Have you ever left your house without your mom giving you a glass of milk? I sure haven’t. For us, milk is an everyday necessity. From having milk chai first thing in the morning to using milk throughout the day in our food recipes, it has become a must.

Milk contains so many nutrients that we need on a daily basis, including minerals, vitamins, protein, healthy fats and antioxidants. My mother always made me drink Milk saying it will make my bones stronger.

No wonder, milk is considered a complete beverage in itself.

Milk is such a versatile ingredient. We can make so many things with it, you put it in your cereal, you make smoothies and lassi, you put in your sabji to give it that silky texture, you put it in your gajar ka halwa making it one of the best Indian sweets, the list can go on.

And if you don’t want to use milk as it is, then make butter, ghee, paneer, chenna, buttermilk, and cheese out of it. Milk is basically the mother of all Dairy products.

From savoury to sweet, we use milk and milk products on an everyday basis.

Not just for food, we use milk and its products for religious purposes as well. Ghee is used in lamps for rituals, we often hear the term ‘ghee ka diya’. You must have also seen Milk being used to bathe Hindu idols on special occasions.

Let’s talk a little bit about the history of milk and its production. The year, 1970, marked the beginning of a government program that changed the face of dairy production in India and our dependence on it. ‘Operation Flood’ or the ‘White Revolution’ created a system of dairy products that included dairy farmers all across the country.

The government saw the dairy industry as a means of both boosting employment opportunities and improving people’s access to nutrition. The programme brought together urban areas that might have higher demand but lower supply and rural family-owned dairy producers. Since then, the dairy industry is flourishing and will continue to do so since milk has become such an important part of our nutrition.

There are often concerns about if the milk is pure or not, or if it’s fresh or not. So we decided to switch to Vijay Dairy milk. They have fresh and pure milk, available every day. We also get all our milk products like paneer, ghee, curd from Vijay Dairy as well.

I love making sweets at home and Vijay Dairy milk always makes the day.

One of my very favourite sweets to make is Gajar ka halwa. Let me tell you the recipe by Chef Sanjeev Kapur that I love.

Ingredients

Carrots 8-10 medium

Milk 5-6

Almonds 5-6

Raisins 10-15

Pure ghee 3 tablespoons

Milk 2 cups

Green cardamom powder 1/4 teaspoon

Mawa (khoya) 1 cup

Sugar 3/4 cup

Silver warq 1 sheet

Let’s make it:

Step 1

Peel, wash and grate carrots. Chop cashew nuts.

Step 2

Blanch almonds in half a cup of hot water for five minutes.

Step 3

Drain, cool, peel and slice them. Wash raisins and pat them dry.

Step 4

Heat pure ghee in a thick-bottomed pan, add grated carrots and sauté for five minutes. Step 5

Add milk, green cardamom powder and cook on medium heat for five to six minutes or until the

milk evaporates and the carrots are cooked.

Step 6

Stir in the grated khoya and sugar and cook for two to three minutes or till the sugar melts and

mixes well, stirring continuously.

Step 7

Continue to cook for two minutes more.

Step 8

Garnish with chopped cashew nuts, sliced almonds and raisins.

Step 9

Decorate with silver vark. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Trust me, you will love this delicious gajar ka halwa.

( Bonus tip: Use Vijay Dairy Pure Ghee to make it more authentic! )

You might not have a sweet tooth like me, but I know everyone loves paneer and everything we add paneer to! So let me tell you how I make paneer at home with the help of this easy recipe by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor-

All you need is milk and lemon juice/vinegar.

1. Bring one litre of milk to boil. Immediately add two tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar and continue to boil, stirring continuously, till the milk curdles and separates from the whey.

• Drain and dry the curds cup in a piece of muslin. Dip the potli in chilled water so that it cools down completely. Squeeze out the water again.

• Place the paneer under a heavyweight so that all the water drains away and the paneer sets in a block.

And it’s ready!

(Another bonus tip- For malai paneer, use full cream milk and follow the same procedure.)

1. Bring one litre of milk to boil. Immediately add two tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar and
   continue to boil, stirring continuously, till the milk curdles and separates from the whey.
2. Drain and dry the curds cup in a piece of muslin. Dip the potli in chilled water so that it cools
   down completely. Squeeze out the water again.
3. Place the paneer under a heavyweight so that all the water drains away and the paneer sets
   in a block.
   And it’s ready!
   (Another bonus tip- For malai paneer, use full cream milk and follow the same procedure.)

Varieties of Vijay Dairy Milk:

1: Gold Milk

2: Sampoorna Milk

3: Tea Special Gold Milk

4: Super Gold Milk

5: Taaza

6: Lite

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