Indian festivals were probably created so you could justify eating the delicious mithais our country has to offer! Serving up mithais on a platter for your friends and family to pick from just doesn’t make the cut anymore – you ought to add some oomph to your mithais to make them stand out! That’s what I am going to tell you how to do. These are my tried and tested favourite recipe ideas to turn classic mithais into something exciting – that you look forward to serve and your guests to eat!
Gorge on Gulab Jamuns
These soft melt in the mouth dough balls are so delicious just the way they are, tweaking them too much would be a sin. Simply use them to make gulab jamun custard with jamun mousse. A cup full of silky custard studded with moist mini gulab jamuns topped with a light and citrusy jamun mousse. Since jamuns won’t be in season you can use any fresh fruit pulp or readymade berry compote, even orange marmalade works brilliantly to make the mousse. Another favourite is gulab jamun muffins. Imagine the joy when you bite into a soft muffin and are welcomed by the gorgeous sweetness of a gulab jamun pieces. A simple butter cream frosting takes this awesomeness to another level.
While ghee and dried fruits are a requisite for most halwas there are a number of ways in which you can put a spin on this melt in the mouth dessert. The simplest way to do so is cut out crisp disks of toasted bread, top it with a quenelle of your favourite halwa and a sprinkling of dry fruit slivers. Arranged on a platter – these sure do look beautiful! If you are onto the dessert pops trend, then try out halwa pops dipped in chocolate and coated with crushed mixed dried fruits. When I make these pops I sprinkle some sea salt on the dried fruits to cut out on some of the sweetness of these pops! Smaller, better looking portions of halwa are a much better idea than cups full of them, isn’t it?
Stun with sandesh
When it comes to Bengali mishti, sandesh is my eternal favourite because of the simplicity of the recipes and number of variations you can put to them. A basic sandesh is delicious and gets made with just 3 ingredients – milk, lemon and sugar. It is because of this simplicity of ingredients and flavours that you can play around with it so much. Rose syrup, orange drink powder, saffron strands, fresh fruits, gulkand, ground spices, dry fruit powder – you can go as far as your imagination and taste buds take you! If you want to go all out with preparing a stunning dish with sandesh, I insist you try this herbal petha paan sandesh with coconut rabdi – the plethora of tastes will definitely blow you mind!
May this Diwali bring plenty of love, luck, positivity and delicious food your way!
Stay safe, eat your heart out but make sure your work it off later!
Happy Diwali!
Happy cooking!
Happy eating!
From My Kitchen 