Diwali is all about Sweets isn’t it? I thought so too. But snacks and spicy eats are also an important accompaniment along with those Mithais.

photo credit: vandan desai

Except Om Pudi (which is a South India variety of Bhujia Sev), 2 of the other recipes are easier to make. Try them out and let me know how they turned out.

Three Snack Recipes are featured here:

1. How to make Om Pudi 2. Masala Papad 3. A different snack in Pepper Chips

If you want to share your own Deepavali recipes, use this easy form here to send in your recipes which will be posted in this blog.

Om-Pudi

Ingredients:

• Besan flour or channa dhal powder- 3 cups
• Raw Rice flour- 1 cup
• Powdered Ajwain- 2 teaspoons
• Red chilli powder- 2 teaspoons
• White butter- 2 teaspoons
• Salt- as required
• Asafetida- ¼ teaspoon
• Oil- for deep frying

Method:

1. Sieve Besan and rice flour through a fine siever separately.
2. Add all the ingredients and make thick dough by adding sufficient water.
3. Make portions of the dough; put each portion (one at a time) inside an Om Pudi Container.
4. Press (using Murukku maker) it straight into the hot oil in a rotary motion.
5. When crisp, turn the other side over and deep fry till golden and crisp on both the sides.
6. Remove from oil with a perforated spoon and keep over a Colander.
7. Store in an air tight container.

Pepper Chips

Ingredients:

• Maida – 1 cup
• Pepper Powder – 2 teaspoons
• White butter- 2 teaspoons
• Oil, salt- to taste

Method:

1. Mix Maida, pepper powder, butter, salt and knead like chapathi dough.
2. Roll it like a chapathi and cut into diamond shapes and deep fry it in oil.
3. Now the tasty, mouth watering Pepper fries are ready to serve!

Masala Papad

Ingredients:

• Maida- ½ cup
• Ginger Paste- 1 teaspoon
• Masala powder- ¼ teaspoons
• Pepper Powder- 1 teaspoons
• White butter- 2 tablespoons
• Chilly powder- ¼ teaspoons
• Asafetida- a pinch
• Oil, Salt- to taste

Method:

1. Mix Maida, ginger paste, pepper powder, masala powder, butter, chilly powder, asafetida thoroughly with oil and water and knead it like chapatti dough.
2. Roll it like a small chapathi and deep fry in the oil.

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If you want to know how to make delicious Deepavali sweets and Halvas, check them out here:

• Diwali Sweets
• Halvas Recipes for Deepavali

Diwali is here, Yay! More than the crackers, it’s time for a fun get-together with family and friends and lots of Sweets, of course. photo credit: phxpma Starting with Ganesha Chaturthi and Dasara, Diwali ends the Hindu festival season in a grand scale and then sets the atmosphere later for Christmas and New year. Deepavali (festival of lights) is when the whole of India and Indian communities abroad, is decked with bright lights, mad-shopping and colors everywhere. Ok, coming to the food part; Deepavali is also the time to gorge on sweets and tons of them! Here is a small collection of 5 types of Halwa (Halva) Recipes. These have been adapted from a Tamil magazine and collated by my sister Harini.Find links to other Halva and Sweet Recipes for this festival at the end of this article. Submit your favorite Diwali Recipes Halwa Recipes follow below:

Almonds or Badam Halwa

Ingredients

• Milk, Sugar- 1 cup each
• Almonds or Badam- ½ cup
• Ghee- ½ cup

How to make 1. Soak the almonds in water overnight and blanch it. 2. (Blanching is soaking and removing the peels of the almond. 3. Remove the outer skin and grind into smooth paste using milk for grinding. 4. Mix little water to sugar and heat it in a heavy bottomed kadai or oan or vessel till it is dissolved and once when one string consistency is reached. 5. Add badam or almond paste and cook till it becomes thick. 6. When the halwa sticks to bottom, Add ghee little by little and cook till halwa consistency is reached.

