Sweet Endings: Diwali delights

Asha Maharaj wraps it up

ALMOND LADOO

A batter made with chickpea flour is passed through a sieve directly into hot ghee or oil. When the globules of batter are crisply fried, they are scooped up with a draining spoon and soaked in a sugar syrup until the syrup is fully absorbed.

The mixture is then flavoured, mixed with crushed almonds, and moulded into balls.

Syrup:

• 300g (1½ cups) sugar
• 185ml (¾ cup) water
• 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence

Batter:

• 250g (2½ cups) chickpea flour
• 2.5ml (½ tsp) baking powder
• 5ml (1 tsp) yellow food colouring
• Water, as needed
• 15ml (1 tbsp) melted ghee or butter
• Oil, for deep-frying
• 125ml (½ cup) crushed almonds

For the syrup, place sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring till sugar has dissolved. Boil rapidly without stirring for 8 minutes, remove from heat and add essence.

For the batter, sift chickpea flour with baking powder. Add food colouring and enough water to make a thick batter.

Beat till smooth. Stir in the ghee. Heat oil in a deep pan and pour ladles of batter through a sieve held above the oil. Remove batches when fried and soak in syrup. Add the almonds and mould fistfuls of the mixture into balls.

TIP: Ladoo can be frozen.

MOULDED BARFI

Barfi is the most popular sweetmeat for Diwali. Fudge-like in texture, it has many variations - just add essences, nuts or chocolate. This is a simple recipe - the moulding makes it exotic and it is suitable as a gift.

• 400g (2 cups) sugar
• 250ml (1 cup) milk
• 125ml (½ cup) ghee or butter
• A few drops rose essence
• 500g full-cream milk powder
• Tinted sliced almonds for decoration

Combine sugar and milk in a heavy-based saucepan and bring to a boil gradually while stirring. Add the ghee or butter and cook over low heat until the mixture is frothy, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, add essence and milk powder. Stir until the mixture thickens into a soft dough-like texture. Spoon into a mould and cool before turning out and decorating with almonds.

TIPS: Do not refrigerate - leave to set at room temperature. Sugar flowers can be pressed onto barfi for decoration.

DESIGNER GULAB JAMUN

Syrup:

• 800g (4 cups) sugar
• 750ml (3 cups) water
• 5ml (1 tsp) rose essence

Jamun:

• 300g ( 2½ cups) flour
• 10ml (2 tsp) baking powder
• 15ml (1 tbsp) thick ghee
• 5ml (1 tsp) grated nutmeg
• 1 x 385g can condensed milk
• Ghee or oil, for deep-frying

For the syrup, combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring till sugar has dissolved. Boil briskly without stirring for 8 minutes. Remove from heat, add the rose essence and cool to lukewarm.

For the jamun, sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Rub in ghee, add nutmeg and condensed milk and mix into a dough without kneading. Heat ghee or oil to moderate temperature in a pan.

Break off walnut-sized pieces of dough, shape into fingers and fry in batches until golden brown and lightly cracked on the surface. Drain and immerse immediately in lukewarm syrup. Remove after a minute and place on a rack to dry.

SERVING TIP: Halve lengthways and pipe rosettes of barfi butter cream onto each half.