If you think you need an occasion to stir up some good old desi mithai, you definitely don’t. And just because it takes ages to make gajar ka halwa, it doesn’t mean all Indian desserts take that much time. So, this week, instead of baking cupcakes or banana bread, try your hand at these easy desi desserts and impress your folks like a pro. These are simple, delicious, and loved by all generations. Also, it will help you score big on the sanskaar scale.

Related: Easy Dessert Recipes For A Gourmet Experience At Home

1. Coconut Laddoo

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Ingredients:

1 and 1/3 cup desiccated coconut (extra for coating)

3/4 cup milk 

1/3 cup sugar 

2 tsp ghee

1/8 tsp cardamom powder 

Method: 

In a pan, add the coconut and saute till it gets warm. Then, add the milk and sugar to it, and mix well on a low flame till the mixture becomes dry.

Next, add the cardamom powder and ghee to the mixture. Keep cooking on a medium flame till the mixture becomes a little sticky. Turn off the flame and let it cool till it comes to room temperature.

Once it has cooled down, apply a little ghee, and grease your fingers. Take the mixture, little by little, and start moulding it into small balls. Next, roll these laddoos in some more desiccated coconut to cover it with flakes.

Let the laddoos cool before serving.

2. Malpua

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Ingredients:

For batter:

1 cup semolina (sooji)

1/4 cup milk powder

4 tbsp yogurt

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 cup of vegetable oil

For sugar syrup:

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp saffron

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

A handful of crushed almonds and pistachios for garnish (optional)

Method:

Add all the ingredients for the batter in a large bowl. Whisk together till the mixture comes to a thick consistency and does not have any lumps in it.

Next, make the syrup by adding sugar and water in a pan on high heat and whisk till it dissolves completely. Once this mixture comes to a boil, add saffron and cardamom to it and give it a good stir. Then, let it simmer for about 5 minutes on a medium flame and set it aside to cool.

Next heat the oil in a pan over a high flame. Once the oil is hot, using a ladle, pour the batter little by little in small batches. Let it fry till it turns golden brown on both sides and then take it out.

Dip the malpuas in the sugar syrup for about 2-3 minutes till they become a little fluffy. Put them on a tray and garnish with crushed almonds and pistachios. Serve immediately.

3. Seviyaan Kheer

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Related: Rice Recipes To Turn Your Regular Chawal Into A Delicacy

Ingredients:

1 cup seviyaan (vermicelli)

2.5 cups whole milk

1.5 tbsp ghee

1/4 cup sugar

4-5 saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk

1/4 cup pistachio, chopped

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1.5 tbsp milk powder

Method:

Take a nonstick pan and heat ghee in it. Add the seviyaan to it and roast on a medium flame for about 2-3 minutes. Now add a crushed cardamom, 2 tbsp pistachio, and roast for about a minute.

Add milk and soaked saffron to the pan, and stir continuously till the milk comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.

Now, let the seviyaan simmer in milk for about 3-4 minutes and keep stirring continuously. Then, add sugar and let the milk boil till it becomes slightly thicker.

Next, mix 2 tbsp water in dry milk powder and make a paste. Stir this milk powder paste and mix evenly in the cooked seviyaan. Then, turn the flame to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Take the mixture off the heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Next, pour the seviyaan into a bowl, and top it off with chopped pistachio and some saffron strands. You can serve this immediately or let it cool in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving.

4. Instant Jalebi

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Ingredients:

For batter:

1 cup maida/all-purpose flour

3 tsp cornflour

2 tsp ghee

2 tsp yogurt

1/4 tsp salt

A pinch of orange food colour

1/4 cup water

1 tsp Eno

For sugar syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Oil/ghee for frying

A handful of chopped pistachios for garnish

Sauce bottle/piping bag/Ziploc bag

Method:

Start by making your sugar syrup. Add sugar and water in a pan, and let it cook on a medium flame. Once it starts to thicken, add the lemon juice to the syrup, and reduce the flame to low. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Next, take a bowl and add all the ingredients for the batter, except Eno and water, and mix well. Then, start adding water to the batter slowly, stirring it continuously to avoid lumps, and add Eno in the end. Mix it well so the batter becomes light and airy. Make sure the batter has a flowy consistency and is not thick or gooey. Pour this batter in a Ziploc bag or piping bag.

Then, take a frying pan and heat the ghee/oil in it. Once it’s hot enough, reduce the flame and start pouring the batter from the piping bag into overlapping circles. Cook the jalebis on medium flame till they become crispy.

Next, dip these fried jalebis in the sugar syrup for about 2-3 minutes. Now drain them, put them on a plate, and garnish with chopped pistachios. Serve immediately.