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Milk Halwa Ingredients

• Milk- 2 litre
• Ghee- 1 tablespoon
• Powdered Cashews – 1 tablespoon
• Sugar – 2 ½ cup
• Lemon Salt- ¼ teaspoon

How to make 1. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and boil milk till it reduces to three fourth of its consistency. 2. Add sugar, and lemon salt and cook for another few minutes. 3. Fry cashewnuts in ghee and add to the halwa. 4. Add little more ghee if necessary. 5. When halwa consistency is reached , remove from fire.

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Dates Halva Ingredients

• Seedless Dates- 1 cup
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Ghee- 1 cup
• Milk- ½ cup
• Almonds
• cashews – little

Method 1. Soak the dates in hot water, for about 1 hour and grind it along with milk. 2. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, Add Sugar with little water 3. When it reaches one string consistency, add the grinded date paste, cashews, almonds, and saffron. 4. Keep stirring till it becomes little thick. 5. When the halwa sticks to bottom, Add ghee little by little and cook till halwa consistency is reached. 6. Decorate with cashews or almonds.

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Instant Halva Ingredients

• Wheat Flour- 1 cup
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Ghee- 1 cup
• Milk- 1 cup
• Cashews- 1 tablespoon
• Almonds- 1  tablespoon
• Cardamom Powder- ½ teaspoon

How to make 1. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, Add half cup ghee and wheat flour. 2. Fry till the raw smell goes. 3. Then add milk to it and keep stirring continuously until it becomes thick. 4. Then add sugar, remaining ghee and keep stirring till it reaches halwa consistency. 5. Then add cashews and almonds and remove from fire.

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Mixed Milk Halwa Ingredients

• Wheat Milk- 1 cup
• Coconut Milk- 1 cup
• Buffalo/Cow Milk- 1 cup
• Sugar- 3 cups
• Cardamom powder- ½ tsp
• Chopped Cashews and almonds – 2 tsp

How to make 1. Heat a pan, Add sugar with little water( 1 cup ). Stir until dissolved. 2. Then now, add all 3 types of milk to it and keep stirring till it reaches halwa consistency 3. Then add cardamom powder, chopped cashews and almonds and remove from fire. 4. When adding the milk in the sugar syrup, It will stick but it melts quickly if you keep stirring.

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Submit your favorite Diwali Recipes

Halwas and Laddoos Recipes from Indian Food Kitchen Indian Sweets Recipes Besan Halvafrom Raji’s Kitchen Godhi (Wheat) Halwa from Chitra Amma’s Kitchen

Update, October 2009: This year’s Diwali is around the corner and I have posted sweet recipes for Deepavali from previous years.

Wish you a very happy Deepavali!

Diwali has just started in India and it’s raining crackers and lights all over the sky. It’s time again to strengthen relationships and create new bonds of friendship.

What better way than to share sweets among loved ones? Here are a few sweets you can prepare today and enjoy over this festive weekend..

Recipes featured here are Cashew Burfi, Rava Laddoo, Shankarpare and Suji Halwa. You can also look for more sweet recipe links at the end of this post.

Submit your favorite Diwali Recipes and it’ll be published in Indian Food Kitchen Blog immediately

Kesar and Kaju Burfi (Saffron-Cashew Nut Burfi)

Ingredients:

• 500 gms Kaju (Cashew Nuts)
• 300 gms Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Kesar(Saffron)
• a small strip of edible silver foil

Method:

Soak the cashewnuts in water for three hours. Then, drain the water and grind the nuts to a fine powder. In a pan, mix sugar and cashewnuts and roast on low heat, stirring continuously.

Put in the saffron color in it and coninue stirring for a while. Roast till done. On the rolling board, place a butter paper and pour the mixture on it.

Now place another butter paper sandwiching the mixture between the two papers. Roll this using a rolling pin. Remove the butter paper from top and place the silver foil (edible), and cut it into triangular burfi pieces.

