Navaratri ending with Dussehra; the entire nation waits for these nine days throughout the year. The people of different regions celebrate the festival in varying ways; while the Gujaratis (and almost everyone else these days, judging by the trends) get their garba acts together, people of Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and Odisha celebrate Durga Puja, the biggest celebration in the festival calendar of East India.
However, whatever the occasion — birth, marriage, festival or death — Indians can’t do without one thing: sweets. Dussehra, especially, is one occasion when everyone tries to make sweets at home instead of getting them from a store.
However, over the years we have seen some shifts in peoples’ tastes with some families serving Western desserts alongside Indian sweets.
Moist chocolate cupcakes
For those who find Indian desserts too sweet, this is an ideal alternative.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup brewed coffee,
slightly warm
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp white vinegar
Method
Pre-heat oven to 350°C. Grease muffin moulds or line them cupcake papers.
Combine all ingredients in a non-metallic bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed till its smooth. Gently ladle in the mixture in the cupcake moulds till they are half full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and set on a wire rack to cool before serving.
Tip: Since you can have guests anytime during Navaratri, you should make a fresh batch everyday instead of serving stale cupcakes. Shouldn’t be a problem as they are super easy. Experiment with different flavours like peanut butter etc.
Malpua
This is the perfect Indian dessert to make at home. It’s easy and incorporates the best tastes of India: desi ghee and milk. Serve it cold as it is or hot with a dollop of rabdi.
Ingredients
1 litre milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup semolina
½ cup desi ghee
Pinch of fennel (saunf) seeds
Pinch of black
cardamom seeds
Sugar syrup
Method
Bring the milk to a boil and reduces by about half.
In a large frying pan dry roast the semolina and slowly incorporate the milk and the flour, stirring continuously so there are no lumps. For a pancake-like consistency add a little more milk to make the batter thinner.
Grind the fennel and cardamom seeds and mix in the batter. Prepare the sugar syrup by heating two cups of water with one cup of sugar. Boil till the syrup is quite thick (but not as thick as honey). Heat the ghee in a frying pan and with a ladle, add a dollop of the batter and fry till its golden brown. Immediately transfer to the sugar syrup solution.
If not eating straight away, you can refrigerate them along with the sugar syrup.
Serve, the malpuas with rabdi.