A Bakrid banquet

Express News Service

CHENNAI:  The start and end of any celebration is marked by the feast of saccharine treats. There is an unfathomable magic in sweets that unites people, adds even more colour to the happy occasion, especially our traditional festivals. Bakrid is on Sunday and surely, your menus may already be underway. But if you have an extra slot and are craving the perfect bite to finish o ff your meals, try these eight recipes and add an extra treat to your plate.

Apple Phirni 

By Uma NR, Mylapore

Ingredients 

•  Apple: 1 
•  Ghee: 2 tbsp 
•  Milk: 2 cups 
•  Rice: 1 cup
•  Sugar (optional): 2 tbsp 
•  Cardamom powder: 1 tsp 
•  Saffron: 5 to 6 strands 
•  Pistachios and almonds for garnish  

Method 

• Wash the rice properly and blend it. Ensure that it just breaks and doesn’t become a fine powder. Then, soak it in a bowl of water till the rice is fully submerged.  
• Grate the apple and stir fry it with ghee over medium heat for about five minutes till the moisture in the apple evaporates. Turn off the heat and place it aside.  
• Boil milk and add the strained broken rice to it.  
• Keep stirring it and add the stir-fried apple. Now, add sugar as per taste.
• Mix saffron strands with milk. Add the cardamom powder and saffron milk. Continuously stir until the mixture becomes thick.
• Turn off the heat. Garnish with pistachios and almonds. 

Nut Burfi 

By Dheekshitha AS, Villivakam
 
Ingredients 

• Cashews: 1 cup
• Pistachios: 1 cup 
• Almonds: 1 cup 
• Cardamom powder: ½ tsp  
• Ghee: 1/3 cup 
• Milk: 1/3 cup

Method 

•  Roast the cashews, pistachio and almonds on medium heat for two minutes.  
• Add the nuts to a blender and blend till it becomes a fine powder. In a pan, add water and sugar in equal amounts, and boil it until it forms a sticky consistency to make sugar syrup.  
• In a clean pan, add ghee, cardamom powder and the nuts powder.  
• In equal intervals, keep adding sugar syrup and continuously stir to ensure that nothing sticks to the pan.  
• Turn off the heat and add milk powder.  
• Coat the mould with ghee and pour the hot mixture inside.  
• After it cools down, cut it into desired shapes. 

Sheer Khurma 

By Nada, Kodungaiyur

Ingredients

•  Milk: 1 L 
•  Sugar: 250 g 
•  Romani sevai: 100g
•  Nuts: a handful

Method

• In a pan, add milk and bring it to a boil.
• Add sugar and nuts to it and stir till combined.  
• To this, add sevai and boil it for two seconds and switch off the flame. Let it chill in the refrigerator for one hour. 
•  Add rose water before serving sheer khurma in a bowl topped with nuts.

Khubani-ka-Meetha ( Apricots halwa) 

By Mallika, Kodungaiyur

Ingredients

• Apricots: 250 g 
• Sugar: 100 g  
• Water

Method 

• Soak apricots overnight in a cool place.  
• Deseed the soaked apricots and boil them in a small portion of water.  
• Mush it down gently when apricots boil.  
• When it becomes paste-like, add sugar to it and ensure its consistency is a little thick.  
• Break the seeds to get the almonds out of the shell.
• After refrigerating the halwa for about two hours, take it out and garnish it with almonds. Top it with fresh Amul cream and serve it in a bowl. 

Ande ka Mitha (Egg Sweet) 

By Mallika, Kodungaiyur

Ingredients

• Eggs: 6 
• Milk khova: 400 g 
• Ghee: 100 g 
• Almonds or cashew (or a mix of both): 125 g 
• Sugar: 400 g
• Water: 1/4 cup

Method 

• Grind the almonds or cashews into a powder.  
• Prepare sugar syrup by heating water and adding sugar to it.  
• Beat the eggs well and put them into a bowl. Add sugar syrup, almond/cashew powder and khova to the beaten eggs. Mix it well.
• Then add ghee to the mixture. Pour the mixture into a baking dish.  
• Sprinkle little bits of almond and cashew on top of the mixture. Bake for 30 minutes until it is brown  
• Allow it to cool for some time.

Unnakaya  

By Kamala,  Thirumullaivoyal

Ingredients

• Ripe plantain banana: 3 
• Grated coconut: 1 cup 
• Sugar: 1 tbsp
• Cashew: 1 cup  
• Raisins: 1 cup  
• Cardamom powder: 1 tsp  
• Ghee: 1 tbsp
• Oil for frying 

Method 

• Cut the bananas into equal halves and let them steam for 10-15 minutes.
• Heat another pan and add ghee. Then, add the cashews and raisins, and roast them.
• Then, add the grated coconut. sauté them well until they turn golden brown. Add sugar and cardamom powder.
• Mash the steamed bananas and make them into spindle balls. 
• Fill the spindle shape balls with the coconut filling. 
• Fry until they turn golden brown. 

Khajoor ka Halwa 

By Jithamoal, Ambattur

Ingredients 

•  Dates: 2 cups, approx 250 g 
•  Cardamom: 5 
•  Sugar: 100 g
•  Ghee: 1/3 cup
•  Split black gram: 50 g
•  Almonds: a handful 
•  Milk: 1 cup
•  Pistachios, cashews, raisins (for garnish)  

Method

•  Boil water and add the lentils, dates and almonds to it.  
• Let it simmer for 15 minutes and then switch off the flame. Blend it to make a coarse paste.  
• Take a pan, add ghee and mix the coarse paste. Add milk and cardamom pods.  
• Mix it well till it attains a thick consistency. Switch off the heat and plate it accordingly. Garnish with pistachios, cashews, and raisins. 

Agar Agar Pudding 

By Aamina, Sharma Nagar

Ingredients

•  Agar agar: 50 g 
•  Milk: 1/2 L 
•  Condensed milk: 8-10 tbsp Palkova without sugar (if required): 3 tsp 
•  Powdered sugar: 1 cup 
•  Pistachios, almonds, cashew (optional): 5-6 pieces of each

Method 

• Boil agar agar in two glasses of water.  
• Add milk and boil them together for 15 minutess on simmer.  
• Add condensed milk and palkova. Now, add sugar and pour the mix on a plate.  
• Garnish with nuts. Keep it in the refrigerator for one to two hours and cut them into pieces.