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Here are some special Diwali recipes which have remained favourites for half a century:

Ananas ka Mawa Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups khoya or mawa or bolied down milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup pineapple shredded
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 2 tbsp walnuts and pistachios chopped,
• 1 tsp rose essence
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Method

Stir fry the mawa in a pan till golden. Put aside

Mix sugar, pineapple juice and shredded pineapple and bring to a boil. Add cardamom powder and nuts. Cook until a drop of the mixture remains firm when put in a cold saucer.

Add the mawa and blend well with the syrup. Arrange in a layer on a plate.

When cool cut into diamonds and serve with a touch of rose essence.

Chirotee

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups refined sifted flour or maida
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• ghee for frying.

Method

Add 2 tbsps ghee to the flour and knead into a stiff dough, adding water as needed. Divide into 12 equal balls.

Roll each ball into a thin 20 cm diameter disc. Brush each with ghee and place one over other till six discs are used. Fold edges in and roll into a tight cylinder. Make another cylinder in a similar manner.

Using a thread, gently cut each cylinder into 10 slices. Roll each slice into a 8 cm disc and fry in ghee till golden. Keep the fried chirotees aside.

Add 2 1/2 cups water to sugar and boil to make a syrup of two strings consistency. Dip each chirotee in syrup and leave on a plate to dry. While still wet, sprinkle cardamom powder over.

Store in an airtight container when cool and dry.

Badam Halwa

Ingredients

• 250 gm almonds, soaked in water for 8 hours,
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup ghee
• 2 tbsp chopped pistachio
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/2 tsp saffron soaked in 1 tsp milk.

Method

Grind the almonds to a fine paste.

Boil 1 cup water, add sugar and make a syrup of one-thread consistency. Add almond paste to the syrup and continue heating. Add and stir in the ghee every few minutes till the mixture turns thick. Add cardamom powder and saffron. Add half the nuts.

Grease a plate, pour the mixture onto it and immediately spread evenly. Decorate with remaining nuts and while still warm, cut into shapes of desired size.

Cool and store in a container lined with butter paper.

Besan Sev ki Barfi

Ingredients

• 2 cups readymade saltless sev,
• 1 cup khoya, unsweetened,
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp sliced nuts and raisins,
• 1 tsp saffron,
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp rose essence.

Method

Add half cup water to sugar and boil till the syrup is of a two-thread consistency. Add the khoya and blend. Remove from the fire.

Add broken sev, nuts and raisins, cardamom powder, and essence.

Pour onto a greased plate and cool. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.

Kaju ki Khasta Barfi

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashewnuts, ground
• 1/2 cup ground sugar
• 4 tbsp milk powder
• 2 tbsp cashewnuts, chopped
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• a little milk

Method

Mix the cashewnut powder, cardamom powder and sugar. Add a little milk and the milk powder. Slowly knead the mixture well, adding a little ghee while kneading.

Roll out the mixture into a thick disk and cut into square or diamond shapes. Sprinkle the chopped nuts over.

Line a plate with foil and grease the surface. Arrange the cut pieces on it.

Bake in a moderate oven till golden. Take out of the oven, cool and serve.

Malai Malpua

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups refined flour or maida, sifted,
• 1/2 cup cream or malai
• 4 tbsp yoghurt, beaten
• 1 tbsp ghee
• a pinch of aniseeds or saunf
• Ghee for frying
• Sugar

For the sugar syrup

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp rose water
• 1 tsp cardamom powder

Method

Mix sugar and water and boil gently to make a thick sugar syrup. Add rose water and the cardamom powder. Cool and reserve.

Make a batter of the flour and yoghurt with a spoonful of ghee. Mix in the aniseed and water if needed. The consistency of the batter should be like custard. Add a little sugar. Stir the batter well so that no lumps remain. Allow it to rise for two hours.

Heat ghee in a heavy pan. Pour in one large spoon of the batter in the centre, when the ghee is hot. Spread the malpua batter while pouring to make a small circle with a lacy effect at the edges.

Deep fry the malpua till golden and brown around. Turn over and cook the other side.

Take out gently and pat off the excess ghee with a tissue. Dip in sugar syrup and arrange on a platter one by one. When cool, serve with cream.

Illustration by Dominic Xavier

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