As the dawn of Deepavali breaks, anticipation fills the air, with visions of sweet-laden packets awaiting their arrival. Beyond the festival of lights, Deepavali is a sweet indulgence, where thoughts of blood sugar and cholesterol take a backseat. While Kerala might not celebrate it on a grand scale, Mumbai witnesses a stream of travelers carrying boxes of sweets during the season. Gift-giving is a tradition, with houses often receiving more than one box filled with delights like kaju katli, besan laddu, shakkar para, burfi, shankar pali, rasgulla, rasmalai, peda, roasted cranberry, and dry fruits.
These sweets, arranged in boxes during Deepavali, create a pattern resembling a vibrant flower carpet. Just as flowers from diverse lands form a unified carpet, sweets from various corners of the country come together in gift hampers. It’s an opportunity to savor diverse tastes and immerse oneself in different cultures. Each delicacy, though unique in flavor, shares a common thread—sweetness. Deepavali, in essence, binds people together with its sweetness.
Some beloved Deepavali sweets are crafted with care:
**Roasted Cranberry**
Soak dried cranberries, mix with milk powder, powdered sugar, and ghee. Boil, set in a ghee-slicked container, cut into shapes, and garnish with roasted cranberries in ghee.
**Shankarpali**
Make a dough of maida, sugar, ghee, and baking soda. Roll into sheets, cut into pieces, and fry to create this sweet delight.
**Mango Katli**
Boil a liter of milk, add mango essence, sugar, coconut powder, and ghee. Heat until it flakes off the container, shift to a ghee-slicked plate, slice into diamonds, and coat with silver leaf.
**Karanji**
Shape maida dough into small puris, stuff with rava, coconut, sugar, and milk solids, then fry to perfection.
**Besan Laddu**
Sauté gram flour, powdered sugar, and cardamom in ghee. When it achieves the right consistency, form into balls to create besan laddu.
**Palpeda**
Sauté equal parts of milk powder and powdered sugar in ghee. Once it flakes off the container, shift to a ghee-slicked plate and slice into desired shapes.
**Anarsa**
Mix rice flour with jaggery syrup, shape into vadas, top with khus khus, and fry in ghee for delicious anarsa.
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