Scooped Food

You can make phirni parfait with the freshest of seasonal fruits available – strawberries, raspberries, mango, black grapes, peaches or cherries. For the crunch you can use bread croutons, chocolate cookies, or vanilla sponge cake. Phirni Parfait is one of those desserts that can be totally customised as per your liking. Treat your loved one to an intimate dinner and end your date night by indulging in this romantic dessert for two.

Recipe:

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves for 2

Ingredients:
1/2 Liter Full Cream Milk
1/3 Cup Makhana (Lotus Seeds)
1/2-Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Ghee
1/2 Tsp saffron strands
1 tsp cardamom powder

Other Ingredients:
1 – 2 peaches/mango diced
1/4 Cup bread croutons
1/4 Cup diced apple
1/4 Cup pomegranate pearls
2 tbsp chopped pistachio

Method:
In a pan heat ghee and roast lotus seeds for 5 minutes.
Pulse in a blender once to make a coarse powder. Keep aside.
Soak saffron strands in a tablespoon of milk and put aside.
Take milk in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the saffron strands and cardamom powder.
Boil on low flame. Keep on stirring at regular intervals.
Once the milk is reduced to half the original amount add the lotus seed powder.
Allow the milk to simmer until it thickens and stir at regular intervals
Add the sugar, simmer the phirni for 2 – 3 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Allow the phirni to cool down completely. Keep it in the fridge until ready to serve.
Arrange it in the serving glasses. Layer the bread croutons, nuts, and fruits.
Serve Phirni Parfait chilled.

On contrary to the common belief, a healthy person should always have a dessert after every large meal; doing this is even more important for you if you are a non-dieter. Nutritionists encourage inclusion of a dessert into every large meal as it helps in preventing feelings of deprivation. Most of us tend to do things that we are said not to do; so, when we decide that we will strictly stay away from indulgences, we often end up consuming more of them. Making them regular part of our lives will reduce our cravings for unhealthy food items.

A study conducted recently has revealed that regular consumption of dark chocolate, which is apparently a high calorie food item, is a great way of diminishing sugar craving. During the study, a group of people were allowed to consume dark chocolate every day for a certain period of time. The members in this group were found to consume 15{ed0a7c9e178df9eb5b220bc152ba91da3e8b2ed20a019775b54a2fc686681e4b} fewer calories than those who didn’t eat chocolate during the same phase.

Experts say that nutritional deficiency and limited calorie intake result in craving for dense foods. Individuals who eat less tend to have higher craving for sugar-based food items. When a person consumes very less amount of carbohydrate, eating some rich dessert helps him or her to regain strength; it allows the person’s system to gather the necessary energy for functioning properly.

It’s true that desserts are definitely not the healthiest carbohydrate source you will come across. However, if you are a healthy person and not suffering from a condition like obesity or diabetes, having dessert is definitely not a sin.