Indian festivals are certainly incomplete without sweets and special recipes. Raksha Bandhan in around the corners and here are a few interesting sweet delights to make at home with easy and simple guided process. Having ongoing pandemic Coronavirus outspread there are restrictions to crowd gatherings and celebrations. However, we can still celebrate this special occasion within our family. Because of safety concerns amidst this pandemic, many people prefer making meals at home. To add sweetness to the festival of Raksha Bandhan this year, we bring you a list of five easy recipes. The list includes Milk Peda, Besan Ladoo, Coconut Ladoo and a few others. Make sure to try these at home.
1. Milk Peda Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup milk powder
- ½ Cup cream
- ¼ Cup sugar
- Powdered cardamom
- Few strands of saffron
- 2 tsp warm milk
- Dry fruits- chopped almonds, pistachios/ chocolate chips
Procedure:
- Add a few saffron strands to the warm milk and set aside
- Mix together the cream and milk powder in a non-stick pan. Use big spoon to mix everything well
- Cook on a low flame until the mixture bubbles and thickens
- Continue to cook until it reaches a soft, dough-light consistency. Cook the mixture around 7-8 minutes
- Now add saffron milk and cardamom powder to the mixture
- Mix again and cook on low heat for a further 7-8 minutes
- Then the mil will become silky and soft in texture. Mix it with folding methods
- Take a tiny bit between your fingertips and see if you can roll it into a small ball. If you feel that the consistency is correct then you can start making the sweets
- Turn off the heat and take out the mixture in a bowl. Wait until it turns lukewarm
- Then add sugar and knead well with your fingers. Let the sugar blended into the peda dough completely. It is best if you use sugar powder
- Take the small chunks in your hands and roll them into small balls. To flatten, lightly press the balls with your thumb and it a peda shape
- You can garnish the peda with Kaju, Almond, Chocolate chips placing them in the midle of the peda
2. Besan Ladoo
Ingredients:
- 250 grms/ 2.5 cup Besan (Gram) flour
- 2 tbsp / ½ cup melted Ghee
- ½ cup hot Water
- Oil for deep frying
- 200 grms /1 cup Sugar
- ½ cup Water
- ½ tsp Cardamom powder
Procedure:
- Sieve the Besan flour and add ghee, warm water to knead a tight dough
- Once the dough is smooth and tight, start making a small balls or make a chapati
- Heat oil in a pan and fry the muthiya on low-medium flame till it becomes golden brown in color or roast chapati on low flame till it becomes crispy
- When it cook, let it cool and grind. After you take out the mixture, sieve it
- Now add ghee and mix well with ladoo mixture
- Now in a pan, add sugar and water. Cook the mixture until sugar syrup reaches two string consistency
- Once there is a boil to the sugar syrup, switch off the gas and add ladoo mixture and cardamom powder. Mix everything well.
- Let the Ladoo mixture cool down a bit, before starting to roll ladoo into a round shapes
- After you make the ladoo, garnish them with pistachi or any of the dry fruit to serve.
3. Coconut Ladoo
Ingredients:
- Condensed milk
- Desiccated coconut
- Cardamom powder
Procedure:
- First toast the desiccated coconut for 3-4 minutes in a saucepan
- Keep the heat on low heat and use a spatula to mix desiccated coconut.
- Then add condensed milk and half a teaspoon of cardamom powder
- Let the mixture cook well on low flame for 8-10 minutes until the coconut becomes soft.
- Let the mixture turn into a soft fudge-like mixture. Turn the flame off. Do not over cook or burn the mixture
- Once it comes to little cool temperature, start making round balls out of the mixture.
- Once done, you can garnish these coconut ladoo with any dry fruit including almonds, kaju or pistachios
4. Gulab Jamun
Ingredients:
- 2 cup Maida
- 2 cup Unsweetened Khoya
- 4 cup Sugar
- 1 1/4 tblsp Ghee
- Cooking Soda
- Ghee
- Milk
Procedure:
- Take a bowl and mix maida, khoya, ghee and cooking soda
- Mix the mixture well and do not allow any lumps to be there
- Then add little-by-little milk and keep mixing the ingredients
- Let this mixture wait for 60 to 90 minutes in the same bowl
- Before making small balls of the mixture, make sure to mix the down well. After making small balls keep them on a plate
- Now add sugar to a pan and place it over medium flame
- Then add enough water to the sugar and stir well. When the sugar gets completely dissolved and reaches a one string consistency, switch off the flame. (This sugar syrup will be the Chashni)
- Now heat ghee in a frying pan, this is for deep drying the balls
- Deep fry the prepared balls and turn them brown. As these balls turn brown in color, take them out of the oil and put it in the earlier made sugar syrup. Repeat the process until all the balls are deep fried
- Now allow the Gulab jamuns to soak in sugar syrup for 6 to 8 hours. These taste delicious after soaking in sugar syrup for more than one night before serving.
- The dish can be garnished with chopped dry fruits. Gulab Jamuns taste good both-warmed or chilled.
5. Kaju Barfi
Ingredients:
- 250 grms Cashew nuts
- 250 grms Sugar
- 240 grms Milk
- Eatable Silver leaves (optional)
Procedure:
- Start by blending the cashew nuts and milk in a blender to a fine paste.
- Then mix paste and sugar to over low flame. Keep the mixture stirring well until the sugar dissolves completely in the mixture. Then bring it to a boil
- Continue stirring over medium heat, till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Let it become like a dough to make barfi
- Now turn the flame off and remove the mixture from the heat. When the dough cools off take it out and spread it over a greased plate or pan. Let the mixture turn cool completely. Allow the thickness of the spread to be half or one ince.
- Now garnish the spread with edible silver leaf and then cut the spread in diamond shapes just like the Kaju Barfi.
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Also Read: Raksha Bandhan DIY: Simple And Easy Ways To Make Rakhi At Home