Banquets of the nations

Put some finely scraped cocoanut into a pan along with some thick sugar syrup and a pinch of black cardamom powder. Fry till browned, but not charred, and place to the one side. Make a nice dough of finely sifted rice flour and boiling water ; knead well. Take a piece of the dough as large as an egg and press it out flat with the hands to the size of a large saucer ; put a tablespoonful of the cocoanut mixture in the centre, and fold over in the shape of a half moon ; wet the edges and press them closely together. Tie a clean cloth over the top of a pot of boiling water, place the cakes on the top, and steam for half an hour. Rotri. (Sweetened Milk.) Reduce four pounds of milk by boiling to a fourth of its original weight ; then sweeten with plenty of sugar. Roti Nan. (Sweet Cake.) Take twenty-four ounces of fine flour, and boil with milk until it becomes thick like dough, after which divide the boiled dough into five parts, and place them on a table. Take two ounces almonds, two ounces pistachio nuts, two ounces raisins, and one pound of milk boiled till it is reduced to four ounces, two ounces sugar, and mix these with a little butter (ghi), and fry till the mixture is browned. Pound the mixture until it is divided into little particles or pellets. Then mix the whole and add to this a little saffron, musk, and cardamoms, and put these in the brown mixture. Now take the dough and roll each of the five pieces into a separate bannock or cake, and pour a little melted butter over them. Then take the almond, sugar, and cardamom mixture and put a little in the middle of each cake, and put one cake on the top of the other, and press the sides together with a little water until all are completely closed up ; but before doing so put a little condensed milk on the top, again closing the edges till all the five cakes are on the top of each other. Spread a little saffron on the topmost cake. When this is done, with a knife cut away the rough edges, and put in an oven with as much butter as will cover the cakes, and let them bake half an hour. See that they are well browned, and then pour off the melted butter. Ornament the top of the cake with icing sugar. When this is done, the cake can be cut into pieces and served up. This cake is a particular favourite of His Highness the Maharana, and is always eaten at a Palace dinner. Kabani Murabba. (Damson Preserve.) Boil equal quantities of damsons and sugar syrup till it jellies. Rewund Murabba. (Stewed Rhubarb). Clean and cut sticks of rhubarb into two-inch lengths. Place the pieces in a pan. Cover closely and stew very gently at the side of the fire or in the oven till tender. After which pour in sufficient very strong sugar syrup to sweeten. Aru Murabba. (Peach Preserve.) Skin the peaches, and cut a slit to take out the stones. Strew rather more than their weight of sugar over them, and stand till next day, when stew very slowly till they look clear, being careful to remove any scum. Remove the fruit and boil up the syrup, and pour it over the fruit ; do this three times at intervals of two days. Murg Pak. (Melon Seeds.)