'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 open and begin churning under moonlight, hour after hour as dewdrops fall gently on froth that is formed and carefully lled out in a separate container.

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

Visit winding lanes of Chandni Chowk to sample 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 y call it, filled with dessert atop wicker stands return to 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 Luckw.

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

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

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

It may sound easy but it is t, he said, ding that y get to sleep only four hours each night during 'daulat' season. 

Aesh, his far Khemchand and younger bror Ravi take turns to churn milk for around seven hours starting. 

Does this hard work pay eugh?

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"I have brought up five children, four boys and one girl. All of m are educated. oldest one just completed his BTech. So I guess, you can say earnings are eugh to run household. But it is obviously t eugh to own a shop to sell  'daulat ki chaat'," Khemchand said.

One bowl of 'chaat' is priced at Rs 50 and a day's sale can yield between Rs 1,500-2,500. Weekends get better with earnings doubling to Rs 4,500, Aesh said. 

To prepare two platters of 'daulat ki chaat', family buys around 40 kg milk every day. 

Aesh's cousin Vijay said it costs around Rs 900 to get a platter full.

origins of name are as interesting as making of it.

While name may suggest that it must have been started by someone named 'Daulat', Khemchand said it is an Arabic word which means money or fortune, indicating that only rich people could afford it.

"Since it is me with milk and garnished with dry fruits, re was a time when only rich people could afford to eat it. It is so light that matter how much you consume, you can never have eugh of it," he said.

While word 'chaat' is commonly used for tangy, spicy range of savoury dishes me with tamarind and yoghurt, in case of this dessert it also probably means finger licking good after Hindi word. 

Khemchand, who has prepared and sold winter dish for over 30 years, plans to continue doing so for rest of his days. 

"I kw only this work, what else can I do? As far as my children are concerned, all of m are educated, y can choose to do this or whatever y seem fit. re is pressure," he said.

Khemchand and Aesh, a bachelors in arts, put up stalls every day in different parts of Chandni Chowk, while youngest Ravi, who is still in school, mans business on Sundays. 

Several members of extended family can also be found in narrow bylanes of Maliwara, Dareeba Kalan, Nai Sak and Chhipiwara Kalan in area.

Originally from Murab in Uttar Presh, family sells regular 'chaat' -- 'golgappas' and 'chaat paapdi' during rest of year.

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Khemchand said he learned art of churning out 'daulat ki chaat' from his "usta", Jaimal. 

"He passed away some 20-22 years ago. I learned from him.  You will find people saying my far used to do this same business but that's only for publicity and t true," he said.

As evening darkens, rush in cramped alleyways increases with curious people stopping to look at white and yellow mound of fluff. 

Aesh resumes his work, deftly scooping swy thingness into bowls and sprinkling it with crushed pistachio, powdered sugar and chocolaty brown scrapings of roasted milk.