Quick and Easy Diwali Sweet Recipes | Deepavali Sweet Recipes

15 minutes Doodh Peda/Milk Peda

There is always something warm and bright about this time of the year, when everything has a special glow! There is always something special about this time of the year when all our hearts are full of cheer!

Yes, the festival of lights is here… Diwali or Deepavali is the occasion which brings lots of love and laughter to fill our days with cheer and hope for something best to come! 

The Monsoon Spice household is gearing up for this special occasion. The house is dusted, the vessels are scrubbed, the Diyas are glowing, and the kitchen is a hub of activities! We are hosting a Diwali party for our close friends and that can only mean one thing; fun, laughter and good food!

For the next couple of weeks, I will be posting the recipes of the delicious and exquisite food I am cooking for our friends. But for now here are some of the sweet/desserts that you can cook for your loved ones!  While you are at it, don't forget to check the list of Simple and Easy Snack Recipes for Diwali to delight your taste buds!

 

Wishing you all a very Happy and Sparkling Deepavali!

Warm Regards

Sia

Belgaum Kunda	Besan Laddu
Mysore Pak	Semiya/Vermicelli Kheer
Carrot Kheer	Pineapple Kesari Bhaat
Saffron Nankhatai	Kesari Bhaat
Vegan Avalakki Payasa	15 mins Microwave Doodh/Milk Peda
Sago/Sabudana Kheer	Peanut Chikki
Mango Panna Cotta	Rava Laddu
Easy Gulab Jamun (with milk powder)	Ela Ada

Payasa/Kheer (Indian Pudding)

• Banana Rasayana -Vegan pudding of bananas in jaggary sweetened coconut milk
• Carrot Kheer/Payasam - Thick and creamy Indian pudding of carrots cooked in milk, flavoured with cardamoms and topped with crunchy cashew nuts
• Dates Payasa -Vegen pudding of dates in coconut milk flavoured with cardamoms
• Sabudana(Sagoo) Kheer/Payasa -Creamy pudding of sagu pearls in cardamom flavoured milk topped with cashews roasted in Desi ghee
• Semige Payasa/Semiya Kheer - Quick and easy vermicelli pudding flavoured with cardamom
• Vegan Avalakki (Flat Rice) Payasa -Vegan pudding of creamy flat/beaten rice in coconut milk flavoured with jaggary and cardamoms

Beetroot Halwa Recipe | How to make Beetroot Halwa

Learn how to make Beetroot Halwa ~ Sweet beetroot pudding flavoured with ghee and cardamoms

Year 2016 is coming to an end and what a year it has been! As the year draws to an end, I can’t help but introspect the days gone by. This year has been a year of surprises; some good and some not so good. It’s been a year where I have laughed a lot, cried my heart out, gracefully accepted the new laughter lines few more silver-grey hairs, lost few pounds only to gain them back, made few mistakes and learnt some valuable lessons, been more conscious of what I cook and serve for my family n friends, did a lot of travelling and road trips, spent more time in the arms of mother nature, did some creative work that I enjoyed a lot, walked minimum 10K steps a day, grew a lot of vegetables, spent more time with my family, and learnt to live in a moment by finding joys in little things in life from LD.

AND… Monsoon Spice completed 10 years of blogging in the end of September 2016 which ~gasp~ I completely forgot to mention, let alone celebrate! Well, that was a year 2016 in nutshell and I can go on with my unceasing rants. But I am running out of time as we are leaving to India to meet a brand new member of our family, celebrate Christmas and welcome a brand new year with our families. It's going to be a short holiday, but we are planning to make the most it and have a blast.

Easy Gulab Jamun Recipe (With Milk Powder) | Simple Diwali Sweet Recipe

Learn how to make Gulab Jamun ~ An Indian confection of deep fried spongy milk balls soaked in rose scented and cardamom flavoured sugar syrup

It is almost that time of the year in India when winter begins. It is almost that time of the year when the dawn is lightly caressed by the frost. It is almost that time of the year when the golden rays of morning sun passes through the dew drops on the grass making them look like a precious diamonds sewn on the lush green carpets. It is almost that time of the year when the trees sway to the gentle morning breeze in the cool mist. It is almost that time of the year when the soft sun light appears from the distant hills and the birds tweet as they flutter through the dew laden sky! It is almost that time of the year when the summer’s blistering heat and the monsoon’s thundering rains give way to a season of crisp winter months. It is the golden season of Kartik, a season of cool air, chirping birds, dew drops laden fresh grass, the blossoming trees and the time when the entire Indian subcontinent adorns itself in the silky golden hued sunlight to greet the heavenly bodies into welcoming arms!

