Diwali is the festival of light, happiness and over indulgence in all ways. Family and friends converge from all directions to bring in the gaiety and festivities. Here are a few desi sweets and snacks with a twist for you to try this festive season.
Motichoor Doughnuts
Ingredients
1¼ cup plain flour +½ cup for dusting
½ tbsp rose water
¾ cup warm milk
1/3 cup powdered sugar
¾ tsp yeast
¼ cup butter, soft, but not melted
Oil to fry
for filling
½ cup milk
½ tbsp custard powder
2 tbsp sugar
3 motichoor laddos, broken down
2 tbsp pistachio, chopped finely
For decoration
Silver leaf, as required
12 motichoor laddos, very small sized
2 tbsp pistachio, chopped finely
Method
In a mixing bowl add flour, yeast, sugar and milk, and make a sticky dough. Add butter and knead it for five to six minutes. Cover and let it rest for an hour.
After one hour, roll the dough to ½ inch thickness. Sprinkle flour if needed. Use a doughnut cutter or a glass and a bottle cap to make doughnuts. Place doughnuts in trays and keep it aside for another hour.
For the filling, boil milk in a pan and mix custard powder with two tablespoons of cold milk and pour that in to the boiling milk along with sugar.
Stir it well and cook till it gets bubbly and thick. Pour the custard over the broken motichur ladoos. Add pistachios and mix well. Refrigerate for an hour.
Deep fry doughnuts until they turn golden. Transfer to a kitchen towel. Make small slits in the outer circumference of doughnut and then fill motichoor custard in them generously using a piping bag.
Apply sliver leaf in the doughnuts and then place motichur ladoos on top of the doughnuts. Sprinkle some pistachios and serve.
Mithai Pataka Parfait
Ingredients
For pepper shrikhand
300 gm hung yogurt
2 tsp black pepper
¾ cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp kewra essence
For the parfait
½ kg mini gulab jamuns
300 gm caramel popcorn
2 peanut chikkis
4 sachets popping candy
½ cup crushed pistachios and walnuts
Method
To make the pepper shrikhand, add yogurt to a mixing bowl with pepper, sugar, kewra essence. Mix the ingredients well. Transfer the mixture into piping bags.
Crush caramel popcorn and peanut chikkis to make the crunchy element.
To serve the parfait in a glass, pipe the pepper shrikhand, place a layer of gulab jamuns. Scatter some crushed popcorn and peanut chikkis. Add another layer of shrikhand and few more gulab jamuns. Now sprinkle some nuts and some popping candies. Cover the popping candies with a little more of nuts. Decorate with gulab jamuns and serve.
Lacha Mathari
Ingredients
250 gm maida
1 tbsp cumin
powder
1 tbsp black pepper powder
1 tbsp ajwain
Oil for frying + ¼ cup for the dough
Salt to taste
Method
In a bowl add maida, cumin powder, black pepper powder, ajwain, oil and water. Knead and make a soft dough. Rest it for 20 minutes
Divide the dough in equal portion and with the rolling pin make small puris of three inches. Apply oil on the puri and dust with maida.
Fold the puri the way you make a paper fan. Press the folds and roll it in a round shape. With the help of rolling pin, gently make a puris of small size.
With a fork pierce both side of the puri. Heat oil in a kadai and fry the mathari till it turns golden brown.
Milk Cake
Ingredients
3 litres milk
½ tsp lemon juice
450 gm sugar
80 gm ghee
Pistachios to garnish
Method
Reduce the milk to half by stirring it continuously on medium flame in an iron kadai.
Add the lemon juice and keep stirring it. After it gets grainy and thick, start adding the sugar, one spoon at a time.
Finally when it starts to splutter, add the ghee and keep stirring it until it changes its colour a bit and starts leaving the sides.
Grease a large plate and add the cooked mawa in it. Cover it and place it under a towel and let it stay uncovered for three to four hours. Once it sets, cut it into rectangulars and garnish with pistachios.
Basundi
Ingredients
½ litre milk
1 cup condensed milk
½ tsp cardamom powder
½ tsp saffron
1 tsp pistachio, chopped finely
Method
Boil the milk in a thick bottom pan and reduce it to ¼the of the quantity. Keep stirring continuously.
Add the condensed milk and further boil it, till itbecomes thick. Now add saffron, cardamom powder and mix well. Switch off the gas and add grated pistachios.
Refrigerate for an hour and garnish with pistachios before serving.
