins on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan lunar calendar, which usually falls in the month of February. The Tibetan people mark the occasion with immense zeal and enthusiasm. New clothes are worn, greetings are exchanged, prayers are offered and delicious foods are prepared. Also known as dresi, sweet saffron rice is a traditional Tibetan dessert prepared on weddings and New Year. It is a sweet buttered rice preparation garnished with dry fruits and flavored with saffron, to give it a brilliant yellow color. Scroll through the lines below to know the method of making sweet saffron rice.
How To Make Dresi
Recipe 1
Ingredients
Dresi is a sweet buttered rice preparation. Explore the article to know the recipe of how to make sweet saffron rice.
Sweet Saffron Rice
- 3 cups Milk
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Sugar
- ½ cup Rice
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Cardamom (ground)
- ½ tsp Saffron (ground)
- 4 ounces (1 stick) Butter
- ¼ cup Raisins (chopped)
Instructions
- Combine milk and 1 tsp sugar in a large heavy saucepan.
- Bring the milk to a boil.
- Wash the rice thoroughly and add to the milk.
- Add in sugar, salt, cardamom and saffron. Stir well.
- Simmer the mixture on low flame and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently, till the rice turns very soft.
- Add butter and raisins. Stir well to blend.
- Ladle into serving bowls and serve hot.
Recipe 2
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 cups Basmati Rice
- 2 cups Sugar
- ½ cup pure Ghee
- ½ cup Raisins
- 10-15 whole Cashew Nuts
- ½ cup Almonds (chopped)
- ½ cup Cashew Nuts (chopped)
- Few Saffron Strands
- A pinch of Orange Color
- ¼ cup Milk
- 5-6 Cloves
- 1 tbsp Saffron-Elaichi Syrup (optional)
- 1 tsp Cardamom Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Wash the basmati rice in water thoroughly and drain it.
- Spread the rice on a muslin cloth and allow it to dry for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Heat a little ghee in a kadai.
- Fry the whole cashew nuts till they turn golden brown.
- Remove and keep them aside.
- Soak saffron strands in milk and keep aside.
- Pour the remaining ghee in the same kadai and heat it.
- Add cloves and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add basmati rice and stir on medium flame for about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add chopped cashew nuts, almonds and raisins. Stir fry for another 1 or 2 minutes.
- Heat 4 to 5 cups of water in a separate saucepan.
- When the rice is well fried, add the hot water. Add salt and stir well.
- Add orange color to milk and saffron mixture.
- Add on the mixture to the rice. Stir the rice generously and put on the lid.
- Allow the rice to cook on low flame.
- When the rice is half done, add the saffron-elaichi syrup and mix well. Continue cooking the rice.
- Add sugar when the rice is done and stir to melt it.
- When the liquefied sugar coats the rice, add the cardamom powder.
- Remove from heat and set it open for sometime.
- Remove the cloves.
- Garnish the rice with fried cashew nuts and serve hot.