Thanks to helpful readers, we've found just the recipe for M.W., whose Pakistani son-in-law wished to taste again a dish his late mother made for breakfast with rice, milk, carrots, raisins and pistachios.

``This sounds like carrot halavah, which I first met in India in the '50s,'' wrote Kay Carpenter of Cudjoe Key. ``We ate it as a dessert but why not breakfast, too?''

A reader named Pam contacted a friend in Pakistan who identified the dish as gajraila, and said it can also be served as dessert. Basmati rice, carrots, milk, cardamom pods and sugar are cooked until very soft. Just before serving a few drops of warm rose essence (kewra) are added along with grated almonds, coconut and pistachios.

The recipe here was recommended by K. Ghouri, who said he happened upon it while trying to find Americanized versions of Pakistani dishes for friends. It's from Endangered Recipes by Lari Robling (Stewart, Taboori & Chang, $17.95). The cookbook, by the way, is a personal favorite among this year's offerings, showcasing nearly forgotten recipes dishes such as Welsh rarebit, Parker House rolls and green goddess dressing.

I liked this best warm. I grated the carrots very fine with a food processor, and found the pudding got thick without extra mashing.

BAKE-OFF FAVES

In another installment of our Pillsbury Bake-Off showcase, Karen Lanzer of Kure Beach, N.C., shared a the wonderful, short-cut caramel-roll recipe here. Very similar to monkey bread, it the grand prize winner in the 1976 Bake-Off.

Q: I would like to get the recipe for the tangy tomato salad dressing that Outback restaurants serve. I have tried to duplicate it without success.

Robin, Key West

A: The Outback does not release its proprietary recipes. An Internet search turned up lots of copycat versions, but they all seemed to start with ketchup, onion powder and a lot of sugar or corn syrup and in some cases a lot of oil. Since this is billed as a fat-free, low-calorie dressing, I knew those were off the mark, so I experimented and came up with the one here -- a zesty, fat-free take on Catalina-style dressing. You may use a sugar substitute as long as it is heat stable.

SLEUTH'S CORNER

Q: When I was a child my mother would buy the most amazing chocolate cakes that were decorated with pecans around the edge from a bakery that was in the Town and Country shopping center on Kendall Drive. I was wondering if there is any way of finding the recipe and if anyone remembers the name of the bakery.

Annie R., Miami