Delectable Diwali Dishes

Diwali Special Delectable Dishes

Rava Laddu

Ingredients

Rava – 1 ½ cup

Sugar – 1 cup

Ghee – 2 tbsp

Warm milk - 1 ½ to 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - a pinch

Freshly Grated Coconut - ¼ cup

Cashew nuts - 10

Raisins - 10

Procedure

Heat ghee in a kadai. Once the ghee turns hot enough, simmer the flame, roast cashew nuts and raisins. Keep it aside in a plate. Then roast the coconut in the same kadai , without changing the colour. Add the remaining ghee and roast the rava till it gets roasted well. Once done add the sugar. Remove the kadai from the stove and add the roasted cashew nut and raisins, cardamom powder, roasted coconut and mix well. Now add in the 2 tbsp milk and mix well. Then roll it in to small balls.

Motichoor Laddu

Ingredients

Gram flour (besan) - 60 grams

Saffron (kesar) optional - a few threads

Sugar - 3/4 cups

Milk - 2 teaspoons

Oil

Pistachios slivered - 5-6

Method

Mix together the gram flour and half a cup plus one tablespoon of water in a large bowl. Whisk well to make a smooth batter of pour ing consistency. Pass the mixture through a strainer into another bowl. Add the saffron, mix well and set aside. Cook the sugar with half a cup of water in a deep non-stick pan, stirring till the sugar dissolves. Add the milk, and when the scum rises to the surface, collect it in a ladle and discard. Cook the syrup till it attains a one-string consistency. Heat sufficient oil in a non-stick kadai on medium heat. Dip a perforated spoon, with small holes, into the batter; shake off the excess batter and tap the spoon on the rim of the kadai so that small boondi fall into the hot oil. Quickly gather these boondi with another perforated spoon and put them into the sugar syrup. Continue the process with the rest of the batter. Leave the boondi to soak in the sugar syrup for an hour, till soft. Squeeze out the excess sugar syrup and shape them into sixteen lemon-sized laddu. Serve the laddu garnished with pistachio slivers. Makes 16 laddu/400 grams

Garjalu

Ingredients for shell

Bombay ravva (souji) – 1 cup

All purpose flour (Maida) – 4 cups

Salt - ½ tea spoon

Ingredients for coconut- peanut filling

Dry shredded coconut – 2 cups

Ground nuts - ½ cup

Putnalu/roasted gram dal - ¼ cup

Sugar – 2 cups

Cardamom powder - ½ tbsp

Raisins - ¼ cup

Cashews - ¼ cup

Ghee/butter – 2 tbsp

Procedure

Dry roast groundnuts and grind it to a fine powder along with putnalu. Heat ghee in a pan and add raisins and roast them till they turn light brown. Then add the groundnut mixture and roast until it turns light brown. Add fresh, dry coconut and roast until the raw flavour goes away. Now turn off the stove and add sugar. Mix well and keep aside to cool.

Ingredients for coconut and souji filling

Dry shredded coconut - 1.5 cups

Fresh grated coconut - ½ cup

Sugar – 2 cups

Cardamom powder - ½ tbsp

Raisins - ¼ cup

Cashewnut - ¼ cup

Ghee/butter – 2 tbsp

Procedure

Heat ghee in a pan and add raisins and roast them till they turn light brown. Then add souji and roast until it turns light brown. Add fresh and dry coconut and roast until the raw flavour goes away. Now turn off the stove and add sugar. Mix well and keep aside to cool.

Final method for making garjalu

Take maida and souji in a bowl and add salt. Knead the dough by adding water. Keep this aside for an hour and then divide the dough into small, equal parts. Each part should be the size of a cherry. Now roll each ball into a flat disc and place the filling at the centre. Now apply water on the edges and fold the dough and press the edges tightly. Heat the oil and fry them on medium flame. You can fry five at a time. Serve hot. They can remain good for 15 days or more.

Besa Ke Laddu

Ingredients

Almonds - 20-25

Gram flour (besan) - 4 cups

Ghee - 2 cups

Green cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Powdered sugar - 2 cups

Method

Heat ghee in a kadai and add green cardamom powder. Add gram flour and roast on low heat till a nice aroma is given out - for approximately ten minutes. Crush almonds. Transfer roasted gram flour to a bowl and add crushed almonds and mix. Allow the mixture to cool slightly before adding powdered sugar. Add sugar and mix. Roll into even sized laddus. Cool and store.

Semya Peni

Ingredients

Peni – 1 packet

Sugar powder - 2 tsp

Pista - 4

Badam - 4

Cardamom powder - pinch

Milk - 1 glass

Saffron - little

Method

Add soaked badam and pista to milk and blend into a fine paste. Add this blend to the left over milk and boil it for 5 minutes. Pour this content in a bowl of peni and add sugar to taste. Badam and pista can be chopped to use for garnishing.

Bellam Gavvalu

Ingredients

Wheat flour - ¼ kilo

Bombay rava – 100 grams

Ghee – ½ kg

Salt to taste

Procedure

Prepare a dough by adding wheat flour, Bombay rava and ghee. Set the dough aside for half an hour. Heat sufficient ghee for deep frying. Take another pan add jaggery, some water and bring it to boil. Prepare jaggery syrup. Keep stirring the syrup continuously. Now prepare gavvalu with the help of thumb nail or a wooden blade. Gently drop the gavvalu in the hot ghee and deep fry till they are a nice golden colour. Transfer the gavvalu in to the jaggery syrup and coat well. Remove onto a plate and serve.