 The most popular of India’s festivals is Diwali .It is perhaps the only festival which is celebrated throughout the length and breadth of India. Besides marking the traditional Hindu New Year, it brings about the message that virtue always triumph over evil. It is a festival of lights, fun, merry making eating loads of sweets and bursting crackers. So go ahead and enjoy this diwali by making these delicious sweets for your family and friends.
Kesari Peda
Ingredients
250 grams sweetened Khoya.
2 tablespoons each of ground almonds, pistachios and cashewnuts.
Few strands of saffron.
Cardamom seeds.
3 tablespoons castor sugar.
Method
Crumble the khoya nicely .Mix all the nuts together with essence, sugar and khoya. Prepare small balls out of khoya and the nut mixture. Flatten a little in the centre and decorate with saffron strands and cardamom seeds.
Jalebi kheer
Ingredients
100 grams ready made jalebis.
½ litre boiling milk.
2 tablespoons custard powder dissolved in ¼ cup milk.
2 tablespoons castor sugar.
2 tablespoons each of sliced nuts and rose petals.
Method
Put the jalebis in boiling milk with the sugar, put in custard powder stirring all the time. Cook only for 2 minutes and decorate with the nuts of your choice and rose petals.
Cashew nut chocolate Rolls.
Ingredients
100 grams ground cashew nuts
100 grams ground paneer
2 tablespoons grated chocolate.
5 tablespoons castor sugar.
½ teaspoons cardamom seeds.
Dry coconut powder.
Method
Mix together all the above ingredients with the exception of coconut form into small rolls. Roll in dry coconut and serve.
Rabdi
Ingredients
½ litre milk.
5 tblsps sugar.
50 gms pedas crushed.
½ tsp. cardamom seeds.
2 tblsps. Finely chopped almonds and pistachios.
A few drops essence of rose.
Method.
Place the milk on a slow fire along with sugar and cardamom seeds. When the sugar dissolves add pedas and cook stirring all the time till the mixture turns thick. Remove from fire. Mix in nuts and essence and serve hot or cold.
Stuffed Gulab Jamun
Ingredients
250 grams pedas, crumbled.
10 gulab jamuns.
4 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons chopped almonds and pistachios.
Method
Mix pedas with cream. Cut the jamuns into halves; apply a thick layer of pedas mixed with cream on top. Decorate each jamun with shredded nuts.
Sev Burfi
Ingredients
250 Gms salt less sev
250 Gms khoya.
250 Gms sugar
25 Gms each of sliced almonds and pistachios.
1 tsp.coarsely pounded cardamom seeds.
1 tsp.essence of rose.
A handful of slit pistachios.
Silver foil.
Method
Melt sugar and make a thick syrup put in khoya, sev and sliced nuts. Keep on stirring till the milk turns thick and leaves the sides of the pan. Add essence and remove from fire. Put in a greased Thali decorate with nuts and silver foil. Set aside to turn cold, then cut into neat squares and store in an airtight container.
Almond Burfi
Ingredients
500 Gms khoya
250 Gms almonds blanched and ground to a paste.
¼ tsp.essence of almonds.
1 tsp cardamom seeds.
300 Gms sugar.
Silver warq
Method
Put 2 cups water in sugar and prepare thick syrup. Mix in khoya almonds and cardamoms and keep on stirring till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan put in essence and remove from fire put in a greased thali cover with warq.And set aside to turn cold. Cut into pieces and store in fridge in airtight container.
Boondi ladoos
Ingredients
250 Gms ready made sweet boondi.
250 Gms khoya<unsweetened>
1 tsp.cardamom powder.
100 Gms sugar.
Silver warq.
2 tblsps each of sliced pistachios and almonds.
1 tsp. cardamom seeds.
Method
Add 4 tblsps water to sugar and make syrup. Mix in khoya, nuts and cardamom seeds. Cook till smooth. Mix in boondi thoroughly. When the mixture turns thick remove from fire. Cool till bearably hot. From into the shape of small ladoos and decorate with silver warq.
Moong Dal Halwa Ingredients 125 Gms moong dal. 75 Gms khoya. 100 Gms sugar. Nuts like almonds, pistachios, walnuts and raisins chopped ¼ cup cardamom seeds. Silver warq. Method. Fry nuts and raisins and chop them. Soak dal for a few hours in water. Drain and grind to a coarse paste. Heat 4 tblsps.ghee and fry dal to a golden color. Add khoya, sugar, cardamoms and cook till thick. Decorate with the nuts raisins and silver warq.
Gujia Ingredients 500 gm Maida 200 gm mawa. 25 Gms each of cashewnuts, walnuts and raisins, almonds and pistachios 2 tblsps.grated coconut. 250 grams powdered sugar 1 tsp.cardamom powder. ¼ tsp. grated nutmeg. Method Add 4 tsp ghee to the flour and add enough water to form stiff dough. Roast the khoya in a dry pan till it becomes golden in color add coconut and mix it in the khoya with the rest of the above ingredients. Roll out the dough into a long thin sheet. Stamp out small rounds from the dough. Place khoya mixture evenly on one round and cover with another round. Seal and pinch the edges together.Deepfry over a slow fire to a golden color. Drain cool and store in airtight tins.
Jalebi Ingredients
150 Gms refind flour 1 tblsp each of oil and sour curds. A few drops orange red food coloring 250 Gms sugar. Sliced nuts of your choice. Method Mix together flour oil and curds add enough water to form a thick batter. Set aside whole night. Put one cup water in sugar and prepare syrup. Mix color in batter. Heat enough ghee for deep frying to smoking. Reduce heat then pour the batter through the thick cloth bag with a hole in the center and form into small coils. Fry over gentle fire till crisp but not brown. Put the crispy jalebis in the syrup. After five minutes remove from the syrup and put in a clean plate decorate with sliced nuts of your choice.
 By Golden Reejsinghani
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Gourmet 