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Rava Laddoo (Semolina/Sooji Laddoo)

Ingredients:

• Rava (Sooji or Semolina) – 1 cup powdered
• Chutney Dhal (fried gram) – 1 cup (powdered)
• Ghee (clarified butter) – 1/2 cup
• Cardamom – 5 (powdered)
• Cashew Nuts – 10 to 15, boken into small pieces
• Kishmish – 10
• Chilled Milk – 1 bowl

Method:

Heat ghee in a kadai and fry kishmish and cashewnuts to a golden colour. Keep this aside. Add 1 more tablesoon of ghee and fry the powdered rava until it turns light gold in colour.

Heat 1 cup of sugar, adding 1/2 cup of water in the same kadai. Bring to one string conistency. Add powdered rava, cashew bits, kishmish and powdered caradamom. Mix it well and quickly.

Remove from the fire immediately. Use the rava sugar mixture, make small balls and dip it into the chilled milk and make small laddus. (chutney dal can also be substituted for rava).

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Shakkarpare (Shankarpale / Shankarpali / Shankarpare)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cup maida (plain flour)
• 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon saunf
• Ghee / Oil for deep frying

Method:

Mix the ingredients with a little water and knead it into a soft dough. Divide the dough into equal parts and roll out into thick chapathis, Cut with a cookie cutter or a knife into small diamond shapes (about 2 inches on each side).

Lift the cut diamond pieces with a spatula and keep it aside in a dry cloth for about an hour. Deep fry in hot ghee or oil over a slow flame till it becomes light golden brown. Drain well and keep it aside till it cools. Store it in clean and dry containers.

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Sooji da Halwa (Rava or Semolina Halwa)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup sugar
• 1-1/2 Cup whole milk
• 1 Cup sooji (Semolina or Rava)
• 1-1/2 Cup water
• 1 tsp Cardamom
• 2 tbsp Raisin
• 3 tbsp Ghee
• 2 tbsp Cashew nuts

Method:

In a skillet, heat ghee. Mix Cardamom and heat it for few seconds in a medium heat. Pour Semolina into the cardamon-ghee mixture and stir-fry for few minutes.

Add sugar and half of both cashew and raisin and continue to heat for few more minutes in low-medium heat. Add milk and water; stir well and heat until you are sure of the desired consistency.

Now, garnish with remaining cashew nuts and raisin. Serve hot or cold, as you desired

Submit your favorite Diwali Recipes and it’ll be published in Indian Food Kitchen Blog immediately

More Sweets and Desserts for this Diwali and other festive occasions:

1. All posts for indian sweet recipes from this blog are here
2. Watch these videos to make Diwali Desserts like Gulab Jamun, Jalebi, Halwa and more from this blog
3. From the Indian Food Kitchen main site, look for traditional sweets, occasional sweets, Burfis, Halwas and more sweet treats (Links will open in a new window)

Photo credits: Danburg, GopalaKrishnaKarthik, dhyanji, vkn

Diwali is always time for Indian sweets, and lots of them! This year Diwali (or Deepavali) falls on a weekend and this helps people who work and study, take some time off and enjoy this festival with friends and family.

If you don’t know what a Jamoon is, here’s what Wikipedia says:

Gulab jamun (gul-aab jaa-mun) is a popular Indian and Pakistani sweet dish….It is made of a khoya, dough, often including double cream and a little flour in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom, rosewater or saffron.

Jamun has been my one of favorite ever since I started to talk . So let Manjula guide you through in this video to make delicious Gulab Jamoons easily.

If you are looking for a text version, find a Gulab Jamun recipe here from the Sweets section of the main website

Find more than 50 types Indian Sweets and Dessert Recipes from the Indian Food Kitchen Main Site

Note: The video is about 8 minutes long. It may take some time to load in slower internet connections. So press the ‘pause’ button and let the video load before pressing the play button again.

Indian Food Kitchen Blog is not associated with the production of the video. This video is displayed here with permission from Youtube.com and is intended to serve as a guide for making Indian food.

Submit your favorite Diwali Recipes and it’ll be published in Indian Food Kitchen Blog immediately