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KATY FENTRESS
THE
SWEETEST
DIWALI
Rich, colourful, sweet and extravagant, Indian sweets really are in a class of
their own. Diwali is the perfect time to get a bit adventurous and find out
what all the fuss is about. Here’s what you need to know.
I
t is almost impossible to separate sweets from the Diwali
experience. During this five day
Indian New Year’s festivity held
to celebrate the triumph of good
over evil, sweets are given to neighbours, friends and family in order to
wish them a prosperous and happy
coming year. In the weeks leading
up to the celebrations, women in
India would traditionally spend days
masterfully producing extravagant
sweets of all colours, shapes and
sizes. Kenyan Indians have continued this legacy of amazing sweets
and this Diwali, you should make a
point of heading to one of the city’s
many Indian confectioners to try out
some of these decadently delicious
delights. In case you have no idea
how to tell one of these treats from
the other, here is a little and by no
means extensive glossary of the
most common Diwali sweets available in Kenya.
24.
Barfi: Sweet or savoury, barfis are
a must have during Diwali. Plain
barfis are made from a mixture of
condensed milk and sugar with the
addition of nuts like cashews or
pistachios which give them a buttery
crunch. The addition of Cardamom
gives this sweet a distinct smokey
flavour that compliments the sweetness. I would advise you not to get
the commercially prepacked barfis
as their manufacturers often forget
what flavour means.
Ras Malai: Ras malai is made of balls
of chhana (not to be mistaken for
chana which are chickpeas) soaked
in clotted cream. Often you’ll hear
it described as cottage cheese
dumplings soaked in flavoured milk.
The homemade version is made from
powdered milk, all-purpose flour,
baking powder and oil moulded into
balls and dropped into simmering
milk cream- often flavoured with
wonderful spices like cardamom and
saffron to give it a pale yellow colour.
Laddu: Made from a variety of
flours, grains and pulses, once bit
into, a good Laddu is an explosion
of flavour that distributes itself all
over your taste buds. The flours are
blended with sugar and a variety of
flavours like dry fruits or nuts. Their
longs shelf life makes them the perfect sweet to bring on a road trip.
Ras Gulla: Another recipe using
chhana, ras gulla is absolutely
decadent. In this sweet, the cottage
cheese dumplings are cooked in
sugar syrup until the syrup soaks
into them. You would be tempted to
buy the canned version, but nothing
beats making them at home and
gorging yourself on them throughout
your Diwali celebrations.
Jalebi: A lot of people fr XZ