5. Mawa Kulfi 

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Ingredients:

750 ml full-fat whole milk

80 grams mawa (khoya or evaporated milk) 

2-3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

3 tbsp milk to dissolve the cornflour

A handful of almonds and unsalted pistachios

2 tsp green cardamom powder

1 tsp kewra or rose water

2 pinches of saffron

Method:

Take a pan, add milk to it, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Now, take the almonds and pistachios in a grinder and crush them finely. Repeat this for the cardamom as well.

After 20 minutes, when the milk has been reduced, add sugar and stir. Next, in a bowl, make a cornflour slurry with cornflour and 3 tbsp of milk, and pour it into the reduced milk. Keep stirring for about 2 minutes so there are no lumps. Add mawa, along with the powdered pistachios, almonds, and cardamom, and stir continuously for about 5 minutes on a low flame.

Switch off the flame, add kewra/rose water along with saffron, and give it a final stir. Once it cools down to room temperature, pour it into moulds or a tray, and refrigerate till the mixture freezes.

Check back in about 3 hours, and serve this delicious Mawa Kulfi.

6. Shahi Tukda and Rabdi

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Ingredients:

For Shahi Tukda:

6 slices of bread

3 tbsp ghee

For sugar syrup:

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

1/2 tsp rose water

For Rabdi:

3.5 cups milk (you can also use condensed milk)

4 tbsp sugar

1 pinch saffron

A handful of almonds and pistachios

Method:

Toast the slices of bread slightly and keep them aside. Next, soak saffron in 2 tbsp hot milk. Then, take the almonds with 3 tbsp sugar, cardamom powder, and 1/4 cup milk, and make a fine paste in the grinder.

Now, take a pan, add milk to it, and let it simmer on medium flame till the mixture reduces. Add saffron and sugar to it, and keep simmering for another 5 minutes. Next, add the almond paste to the milk and mix well. Let it simmer till it further reduces to almost 2 cups. Now, turn off the flame and let the rabdi cool down to room temperature. Place it in the refrigerator to chill.

Then, make the sugar syrup by adding water and sugar and boiling it till it comes to one string consistency. Switch off the heat and add rose water to it.

Now, take the bread, remove the edges, and cut it diagonally in 2 or 4 pieces. Heat ghee in a pan and once it is hot, fry the bread till it turns crispy and brown on both sides.

Dip the fried bread in sugar syrup and strain it out after a minute or two. Place it on plates and add the chilled rabdi on top of it. Garnish with crushed pistachios and serve immediately. Alternatively, you can also cool the shahi tukda in the refrigerator, and serve with chilled rabdi. 

7. Gulkand-filled Rose Laddoo

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Related: From Sweet To Savoury: Watermelon Recipes For A Refreshing Summer

Ingredients:

For Laddoos:

2 cups homemade paneer

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 tbsp Rooh Afza 

4 cups milk powder

3 tbsp milk (to knead the dough)

A pinch of pink food colour (optional)

Gulkand filling:

3 tbsp Gulkand (rose petal preserve)

1 tbsp slivered almonds

1 tablespoon slivered pistachios

Method:

Crumble the paneer till it becomes almost flaky. Make sure that the paneer does not feel sticky or wet. Roll it between your fingers to check. It should be just moist and grainy.

Add the paneer and condensed milk in a bowl, along with Rooh Afza syrup and milk powder. This mixture should have a crumbly consistency. To this, add 2 tbsp of milk and mix till it all comes together. Take a grinder and add the mixture to it along with another tablespoon of milk and blend till it becomes like a soft dough. Take a little bit of the mixture and roll it between your fingers to ensure it’s not sticky. Take the mixture out in a bowl and let it cool for 15 minutes till it becomes slightly firm. Once it is cool enough, knead it gently.

Next, add the gulkand and nuts in a bowl and mix well to prepare the filling. Grease your hands with a little oil and start shaping the dough into laddoos. Flatten the laddoos to add the filling. Put the filling in the centre and bring all the edges together to fold it back into a laddoo. 

Once all of them are done, serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can store these laddoos for up to a week in the refrigerator.

8. Kalakand

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Ingredients:

1 can /400 gms condensed milk

500 gms grated paneer

1/4 cup milk powder

2 tsp cardamom powder

1/2 tbsp each of almonds and pistachios, chopped into small pieces for garnish

Method:

Line a deep square bowl with parchment paper or grease it with oil, and keep it aside.

Take a nonstick pan and, before keeping it on the flame, add the paneer, milk powder, and condensed milk to it. Give it a good mix with a spatula and keep it on medium flame. Continue stirring this mixture for about 10-15 minutes till it becomes thick and starts to come together.

Now, pour the mixture into the bowl and spread it evenly with a spatula. Top it off with crushed nuts. Keep it in the refrigerator to cool. Once it’s cool enough, cut into pieces and serve.

Once you have impressed your folks with these desserts, go the extra mile and try some desi comfort food recipes too. Try these recipes that are totally authentic and come straight from top Indian chefs.