Diwali recipe - Laddu

Ingredients:

Besan flour-1 cup
Sugar-1 cup
Water-1 cup
Cardomom - 4
Clove-1
Raisins-1 tbsp
Cashews-1 tbsp
Diamond sugar candy (kalkandu)-2 tsp (optional)
Ghee: 1 tablespoon + 2 tsp
Oil: to fry
Kesar powder - optional


Procedure

Sift the besan and add 1/2 cup of water and 2 tsp of ghee and mix well.

Prepare sugar syrup with 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. It should be of 1/2 string consistency (Ilam paagu). If it is more than half string, it will be difificult to make the laddu

Make boondhis using carrot shredder/boondhi maker and fry them in oil. Take it out before it becomes crisp.

Mix the boondhis in sugar syrup.
Mash the boondhis in sugar syrup with a wooden laddle.

Switch on the stove and in very low heat, mash the mixture, add cashew,cardomom,clove, raisins,kalkandu, ghee and stir it for 30 -40 seconds.
Switch off the flame. While the mixture is still warm, make the laddus(You can wet your hands with water and then make the shape).

Diwali recipes

Spongy Rasagullas

Ingredients for Spongy Rasagullas

Milk - 1 liter
Sugar - 1.5 cup
Lemon juice - 4 tbsp

Procedure

In a thick pan, add milk. Once milk starts boiling, turn off the gas and make milk cool down (slightly warm). Add water in lemon juice.

Mix little lemon juice at a time in milk and mix well. Add lemon juice until milk starts to curdle.  Once milk starts to curdle stop adding lemon juice in milk. Strain the curdled milk in any muslin cloth. Spread cloth over sieve and place a utensil beneath the sieve. Pour curdled milk on top of the cloth. All water will drain out in utensil kept beneath the sieve and chena will be left on the top. Pour 1-2 cup cold water on chena so that it becomes cool and the flavor of lemon juice gets washed away. Cover chena from all sides and squeeze rest of water. Soft chena is ready.

Take out chena in any plate and with help of your hands mash and knead well to make it soft and tender. Divide the chena in to parts. Take one part and bind it with hands giving it a shape of ladoo. Place this ball in any plate. Like wise prepare all balls.

Add sugar and 4 cup water in pressure cooker and let it boil. When it starts boiling place the entire prepared Rasgula balls in cooker one by one. Cover it with lid and let it simmer once. Reduce the flame and cook for 7-8 minutes more.

Open the pressure cooker and take out rasgullas along with sugar syrup in a bowl and make them cool down. After 5-6 hours rasgullas become more sweet and tasty. Serve chilled sponge rasagullas for diwali with savouries.

Diwali recipes

Badusha

Ingredients

Maida/all purpose flour/plain flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Baking soda-1/2 tsp
Curd - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1.5 tbsp
Butter - 1/2 cup

For sugar syrup

Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Elaichi - 4 or 5

Step by step instructions

In a bowl, add butter, maida flour, sugar, baking soda, oil & curd. Mix them well together.

Knead them in to a soft dough by adding little water.

In a thick bottomed pan, add sugar and water.

Add 1/2 tsp of milk to the sugar syrup to remove dirt from it.

Divide the soft dough and make them into balls. Fold the edges for getting the shape of badusha swirls. 

In a thick bottomed pan add oil. Once the oil gets heated, slide the badusha's one by one and fry them in batches.

Fry them till golden brown.

Meanwhile, the sugar syrup turns into one string consistency. Switch off the gas and add cardamoms and saffron (optional).

Soak the badusha's in the sugar syrup for 2 minutes.

Chop pistachios for garnishing the badushas.

Yummy spongy badushas ready to serve. Rich flavoured sweet for all occassions.

Diwali recipes

Palkova or milk kova

Ingredients 

6 cups milk
1 cup sugar(adjust according to your taste buds)
Cashew nuts or almond nuts

Procedure

Bring milk to a boil. Reduce the flame and simmer for one hour stirring every few minutes. After some time, the colour changes and the milk begins to solidify.At this point, stir continuously until the thickened milk begins to leave the sides of the pan. Pour sugar and stir again till it becomes thick. Garnish with cashewnuts. Allow to cool.

*You can try with milk powder or condensed milk if you didn't get the thick or good quality milk.

Diwali Recipe

Beetroot halwa

Ingredients

Grated Beetroot - 2 or 3 cups
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Cardamom powder
Milk - 1 cup
Ghee

Grate the beetroots. Boil milk in a pan. Let it reduce to half and switch off the stove.

In a thick pan add 1 tsp ghee. Add the grated beetroot fry for 2 mins. Add the boiled milk and cook till it completely absorbs. After beetroot is cooked well and softens, add sugar and cardamom powder. Sugar melts and the ghee separates in the side. Garnish with cashew nuts. Delicious beetroot halwa is ready to serve.

