Desserts to sweeten this festival of colours

Chennai

Holy basil thandai with almonds

Ingredients: 

Soaked almonds: 2 tbsp (skin removed)

Soaked melon seeds: 2 tbsp

Soaked poppy seeds: 1 tbsp

Almond slivers: ½ cup

Sugar: ¼ cup

Saffron strands: a pinch

Fresh holy basil leaves: 4

Milk: 2 cups

Green cardamom powder: ½ tbsp

Black peppercorns: 1/2 tsp

Soaked fennel seeds: ¼ cup

Method:

• Make a smooth paste of fennel seeds, poppy seeds, and almonds.
• In a heavy bottom pan, bring the milk and saffron strands to boil. Dissolve the sugar in the milk.
• Grind the fresh holy basil leaves and black peppercorns to a paste and add it to the milk.
• Add the almond, poppy seed and fennel seed paste along with cardamom powder and almond slivers to the milk and simmer it for 2-3 minutes.
• Refrigerate the thandai.

Bottle gourd halwa

Ingredients: 

Bottle gourd: 600gm

Ghee: ¼ cup

Cashews chopped: 5

Almonds chopped: 5

Raisins: 2 tbsp

Milk: ½ cup

Sugar: ¾ cup

Green cardamom powder: ¼ tsp

Khoya: as per taste 

Method: 

• Heat 1/4th cup ghee and roast cashews, almonds and raisins. Fry nuts to golden brown and keep aside. 
• Now add in grated bottle gourd and saute for five minutes. Saute till it shrinks slightly and changes colour. 
• Add in half cup milk and mix well. Cook for 10 minutes or till milk thickens and bottle gourd gets cooked completely. 
• Further add in 3/4th cup sugar and mix well. Let the mixture cook for five minutes or till it thickens. Add in some khoya into bottle gourd mixture and mix well. 
• Keep stirring till the mixture thickens and forms a mass. Add in roasted nuts and 1/4th tsp cardamom powder. 
• Mix the halwa well and serve hot with a garnish of roasted nuts. 

Recipe by Chef Naresh Singh Rawat

Sesame almond pinni

Ingredients:

Wheat flour: 2 cups

Semolina: 2½ tbsp

Roasted almond slivers: ¼ cup

Roasted White Sesame powder: ¼ cup

Pure ghee: ¾ cup

Gram flour (besan): 1½ tbsp

Sugar: 1 cup

Water: ½ cup

Green cardamom powder: ½ tsp

Roasted white sesame: 1 tbsp

Roasted whole almonds : 3 tbsp

Method:

• Heat ghee in a pan, add semolina and wheat flour to it. Roast the mixture till a golden colour is achieved.
• Mix the sugar and water in a pan, and put it over low heat. Cook till single string sugar syrup is formed.
• Mix the sugar syrup with the wheat flour mixture. Add the green cardamom powder.
• Cook the mixture till it becomes a little dry. Add the roasted almond flakes and ground white sesame to the mixture and mix well.
• Allow the mixture to cool. Divide the mixture into equal parts and shape it into rounds. 
• Cut the roasted almond into halves and place it over the pinnis and roll the pinnis gently in roasted white sesame.

Recipes by chef Manish Mehrotra

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