Ganesh Chaturthi 2021: From Basundi to Coconut Laddoo, here are the festival sweet recipes you must try

Noted chefs from Hyderabad share their favourite dessert recipes for Ganesh Puja
Ganesh Chaturthi desserts
Ganesh Chaturthi desserts

The season of indulgent desserts is here! And to ring in the festivities of Ganesh Chaturthi, we chatted with four well-known chefs from the city who gave the recipes to some of their favourite traditional desserts. From Bellam Kudumulu to Khobra Chi Barfi, here is how you can whip them up at home...

Basundi

For the executive chef of ITC Kakatiya, Gaurav Singh, Ganesh Chaturthi has special significance. He has always loved collecting idols of Ganesha and enjoys indulging in the various desserts that are made during the festival. But, he tells us that his favourite is Basundi, which his mother makes on the first day of the festival every year. The chef agreed to share this recipe that is close to his heart.

Chef Gaurav Singh
Chef Gaurav Singh

Ingredients:
Milk - 1000 ml | Sugar - 100 grams | Rosewater - 5 ml | Cardamom pods - 2.5 grams | Almonds - 40 grams | Pistachio - 10 grams | Saffron - a few strands | Saffron water - 50 ml  

Method:
● Take a kadhai and boil the milk on a slow flame. While boiling it, ensure to remove the cream or malai from the sides of the vessel.
● Once the milk is reduced to half, add the sugar, cardamom powder, and saffron water.  
● Reduce the milk to 1/4th and add the rose water. Also, scrape the malai on the sides of the kadhai, add it to the milk and give it a stir.
● Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, heat some water and blanch the almonds and pistachios. Now, deskin and cut them into tiny pieces. Save half of it for garnishing and add the rest to the milk.
● Now, take the milk from the heat and store it in a refrigerator.
● Serve the dessert chilled and garnish it with saffron strands, almonds, and pistachios.

Basundi
Basundi

Bellam Kudumulu

With over 16 years of experience in the culinary field, the sous chef of Mercure Hyderabad KCP, Ganesh Gongoi, has a knack for making exquisite regional dishes. He shares the recipe to his favourite festival treat, Bellam Kudumulu, a famous dessert eaten in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He informs us that this recipe transports him to his home as this is the first prasad they serve during the puja.

Chef Ganesh Gongoi
Chef Ganesh Gongoi

Ingredients:
Water - 300 ml | Bengal gram - 50 grams | Black jaggery - 200 grams | Cocunut, grated - 30 grams | Green cardamom powder - 5 grams | Fennel powder - 5 grams | Rice flour - 200 grams | Ghee - 30 ml

Method:
● Soak the Bengal gram for one hour and keep it aside.
● In a bowl, boil some water and add the soaked gram. Allow this to boil till it reaches a mushy consistency.
● To this, add grated black jaggery, coconut, cardamom, and fennel powder. Let the jaggery melt properly.
● Now, add rice flour slowly and give it a stir. When it becomes like dough, remove it from the flame. Allow it to cool down.
●  Apply ghee to your palms and make small balls, then press within your fists so that it leaves finger impressions.
●  Grease idli plates with ghee or oil, arrange the kudumulu on the plates and steam for eight minutes in the steamer. Serve hot or cold.

Bellam Kudumulu
Bellam Kudumulu

Coconut Laddoo

Varun M B, the executive chef at Novotel Airport Hyderabad has a fondness for laddoos. He believes that the festival is incomplete if the prasad offerings do not include this mithai. One of his favourite recipes happens to be Coconut Laddoo and he says that it a must during the Ganesha festival.  

Varun M B
Varun M B

Ingredients:
Grated coconut - 1 cup | Ghee - 1 tablespoon | Cardamom powder - ½ teaspoon | Condensed milk - ¾ cup | Desiccated coconut, for rolling - ¼ cup

Method:
● Take a pan, heat the ghee and add the grated coconut. Sauté the coconut on a low flame for four minutes.
● Now add the sweetened condensed milk and cardamom powder. Give it a stir and cook this mixture on a low flame.
● When the mixture begins to leave the sides of the pan and when can see coconut fat on the sides, switch off the flame. Allow it to cool.
● When the mixture has cooled completely, pinch small to medium balls from the mixture to form ladoos.
● Now, roll the ladoos in desiccated coconut.
●  The sweets are ready to be served. They can be stored for five days in a refrigerator.

Coconut Laddoo
Coconut Laddoo

Khobra Chi Barfi

No Ganesh Puja celebration is complete without a coconut-based dessert. That is what Prakash Patil, the executive sous chef at Marriott believes. He says that this Khobra Chi Barfi is one of his favourite festival foods as it brings back a hint of nostalgia for him.

Prakash Patil
Prakash Patil

Ingredients:
Coconut, grated - 1 cup | Ghee - 1 tablespoon | Khoya - ¾ cup | Sugar - ½ cup | Water - ½ cup | Saffron - a few strands

Method:
● Take a pan and add the ghee and khoya. Sauté till the khoya looks of uniform consistency.
● Remove this mixture from the stove and allow it to cool. Then, add the grated coconut and give it a stir.
● Take a different pan and make sugar syrup by boiling sugar and water together. Cook the syrup on a high flame till it turns thick.
● Mix the syrup immediately with the khoya mixture, and stir vigorously to blend it well.
● Transfer this concoction onto a greased plate and pat to level it. Keep it aside and let it set. Once the mixture cools down, cut into cubes and serve.

Khobra Chi Barfi
Khobra Chi Barfi

— bsuchitra@newindianexpress.com

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