Eat to your hearts delight this DIWALI

As a kid my masis nankhatais were a huge attraction for me during Diwali. Since I had many cousins,masi would pack small boxes of the biscuits and hand them over to us. My biscuits always lasted the longest as I used to eat my biscuits slowly.

Masis secret to making the perfect nankhatais was that she would add chopped nuts to the flour while kneading the dough. Because of the high calorie content in the biscuits,I don’t eat too many. But,this year I will make an exception as my brother,who lives in Spain,will be home to celebrate Diwali after many years.

Anjanas receipe for yummy nankhatais

Ingredients:

Fine sooji 50 gms

Powdered sugar 85 gms

Maida 150 gms

Butter 120 gms

Few chopped almonds and cashewnuts

Method:

* Mix the butter and sugar till it turns fluffy

* Add chopped almonds,cashews,maida and sooji to the mixture

* Roll out medium-size balls and sprinkle chopped cashew-nuts and almonds on the top of each biscuit

* Bake them on a greased pan for 25 minutes at 150 degree C

Celina Jaitley

Say the word gujiya and my mouth starts watering! I loved them when I was a kid and still gorge on them. I make gujiyas every year at home during Diwali.

The sumptuous filling in my gujiyas are very popular in my family. I usually distribute the gujiyas among my friends on Diwali and carry the leftovers in my dabba for my shoots.

Celina’s recipe for mouth-watering gujiyas

Ingredients:

Maida 250 gms

Sugar 250 gms

Mawa 500 gms

Cooking oil 3tbsp

Raisins 3 tblsp

Water 100 ml

Chopped almonds 100 gms

Method:

* Mix maida and oil together with your hands till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs

* Add the water and knead into a soft dough and keep aside. Fry the mawa till light brown

* Add almonds,raisins and sugar and mix well for a few minutes. Fry for a few minutes and then cool the mixture

* Take a small ball of the dough and roll into a small thick chappati

* Spread some khoya mix on the chappatis and fold by pressing the edges together

* Deep fry on slow fire till golden brown

* Remove from flame and drain the oil

Eesha Koppikhar

More than the crackers,what I would look forward to every Diwali is the besan ladoos that my mother would make. They were so soft and delicious that they would instantly melt in the mouth. I would eat six ladoos in a day.

Of course once I started modelling I would have only one. Since I am not a great cook,I never cared to learn how to make them. This is my first Diwali after marriage and I am sure my mom will make some besan ladoos for me.

Eesha’s receipe for besan ladoos

Ingredients:

Besan (gram flour) 500 gm

Castor sugar 500 gm

Ghee 500 gm

Almonds chopped 100 gm

Method:

* Sieve the besan and keep it aside. Melt the ghee in a thick-bottomed pan

* Now add the besan and fry,stirring continuously till it turns brownish in color

* Remove from heat and leave the mixture to cool

* Add the castor sugar and almonds and mix well

* Make medium-size ladoos

Minissha Lamba

I like all the traditional Diwali fare. Fom besan ladoos,chivadas,bhakarwadis and chaklis,but my favourite is the coconut burfi. In fact it has been a favourite since childhood when I used to hide my burfis from my friends so that I didn’t have to share it with them.

Since it is very simple to cook I make it on Diwali to fulfil my craving.

Minissha Lamba’s Coconut Burfi recipe

Ingredients:

Shredded coconut 2 cups

Sugar 1 cup

Water 2 cups

Milk 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder ½ tsp

Method:

* Gently fry the shredded coconut

* Make a thick sugar syrup with the sugar and water

* Mix the coconut and syrup

* Add the milk to the mixture with the cardamom powder.

* Flatten the mixture evenly in a ghee-smeared plate and garnish with dry fruits.

* When cold,cut into diamond or square shapes