In India, Dussehra is one of the most prominent festivals that is celebrated with great pomp and fervour. It is the festival that came into existence to celebrate the victory of Truth over Evil.
Different states of India celebrate this festival in their own way. Though the styles of celebrations may vary, celebrating this day is the common thread that binds us all.
Like all Indian festivals, celebrations mean the preparation of delicious and rich dishes. Dussehra is no different. While performing Pooja is definitely an integral part of Dussehra celebrations, the food prepared is the highlight of it.
When we talk about food, sweets are always the most prominent feature of festive meals. In India, sweets are synonymous with festivities or celebrations. And so, Dussehra meals would be incomplete without some festive meals that include a good dose of sweets too. Some depend on store-bought sweets, but the true essence of a festival lies in preparing homemade sweets.
Preparation of sweet dishes is a crucial part of any celebration. Here are a few delectable dishes that are prominently prepared and consumed in different parts of the country.
Have a look at these recipes and decide what will feature in your homes, this Dussehra.
Badam Halwa
We all have had the regular halwa, using sooji, wheat flour, bottle guard, carrots etc. But when it is a festival and you need to prepare grand recipes, a badam halwa perfectly fits the bill. This is how you make it.
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 3 servings
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup whole almonds
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup ghee
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 5-6 strands saffron
- 1/2 cup milk
Preparation:
Soak the almonds overnight so that the skin comes off easily. Now peel the skin and add the almonds to a blender. Along with the almonds, you can also add the sugar so that everything is ground together.
Take a heavy bottom kadhai, add the ghee to it, and now add the almond and sugar into the melted ghee. Cook this mixture on low flame by stirring constantly. Remember to stir constantly or the almonds will stick to the bottom of the kadhai.
Once the contents start to leave the pan and become a uniform mixture, add the cardamom powder and saffron strands. Now slowly add some milk to make the consistency a little runny.
Once the mixture is well formed, remove it from the flame and serve in a serving bowl. Enjoy while hot.
Payesh
In the Eastern part of India, especially in West Bengal, Durga Puja is one of the biggest festivals and is celebrated in grandeur. One of the prevalent parts of the celebration includes making an array of sweets. Payesh is the Bengali take on Kheer. It is perfect, comforting sweet that suits the occasion.
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1.5 litres full-fat milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- 10-12 chopped cashews
- 8-10 sliced pistachios
- 8-10 sliced almonds
Preparation:
- Wash and soak the rice in water for about 30 minutes before starting preparation. Now add about 2.5 cups of clean water to the soaked rice and add some ghee to it, mix and keep aside. In a large saucepan, boil the full-fat milk until it boils and begins reducing in quantity. Once the quantity has reduced considerably, add the rice and ghee mixture and cook again.
- Reduce the flame and allow the rice to cook in the milk. Once the quantity of the milk is reduced to half, add the sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well and allow the rice to cook until it is nice and soft.
- Once the kheer thickens, add the cashews, almonds and pistachios and mix them well too.
- Remove from flame and transfer to a serving bowl. Devour this wholesome dessert while hot, or allow it to cool, then refrigerate it for a couple of hours then enjoy chilled.
Puran Poli
This is a Maharashtrian delicacy that is relished on all happy occasions, Dussehra is no different. This simple yet wholesome delicacy is perfect for any and every occasion.
Total Time: 60 minutes
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup maida
- 1 pinch turmeric
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 2 cups whole chana dal (soaked for 1 hour)
- 1 pinch of cardamom powder
- 1 pinch nutmeg powder
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2/3 cup jaggery
Preparation:
- The first step is to knead a dough for the outer covering. Use the maida, ghee and a pinch of turmeric and knead a soft dough. Cover it with a damp muslin cloth and keep it aside.
- Pressure cook the soaked chana dal, with very little water for 4-5 whistles. Remove the chana dal and remove all excess water from it.
- Take a kadhai, and add some ghee to it. Add the cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, jaggery and boiled chana dal in it.
- Cook the mixture by stirring constantly. Once the mixture becomes soft and dry, remove it from the flame and allow it to cool slightly.
- Now use a blender and quickly blitz the mixture to get a smooth filling.
- Use the maida dough and roll out a very thin roti out of it. Add a generous amount of filling into it, and wrap it up. Now once again gently roll a thin puran poli out of it. Heat a flat pan and add the puran poli to it. Using ghee, cook it on either side. Once roasted on either side, lather a good amount of ghee on it, and enjoy while hot.
Jalebi
Jalebi is an all-time favourite dessert all across India, but during Dussehra, Jalebi is a popularly consumed sweet. It is perfectly sweet, and crunchy and tastes outstanding. Often, jalebi is purchased from stores, simply because of the lengthy process of making it the traditional way.
This Dussehra, try this lip-smacking jalebi that is ready in not more than 30 minutes.
Total time: 30 minutes
Serving: 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup maida
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- 1 pinch turmeric/ yellow food colouring
- ½ cup curd
- ½ cup water
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Oil/Ghee for frying
For Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 pinch saffron
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Preparation:
- The first step is to get the sugar syrup ready. In a saucepan, add the sugar and water just enough so that the sugar is covered. Put it on medium flame, and allow it to boil, until the sugar syrup forms a 1-string consistency (1-string consistency is when you place a drop of the sugar syrup between your fingers, and pull the fingers apart gently, the sugar syrup should be stringy enough, and form a string between the fingers, It should not be runnier than that or thicker than that too.) Once the required consistency is achieved, add the lemon juice, cardamom powder and saffron and allow it to cool.
- To make the batter for jalebi, take a mixing bowl, add the maida, corn flour, and turmeric and mix well. Now add the curd and gently mix to get a lump-free smooth batter. For better results whisk the batter to make the batter nice and airy.
- Heat some oil/ghee for frying the jalebis and complete the final preparations in the meantime. Add the lemon juice, and baking soda and mix quickly. Now transfer the contents into a whipping bag or a used plastic milk bag, or even in the bottle will do (poke a hole in the cap of the bottle.). Just before frying the jalebis, if you are using a milk bag cut a very small cut at the edge of the packet.
- Now very gently pour the batter into the hot oil or ghee, try making concentric circles of the batter as you fry them. Once they are crispy fried on both sides, remove from the oil and immediately dunk into the sugar syrup that was prepared earlier.
- Dip it for no longer than a minute and remove and relish it while it is hot and crispy.
thanks for a wonderful recipe