Five‘must try’ sweet meats recipe for Diwali

Oct 23, 2022 News

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By Renay Sambach

Kaieteur News – Diwali is popularly known as the ‘Festival of Lights’, the most significant spiritual meaning is “the awareness of the inner light”.

The Festival of Diwali serves to refresh the spirit and creates the atmosphere for a happy and inspiring life. It ushers in a mood of reverence, removes feelings of despair, inspires high thinking and optimism, and strengthens the belief that evil and all its attendants will ultimately be conquered.

What better way to be a part of the Festival of Diwali than to indulge in an array of sweet meats to tantalize the taste buds. Below are five must try sweet meats recipe.

MITHAI (Jehan Powell recipe)

Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 2 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt, 2 tbsp shortening, and about 1 cup milk.

Syrup:1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 inch piece thinly sliced ginger, 1 stick cinnamon, and ½ tsp pure vanilla extract.

Instructions

1. Place flour, cinnamon,nutmeg, sugar and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add shortening and rub into dough. Next add milk then knead to form stiff dough. You can use coconut milk as well. Set aside for half an hour.
2. Next roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness, then using a knife or pizza cutter, cut into thin strips.
3. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan add enough oil to deep fry, then place on medium fire.
4. When oil is hot (tiny bubbles will form around the dough when it is dropped into oil) add strips of dough and fry until golden brown and crispy.
5. Fry slowly so that the dough cooks all the way through and dries out in the middle. This ensures that the mithai is crispy and not soft. Remove from the oil and drain on a plate covered with paper towel.
6. Place water, sugar, ginger and cinnamon in a heavy bottom sauce pot over medium fire. Using a candy thermometer cook until it reaches 225-235 degrees. If you do not have a thermometer, cook until sugar crystals form on the side of the pot.
7. Add ½ tsp vanilla and stir quickly. Place the fried dough in a large metallic bowl.
8. Pour syrup over and stir to coat. Allow the sugar to set, stirring occasionally to prevent the mithai from sticking to each other.

VERMICELLI [Jehan Powell recipe]

Ingredients: 5 oz Vermicelli noodles, 2 tbsp butter or ghee, 3 cups whole milk, ½ tsp almond extract, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ¼ cup raisins, ¼ cup condensed milk, and nutmeg and pistachio to garnish.

Instructions

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt butter.
2. Add noodles and allow to brown.
3. Add milk and raisins, and then cook for 10 minutes over medium heat until it has thickened slightly and noodles are soft.
4. Add vanilla and almond extracts and condensed milk, stir.
5. Remove from heat, before serving, garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and chopped pistachio nuts.

GULAB JAMUN [Jehan Powell recipe]

Ingredients:1 cup milk powder, 3 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tbsp butter, melted, 1 egg, 1 tbsp cream and vegetable oil.

Instructions

1. Place the milk powder, flour and baking powder in a bowl and mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk egg and melted butter.
3. Add egg/butter and cream to dry ingredients and stir to form a dough.
4. Form dough into 12 small smooth balls.
5. Heat enough oil to deep fry the balls.
6. Reduce heat to a medium and cook balls in two batches until golden brown.
7. Remove from pan and rest on plate.
8. Add balls to syrup and allow to sit in syrup for at least 10 minutes before serving.

To make Syrup:

1. Heat 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water; cook for 7-10 mins.
2. Remove from heat and add 2 crushed cardamom pods and 1 tablespoon of rose water.
3. You can also make a vanilla syrup by substituting the cardamom and rose water with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

PARSAD [Nadira Low-A-Chee recipe]

Ingredients:1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 pt ghee, 1 cup sugar, 1 can evaporated milk, 2 sticks cinnamon, 8 cloves, and cherries, raisins (optional).

Instructions

1. Add sugar to a cup of water and dissolve.
2. In a skillet, parch flour.
3. In a separate pan, add ghee and melt.
4. Slowly stir in flour until it becomes golden brown.
5. Add syrup and keep stirring.
6. Mix in raisins and/or cherries.
7. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

PEERA [NADIRA LOW-A-CHEE RECIPE]

Ingredients: 1 12-oz. can evaporated milk, brown sugar, a dash of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg (optional).

Instructions

1. Heat milk and sugar in a pot and allow to boil for about an hour.
2. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and stir. Be careful not to let the mixture stick to the sides of the pot.
3. When the mixture becomes thick, turn the heat low and keep stirring.
4. After a few minutes, remove from heat and mix thoroughly.
5. Take a spoon and scoop out some of the mixture.
6. Roll into small balls, then press into the middle slightly.

Tips for making the perfect Peera

1. Use cast iron or stainless-steel pot – This recipe is best made in a stainless-steel or cast-iron pot because the mixture needs regular stirring.
2. Low heat – Keeping the heat on low is mandatory as increased heat will cause the mixture to burn.
3. Make the peera quickly – Preparing the peera while the mixture is warm makes it smooth and round.

(To share any useful information, please can contact me viaemail:naesambach@gmail.com or phone number: + (592) 694-1862)

 

 

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