Diwali 2022: Traditional dishes you must try this festive season

Diwali is a celebration of joy, festivity, and feasting. Instead of purchasing sweets from the store, make your own mithai and add a personal touch to your Diwali celebration. Check out these delicious and easy-to-make traditional recipes that you must try.

Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, is India's largest and most significant official festival. Diwali represents the triumph of light over darkness, goodness over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair—ideologies that form the basis of every Indian family's moral principles. Festivals seek to bring together people from all backgrounds in joy and celebration. Every festival celebrated in India has a close connection to food. In particular, Diwali is a celebration of joy, festivity, and feasting. Instead of purchasing sweets from the store, make your own mithai and add a personal touch to your Diwali celebration. If you too love making sweets at home but don’t want to indulge in tedious recipes, then we have a solution for you. If you enjoy making desserts at home but don't want to waste time on laborious recipes, we have a solution for you. Check out these delicious and easy-to-make traditional Diwali recipes that you must try.

Diwali 2022: Traditional dishes you must try this festive season (istockphoto)

1. Gujiya recipe

(Recipe by Chef Nisha Madhulika)

Gujiya recipe (pinterest)

Ingredients:

Mawa (khoya) - 400 gm

Semolina - 100 gm

Ghee - 2 table spoon

Sugar - 400 gm

Cashew Nuts - 100 gm (cut each cashew into 5 – 6 pieces)

Raisin – 50 gm (Remove the stems from it)

Small Cardamom - 7 to 8 ( peeled and granuled)

Dry coconut - 100 gm (grated)

Method:

1. Pick the flatted doughs and put it on the cast and put 1 ½ spoon mixture on top of it. Apply water on the sides with you finger. Close the cast, press and remove the residual dough.

2. Open the cast, take out the gujiya and put it in a big plate. Cover the plate with a thick and washed cloth. Now again make 10 flatted dough pieces, fill them like above and cover them. Like this, prepare all the gujiyas and cover them.

3. Put the ghee in a thick bottomed frying pan and heat it. In the hot ghee, put 7 to 8 gujiyas and fry while turning them with a frying spoon, till they turn light brown. Now take out the gujiyas and put them in a big plate. Like this fry rest of the gujiyas and put them in the big plate.

4. Your gujiyas are now ready to be serve and eat, piping hot. let the remaining gujiyas cool and then store them in an air tight container. For 15 to 20 days, you can have them any time.

2. Chakli recipe

(Recipe by Chef Tarla Dalal)

Chakli recipe (Pinterest)

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour (chawal ka atta)

1 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)

1/2 tsp black sesame seeds (kala til)

salt to taste

oil for frying

Method:

1. To make instant rice chakli, in a deep pan boil 1 cup of water. Once boiled, add butter, cumin seeds, black sesame seeds and salt to taste.

2. Now add rice flour, cook on medium flame for 2 minutes while stirring continuously. Switch off the flame, cover and keep aside for 5 minutes.

3. Transfer the mixture into a big thali and knead to form a soft dough. Take a portion of the dough and place it into a chakli “press” and cover it with the lid.

4. Press out 75 mm. (3”) diameter round swirls of chakli. Heat the oil in a deep non-stick pan, deep fry the chaklis on a medium flame, till they turn golden brown in colour and crisp from both the sides.

5. Drain on an absorbent paper. Cool the chaklis and store in an air-tight container.

3. Gulab jamun

(Recipe by Chef Tarla Dalal)

Gulab jamun  (Gettyimages)

Ingredients:

2 cups crumbled gulab jamun mawa (hariyali khoya)

1/4 cup plain flour (maida)

3 tbsp milk powder

3 tbsp arrowroot (paniphal) flour

ghee for deep-frying

For The Sugar Syrup

5 cups sugar

1/4 tsp saffron (kesar) strands

1/4 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder

Method:

1. To make the gulab jamuns, combine all the ingredients in a deep bowl and knead well into a very smooth dough.

2. Divide this mixture into 30 equal portions and roll each into round balls ensuring there are no cracks on the surface as otherwise the gulab jamuns will crack while deep-frying. Keep aside.

3. Heat the ghee in a deep non-stick kadhai and deep-fry, few gulab jamuns at a time, on a slow flame till they turn brown in colour from all the sides.

4. Drain well and immediately immerse in the warm sugar syrup. Repeat step 3 and 4 to deep-fry the remaining gulab jamuns.

5. Soak the gulab jamuns in the sugar syrup for at least 1 hour. Serve the gulab jamuns warm or store refrigerated in an air-tight container for upto 3 days.

4. Bhakarwadi recipe

(Recipe by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor)

Bhakarwadi recipe (Pinterest)

Ingredients:

Refined Flour 1 cup

Gram Flour 3/4 cup

Salt to taste

Turmeric powder 3/4 teaspoon

Red chilli powder 3 tablespoons

Oil 1 tablespoon + to deep fry

Poppy seeds (khuskhus/posto) 1/4 cup

Sesame seeds (til) 1/4 cup

Dry coconut (khopra) grated 1/2 cup

Ginger chopped 1 tablespoon

Green chillies chopped 3

Coriander powder 1/2 tablespoon

Cumin powder 1/2 tablespoon

Asafoetida 1/4 teaspoon

Fresh coriander leaves chopped 2 tablespoons

Method:

1. Mix together refined flour, gram flour and salt in a bowl. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and oil. Add sufficient water to make a stiff dough. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside.

2. Dry roast poppy seeds and sesame seeds separately. Dry roast grated dry coconut. In another bowl mix chopped ginger, chopped green chillies, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder.

3. Add roasted spices and mix well. Add asafoetida, chopped coriander leaves and salt. Mix well.

4. Divide the dough into eight equal portions. Roll out thinly. Apply some water on the surface and spread a portion of the stuffing mixture. Roll into flutes.

5. Place the flutes in the steamer basket and steam for twenty minutes. Cool the flutes slightly and cut into half inch sized pieces.

6. They can be cut into pieces without steaming too. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry the pieces on medium heat till golden brown and crisp.

7. Drain onto an absorbent paper. Serve hot or at room temperature.

5. Besan ke ladoo

(Recipe by Chef Ranveer Brar)

Besan ke ladoo recipe (Pinterest)

Ingredients:

2 cups besan (bengal gram flour)

½ cup ghee

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsps coarsely powdered almonds (optional)

½ tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder

For The Garnish

1 tbsp almond (badam) slivers

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a deep non-stick pan, add the besan, roast well on a medium flame until it lets out a nice aroma – approximately ten minutes. Remove from flame and set aside to cool.

2. Add the sugar, coarsely powdered almonds, cardamom powder and mix well while rubbing the mixture in between your palms till it resembles a crumbly texture.

3. Take a small portion of the mixture and shape it into a round laddoo. Repeat to make more ladoos.

4. Garnish with almond slivers and store in an air-tight container.

Follow more stories on Facebook & Twitter