Recipes - Ooh! I Love The Diwali Sweeets

Sweet Indian Stuffed bread
2 cups chana dal, soaked in water for 4 hours
2 cups jaggery or brown sugar
2 cups refined flour
3 tbsps oil
1 tsp cardamom powder
a generous pinch of saffron
3/4 tsp turmeric powder

Drain and cook chana dal in a pressure cooker till soft. Drain out excess water till the dal is absolutely dry. Add jaggery and cook further till blended and mash into a soft paste. Add cardamom powder, saffron,and mix well. Form 20 balls of equal size and reserve.

Mix refined flour, oil, water and turmeric powder. Make a very soft, sticky dough. Knead very well. Use oil to knead. Divide into 20 equal portions. With greased palms, take one portion of dough and flatten it into a disc of the size of the palm. Place a ball of "chana jaggery" paste in the centre and fold the disc from all sides to cover the paste completely. On a well-floured board, preferably over a sheet of clean transparent plastic wrap, gently roll out each poli to a 6 inches disc. This can get very tricky as the paste does try to slide out.

Use a little flour if that happens. Roll.Roast each poli on a hot, dry girdle with no oil or ghee. Roast both sides till well done and aromatic. Smear with ghee on both sides when done. Serve warm with clarified butter or a bowl of milk.

Chilled Almond pudding

Kheer is one of the favorite desserts in India. Kheer is usually made out of milk and sugar along with nuts, rice, semolina and even vegetables sometimes, like in Carrot Kheer. This particular recipe of the Badaam Kheer is a simple version of the traditional kheer. It is a very satisfying dessert after a very flavorful meal. Enjoy.

1 cup Condensed sweetened milk
2 cups 2 % or Whole Milk
1 cup Almond powder
2 tablespoons Golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon Cardamom powder
A pinch of Saffron
Sugar as needed

Add the condensed sweetened milk, milk, and almond powder in a pot and cook on medium heat for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the cardamom powder, saffron and raisins. Add sugar if needed for your desired sweetness. Cook further, stirring constantly till a medium thick and creamy consistency is reached. Chill for 4 to 5 hours. Garnish with sliced almonds. Serve chilled.

Besan Ladoo

Ingredients
4 cups Gram Flour
1 cup pure ghee (clarified butter)
2 Cups sugar
powdered cardamom

Method
Heat the ghee in a pan. Add the gram flour (besan) and fry on a low flame continuously till it is brown and when you smell the aroma. Let it cool sufficiently and then add the cardamom powder and the sugar and shape into ladoos. You may also add almonds and raisins if you wish

Gujjia A traditional sweet

Ingredients
1 cup maida (plain flour)
1 tbsp ghee(clarified butter)
Water to knead
For the filling
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup Khoya
1 tbs poppy seeds(khus khus)
1 tsp cardamom powder
1tbs crushed almonds
1 cup sugar
10 -15 raisins

Method
For the Flour

Mix Ghee and flour well. Add enough water to make a soft dough and keep aside

For the filling
Roast Khoya to alight pink by stirring continuously over low heat. Cool and break with fine crumbs with fingers. Now roast coconut flakes lightly. Cool. Mix all the other ingredients and keep aside
Method
Take small piece of the dough, roll into a ball and flatten it with palm. Place ï¿½ tsp filling on one side and fold over the other half by sealing it with hand. Do the rest of the dough the same way. Dry on paper towels or a piece of dry cloth fo r a half an hour. Deep fry in hot ghee on low flame till it is cooked on both sides. Remove and store in a air tight container.

Balushai

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain white flour
1 pinch baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
200 gms thick fresh yogurt or curd
1/2 cup gms sugar
ghee for deep frying

Method
Sift the flour, baking powder and the baking soda through a sieve.Keep aside In a bowl, cream the yogurt and 1/4 cup of the maida. Gently and lightly, knead in the flour mixture to the yogurt mixture. Do not do it vigourously. Put the dough aside for an hour and allow it to rise.Make a sugar syrup using the sugar in 6 cups water. Boil it till it has a two string consistency. Knead dough lightly, once again. Divide it into small three inch diameter balls. Flatten the ball by pressing lightly. Make a depression in the centre with your thumb.
In a karhai or wok , heat the ghee, for deep frying. Lower the heat and deep fry the dough cakes or balushais, two or three at a time allowing room for them to expand. Ladle ghee over the balushais as you fry. They will puff out and almost double in size. Fry them till they are a light biscuit colour. Remove them one by one, with a slotted spoon. Drain off the extra ghee by holding the spoon against the rim of the karhai.
Slip the balushais into the sugar syrup or chaasni. When well soaked, remove and keep aside to cool. As they cool they will have a thin sugar-coat on each balushai.

Burfee (Milk fudge with Indian twist)

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 pounds ricotta cheese
Red, green and yellow food coloring

Melt the butter and add the flour, stirring to make a smooth paste. Add the sugar and ricotta cheese, stirring well. Place this mixture in a microwaveable bowl. Cook on high in the microwave for 30 minutes, stirring at intervals of 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 3 minutes and 2 minutes.
Divide the dough into three parts and color one part green, another yellow and another red.
Layer the dough 1-inch thick total, a color at a time, on a greased plate with a rolling pin. Make 1-inch diamond shapes with a knife after the mixture cools completely.