Mango Panna Cotta Recipe | How to Make Panna Cotta

How to make Mango Panna Cotta ~ Italian dessert of layered cream flavoured with vanilla and a Desi twist of mango flavoured with cardamoms 

She looked at pregnancy test kit in her hands again to make sure what she was seeing was true! There they were two pink lines as clear as they could be! 

She came running out of the bathroom screaming at top of her voice, “We really are pregnant! The nurse was right. We really are pregnant!” 

 “Of course she is right”, husband said with big smile on his face. 

“What are we going to do? We don’t know anything about babies!” wife said with worry lines etched on her face. 

“Well, we will figure out”, husband tried to reassure her. 

And figuring out is what we are still doing after 3 years!!! ;)

Carrot Kheer/Payasam Recipe | How to Make Carrot Kheer

Learn how to make Carrot Kheer/Carrot Payasam ~ Thick and creamy Indian sweet pudding of carrots cooked in milk, flavoured with cardamoms and topped with crunchy cashew nuts

Memories… Some memories are like a scripture carved in stones, etched in minds like crystal clear pictures. And then there are kind of memories, like dew drops on rose a petal which melts away as the morning sun kisses them, leaving behind blurry images… Some memories come rushing like waves after soaring high waves of mighty ocean, leaving you giddy headed! And there are other memories that come fluttering like a butterfly, lively and playful but transient at the same time, bringing little flashes from past!

Semiya Kheer or Semige Payasa Recipe | How to make simple Semiya Kheer/Vermicelli Pudding

Semige Payasa or Semiya Kheer 

I am fond of sleeping. Period. 

Long gone are the days when I could sleep when I wished, where I wished and for how ever long I wished! ~sigh~ A sleep which I took for granted has become such a luxury these days! But at last I had undisturbed (well, kind of) and very much deserved good night’s sleep. After series of serious bouts of coughing sessions from Lil Dumpling to HD, I was the latest victim of chesty cough that caught me in its wicked, painful grip! After 2 successive nights and days of coughing till my guts threatened to tore apart, my throat and chest felt like they have been rubbed with sand paper! It was  high doses of antibiotics that came to my rescue and I am happy to announce (for whoever cares or not cares!) that I am still alive and kicking! 

Crêpes with Spiced Poached Pears - A Guest Post by Soma @ eCurry

Crêpes with Spiced Poached Pears

If you are looking for an inspiration in food blogging world, you don’t have to go very far! There are many sweet and generous food bloggers who open then heart, kitchen, share their family recipes and also invite you to take a peek into their beautiful world. Soma of stunning food blog eCurry (apt name for food blog, don’t you think?) is one such inspirational blogger who is one of the most sweet person I have come across! Mother to two gorgeous girls, Soma shares her day to day life with beautifully woven stories, soulful narration and stunning photography. Her blog is something to be treasured and it is difficult not to fall in love with her awe inspiring posts. It is my greatest pleasure to have Soma here on my virtual kitchen. Please follow her on Twitter and become her fan on Facebook if you don’t want to miss out her unique, beautiful and delicious recipes.

Caramel Pear (Upside Down) Cake – A Guest Post by Nisha @ Look Who's Cooking Too

Caramel Pear (Upside Down) Cake

When I was absent from blogosphere for almost a year, I missed out reading my favourite blogs and chatting with my lovely blog friends. When I came back I found that there were many new food blogs, more than I had on my google reader! Among the lot, I found some really unique and interesting food blogs with beautiful narration and well presented food. One such blog was Look Who’s Cooking Too by gorgeous Nisha. I found her blog by accident but falling in love with her blog was no accident! Nisha shares wonderful recipes from her home and abroad, and the goodies she whips up in her London kitchen is something that will leave you drooling over your keyboard! It’s my joy to bring Nisha to Monsoon Spice kitchen. You can keep in touch with Nisha by become her friend on Facebook.

