'Daulat ki chaat' - Moonlight, dewdrops and a little bit of love and legend

When temperatures dip and nights turn frosty, a group of cooks in Delhi's walled city carry cauldrons of milk into the open and begin churning under the moonlight, hour after hour as dewdrops fall gently on the froth that is formed and carefully ladled out in a separate container.

Blending in romanticism and legend in equal measure, the cloud of creamy goodness that is the 'daulat ki chaat' can be found only in winter months.

Visit the winding lanes of Chandni Chowk to sample the sweet delicacy, which is mixed with cardamom powder and saffron and topped with powdered sugar, dry fruits and lashings of brown, roasted milk.

Every winter, vendors carrying large platters, or khumchas as they call it, filled with the dessert atop wicker stands return to the crowded streets of Old Delhi, doling out portions to hungry customers.

It is called 'daulat ki chaat' in Delhi, 'malai makkhan' in Kanpur, 'malaiyu' in Varanasi and 'nimish' in Lucknow.

Carrying forward a legacy of almost 40 years, Aadesh Kumar, standing next to his platter of daulat ki chaat in the famous Parathewali Gali, proudly shares the recipe of the dessert spread in the 'khumcha'.

The process begins on a cold winter night under the moon and continues till dawn as the dew falls on the milk, a labour of love that has probably been made the same way, year after year, decade after decade.

"After keeping raw milk outside for two-three hours in the night, we churn it till the morning. All the while, we separate the froth in a separate vessel, mix cardamom powder and saffron in it. Then we start setting it in a flower shape in the platter till it is full," Aadesh told PTI.

It may sound easy but it is not, he said, adding that they get to sleep only four hours each night during the 'daulat' season.

Aadesh, his father Khemchand and younger brother Ravi take turns to churn the milk for around seven hours starting.

Does this hard work pay enough?