Diwali recipe - Carrot halwa or Gajar halwa

Ingredients

Grated carrots - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 or 1/2 tbsp (already carrots are very sweet). 
Condensed milk - home made or milk maid 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder
Ghee - 3 tbsp 
Cashews or pistachios or almonds to garnish

Procedure

Rinse the carrots. Peel and grate the carrots with a  grater or in a food processor. Heat ghee in a kadai or thick bottomed deep pan. Add the grated carrots. Saute the carrots till they turn tender and are cooked. Keep on stirring in intervals while sauting the carrots. Then add the condensed milk. Stir  well and add the cardamom powder, cashews and raisins.stir again and simmer the halwa on a low flame stirring often, till the mixture dries up and reduces. The ghee starts to separate. Switch off the stove. Garnish with nuts. Serve gajar halwa or carrot halwa hot or chilled.

Diwali recipe - melt in mouth Mysore pak

Ingredients

• 1 cup gram flour
• 1 cup ghee
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Water

Procedure

• In a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat, roast the gram flour until it begins to turn golden brown and gives a roasted aroma. Transfer immediately large wide bowl and allow it to cool, as you don’t want the color to change too much.
• In the same pan, add sugar and 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Stir the sugar in water until it dissolves, and allow it to come to boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer until you get a one string consistency – it should feel sticky between your fingers.
• Once it attains a stringy consistency add in the roasted gram flour and continue to stir until well combined. Stir it well without lumps. Turn the heat to low and keep stirring continuously until it becomes a smooth consistency and continue to stir. Add ghee little at a time and repeat the addition of ghee after 3-4 minutes of stirring. Once the entire mass comes together and looks smooth, add the last portion of ghee and continue to stir till the whole masses rises up like froth. Once it comes to this consistency, remove from the heat and pour the gram flour mysore pak mixture into a greased tray. Spread it evenly
• Sprinkle a little of granulated sugar over the top and allow the Mysore Pak to set and cool completely until set. Cut the Mysore Pak into desired shapes.
• Serve the delicious Mysore Pak for special occasions and for festivals like Diwali.

*Note: Heat 1 tbsp of ghee and add to the roasted gram flour before adding to the sugar syrup. 

Diwali recipe - Coconut burfi

Ingredients

Grated coconut - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup or 1/2 (according to your taste)
Water - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Chopped pistachios or almonds

Procedure

Grease a plate with ghee and set aside. Grate the two coconuts and do not grate till the end as we starts to get brown colour gratings. In a thick pan, add 1 tsp ghee. Add the grated coconut and fry for a minute. Switch off the gas.

In a thick bottomed pan, add 1 cup water. When it starts to boil, add sugar.  Add 1 teaspoon of milk to remove dirt from the milk. Cook the syrup till you get one string consistency.  Now add the grated coconut and stir continously in a low flame. Add a pinch of Kesar colour (my kids like kesar colour so i added that colour to the mixture)or your favourite food colour and mix well. Cook till the burfi mixture leaves the sides of the pan (a thick mixture of burfi). Now pour the burfi mixture in the greased plate. 

In a pan, add a teaspoon of ghee. Fry the chopped pistachios or almonds for a minute. Cut it into diamond shape once it is warm. Garnish with nuts. Yummy kesar coconut burfi ready to serve for diwali. 

Koya jamuns

Ingredients

Koya - 1.5 cups

Maida or plain flour - 1 cup

Salt - a pinch

Baking soda - 1 tsp(optional)

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Procedure 

Grate khoya and mash chenna and keep aside. Mix grated koya, sieved maida flour, green cardamom powder and a little water to make a soft dough.

Divide the dough and shape them into small balls. Prepare a sugar syrup with sugar and two cups of water. Add a tsp of milk to remove the scum from the syrup.

Heat ghee/oil in a kadai. Add the balls and deep fry on low heat till golden in colour. Drain and soak in the sugar syrup for atleast fifteen minutes. Serve hot or warm

Diwali Sweets - Bombay Wheat Halwa

Diwali is around the corner. Usually we celebrate with sweets and savouries. My first diwali sweet recipe on this blog is Wheat Flour Halwa. Wheat flour halwa is a healthy and rich flavoured sweet for all festive seasons. Easy recipe with simple ingredients available at kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup ghee, clarified butter
1.5 cup sugar
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 tablespoon cashew nuts
1 tsp milk for kesar powder
Pistachios (optional)

Preparation

Boil the water and sugar in a pan. Bring the syrup to full boil and mix it well.

In a pan, add ghee or clarifying butter. Once it is warm, add the wheat flour. Stir it continuously with out any lumps. Add a pinch of kesar colour in a tsp of milk and add it to the flour. Powder the sugar in a blender. When the halwa is half cooked, add the powdered sugar and cardamom powder.


Stir the halwa till the ghee separate on sides. Switch off the gas. In a pan, add 1 tbsp of ghee. Roast the whole or broken cashews. Add the roasted cashews to the wheat halwa. Cut into pieces if needed after it is cooled. Mouth watering wheat flour halwa ready to serve!