Homemade treats for a fun-filled festival season

We bring you recipes of three popular sweet treats that you can make at home using only five ingredients or less. What is even better, these recipes won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

By Akriti Chaturvedi

Sweet treats are the essence of any Indian festival season. Many delicacies are associated with a particular festival. Think ghujiya = Holi, modak = Ganpati and rasgulla = Durga Pooja.

So when Diwali is approaching, you can only expect a table full of delicious, lip-smacking treats to eat day in and out. If you are still a little spectacle of buying from sweet shops, fret not for we have the answers for you.

We bring you recipes of three popular homemade festive treats that you can make using only five ingredients or less. What is even better, these recipes won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Coconut Til Laddu

Ingredients

2 Cups white sesame seeds

1 1/2 cup dates, chopped

1 cup dry coconut, grated

Instructions

• Finely chop de-seeded dates.
• Dry roast sesame in a wok for around 1-2 minutes on medium flame until it light golden.
• Keep aside the sesame to cool.
• Add coconut to the wok. Stir well.
• Lightly grind the cooled sesame in a dry grinder more for a few seconds. Remember to not make it too refined. 
• Take the ground sesame seeds in a bowl. Add chopped dates and coconut powder and mix well.
• Take a small amount of mixture and roll it in hand to form a ball or laddu. You can roll the laddu in some coconut powder to add texture.
• Your coconut til laddus are ready to eat.

Kaju Barfi

Ingredients

250 grams cashew nuts

250 grams of sugar

240 grams of milk

A few silver leaves – for decoration (optional)

A greased plate to set the barfi in

Instructions

• Blend cashews and milk in a blender into a fine paste.
• Mix the paste and sugar. Cook over low heat stirring till the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil.
• Continue stirring over medium heat, till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, and becomes a dough-like.
• Remove from heat and when cool enough to handle, roll it on to a greased surface, with a greased rolling pin (roll before it cools).
• Roll to 1/4cm and 1/8″ thickness.
• Now cover with the silver leaf and leave to cool, then cut into diamond-shaped pieces.
• Kaju Barfi is ready to be served.

Shrikhand

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of dahi (yoghurt)

1/4 cup sugar, powdered

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Instructions

• Place the dahi in a strainer lined with a thin cloth.
• Leave to drain the extra water. It takes about one hour or more, depending on the richness of the dahi.
• Transfer the strained dahi into a mixing bowl and add the sugar.
• Add half the cardamom and mix well, till smooth.
• Transfer on to a serving bowl and garnish with the rest of the cardamom powder.
• Leave to set in the refrigerator, for at least 2 hours to chill.
• Your Shrikhand is ready to be served.

Bonus: Check out our homemade Gulab Jamun recipe!

And just like that, you have three delicious homemade festive treats on your hands. Show off your skills to your family and on Instagram. Let these treats be the crown jewels to your quarantine career as a food blogger!

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Akriti is currently working in Development Bank of Singapore. She is an engineer by choice and is passionate about cooking. She firmly believes that cooking can become a zero-waste activity if done wisely.