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Celebrating the season with sweets

These easy-to-make sweets will appeal to those with a sweet tooth

INDULGE Sweets for both the young and old

With festivities around the corner, why not celebrate with some homemade sweets. Go ahead and indulge your sweet tooth.

Pumpkin burfi

Ingredients

Finely grated red pumpkin - half kg
Sugar - half kg
Juice of lemon - one
Essence of rose - a few drops

Method

Prepare sugar syrup by boiling the sugar in equal quantity of water. Add the grated pumpkin and cook over a low flame till the mixture thickens. (It will look translucent and begin to crystallise.) Add essence of rose and juice of lemon. Grease a mould and transfer the mixture, spreading it out evenly and leaving it to cool. Cut into squares once it sets and serve.

Nankhattai

Ingredients

Maida - 50 grams
Ghee - 120 grams
Sugar - 85 grams
Semolina - 60 grams
Essence of vanilla - half tsp
Cardamom - five
Almonds - as required

Method

Powder sugar and cardamom together. Add ghee and mix well. Add sieved maida and semolina gradually. Knead till it forms fine dough. Add essence. Make small balls. Make a small criss-cross with a knife and place blanched almonds. Bake on a greased tray in a moderate oven till light brown.

Banana peda

Ingredients
Medium sized ripe bananas - six
Wheat flour - one cup
Milk powder - one cup
Ghee - three tbsp
Cardamom - five (powdered)
Powdered cashew nuts - 20 grams
Powdered sugar - one-and-a-half cup
Raisins - 20

Method

Heat a spoonful of ghee in a pan. Add wheat flour and fry till golden brown. Set aside. Mash bananas to a smooth paste. Put two spoons of ghee in a pan and fry till the banana paste is light brown. Add powdered sugar and cardamom. Stir well and cook till mixture thickens. Set aside. Sieve together milk powder and fried wheat flour and add to banana paste mixture. Cook on low flame till it thickens. Let the dough cool. Make small balls out of the dough. Grease your palms with a little ghee and roll the balls into pedas. Press a raisin into the centre of the peda gently and sprinkle powdered cashew nut on top.

Carrot sweet

Ingredients

Grated carrot - two cups
Milk - four cups
Sugar - three cups
Ghee - 70 grams
Essence of vanilla - one tsp
Raisins - 24
Chopped cashew nuts - one-and-a-half tbsp

Method

Add milk and carrot and boil till the carrot is tender. When three-fourths of the milk evaporates, add sugar and essence of vanilla. Keep stirring until mixture thickens. Add cashew nuts and raisins. Mix well, adding ghee gradually to the mixture. Pour into a greased tray when mixture thickens. Leave to cool. Cut into desired shapes and store.

INDU NARAYAN

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