Kaju Barfi | Cashew Candy Squares Recipe - A guest post by Harini @ Tongue Ticklers

Kaju Barfi

Today I have a very special blogger friend of mine here who is known for her healthy vegan recipes, gorgeous food photography and radiant personality. She is none other than Harini aka Sunshine Mom. This lovely lady lives up to her name Sunshine Mom by spreading her warmth, kindness and her sparkling personality shines through her delectable blog Tongue Ticklers which is a treasure trove of vegan recipes, beautiful narration and stunning photography! Please welcome Harini who is sharing her delicious Vegan Kaju Barfi recipe with us all and don’t forget to become her fan on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Pineapple Kesari Bhath/Suji ka Halwa Recipe | Pineapple & Semolina Pudding for Deepavali

Pineapple Kesari Bhath or Suji ka Halwa

Fill the Heart with the oil of love.
Place in it the wick of single-pointed mind.
Light it with the Knowledge of Truth and remove
the darkness of ignorance around you.
Just as one lamp can light many lamps; let each
youth kindle this Light in many hearts.'
~Unknown

Rava Laddu/Ladoo Recipe (Suji ka Laddu) | How to make Indian Rava Laddu/Ladoo

Rava Laddu/Ladoo (Suji Laddu)

We live in a busy world, with busy people doing busy things and always busy rushing from point A to B saying they have one tight and busy schedule. This busy world makes you choose things that are simple and are not time consuming and provides resources that will not make your lives busier. So we choose things that will work quickly and without fuss. With all things happening so quickly, we forget to stop and appreciate small, little things. Wondering where this blog post is going to?

Fresh Strawberries with Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce - 3 in 1 Entry ;)

I and my hubby are fruitoholics. There is no single day when we don’t have at least 6 types of fruits in our fruit basket. We both are totally addicted to fruits and can survive just eating them. When Maheshwari announced her fruit of the month I was overjoyed as she has chosen my favourite juicy, gorgeous Strawberries. What a better fruit for this month of romance and love than red, almost heart shaped strawberries. After drilling my brain and my hubby’s brain for some ultra-special recipe I ended making this. Oh no!!! There is no frying, baking, steaming or cooking involved. I wanted to keep it simple yet delightful. So here is my entry of Fresh Strawberries served with dollop of Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce. This is what I usually serve as desserts when I have very limited time to prepare. And everybody loves having this light dessert after heavy meals. Overall preparation time is just five minutes and I don’t have to say how it tastes.

Fresh Strawberries with Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:
Fresh Strawberries
Vanilla Ice Cream
Few Chocolate Chips or Bars
Fresh Cream/Milk
Butter
Mint Leaves for garnishing

Fresh Strawberries with Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

Method:
Cut the strawberries to desired shape and arrange them in serving plate/bowl.
Scoop up a dollop of your favourite flavour of ice cream and place it in a plate/bowl.
Heat chocolate bars with little butter in microwave for about 30 seconds.
To this add a spoonful of fresh cream or milk and mix well.
Take a spoonful of chocolate sauce and spread it on ice cream.
Garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately.

Fresh Strawberries with Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

Oh!!! I would like to contribute this for Trupti’s LCIK. Kids can easily make this (of course with mommy’s guidance) and have fun in choosing their favourite ice creams and chocolate sauce. I am sure mommies will need to balance between chocolate sauce + ice cream and fruits though;) Hope they don’t end-up eating more ice cream and chocolate than fruits;)

And as Coffee of Khazana of Recipe says, I am gonna kill 3 birds with single stone now:) This is my contribution for Pooja's this week's theme- Valentine's Day:) Wohoo... I did it;)

Fresh Strawberries with Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

Strawberries Fun Facts:

Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside.
The average strawberry has 200 seeds.
The ancient Romans believed that strawberries alleviated symptoms of melancholy, fainting, all inflammations, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, bad breath, attacks of gout, and diseases of the blood, liver and spleen.
To symbolize perfection and righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals.
In parts of Bavaria, country folk still practice the annual rite each spring of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves. They believe that the elves, are passionately fond of strawberries, will help to produce healthy calves and an abundance of milk in return.
Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of the Emperor Napoleon, was famous for bathing in the juice of fresh strawberries. She used 22 pounds per basin. Needless to say, she did not bathe daily.
Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring.
There is a museum in Belgium just for strawberries.
Strawberries are a member of the rose family.
Ninety-four percent of US households consume strawberries.
Americans eat 3.4 pounds of fresh strawberries each year plus another 1.8 pounds frozen per capita.
Strawberries are low fat, low calorie; high in vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, potassium
Strawberries, as part of a 5 a day fruit & vegetable program, can help reduce the risk of cancer & heart attacks.
In medieval times, strawberries were served at important functions to bring peace & prosperity.
Folk lore states that if you split a double strawberry in half and share it with the opposite sex, you’ll soon fall in love.
In France, Strawberries were thought to be an aphrodisiac. A soup made of strawberries, thinned sour cream, borage, & powered sugar was served to newlyweds.
Over 53 percent of seven to nine-year-olds picked strawberries as their favorite fruit.

(Source: www.londonstrawberryfestival.com)