Diwali 2024: 6 traditional sweets that can be made at home

Diwali, the festival of lights, cannot be celebrated without indulging in an assortment of traditional sweets. They symbolize joy and prosperity. Homemade sweets are also storebought, but they have a special charm to them. Preparing sweets at home does add a personal touch, but it also ensures quality and hygiene. Here are six traditional sweets that you can make at home this Diwali, along with easy-to-follow recipes.

Gulab Jamun
A quintessential Diwali sweet, khoya is deep-fried and then given a sugar syrup bath. First, knead khoya with a handful of flour and baking soda to get a smooth dough. Then you can shape these into tiny balls. Fry the dough balls until crispy golden and red. Meanwhile, make a sugar syrup by dissolving sugar in water and add a few cardamom pods and saffron strands. The fried gulab jamuns should be soaked in the warm syrup for almost 30 minutes before being served.

Besan Ladoo
This Besan Ladoo is an essentially traditional Indian sweet prepared with gram flour, ghee, and sugar. To prepare these very delightful ladoos, roast besan in ghee over low heat until it transforms into golden brown in color with nutty flavors. Add powdered sugar and cardamom powder to the mixture and mix very well. Then let the mixture cool a bit, and take small round balls of it with your hand and garnish them with chopped nuts for that added crunch.

Kaju Katli
That yummy melt-in-the-mouth cashew fudge is everyone's favorite during Diwali. Just crush the cashews into a fine powder and in a non-stick pan, let sugar dissolve in water to a thick syrup consistency. This syrup add cashew powder to it and keep on stirring till it thickens and forms a dough-like consistency. Let it cool slightly and give some kneading while still warm. Roll it out into a thin sheet and cut it into diamond shapes. Kaju Katli is now ready to be served.

Rasgulla
Rasgulla is soft spongy cheese-based sweet originating from Bengal. To prepare Rasgullas, milk has to be boiled and curdled with the help of lemon juice to get fresh chenna (paneer). Chenna is drained from the liquid, kneaded to its smoothness, and then shaped into little balls. Boil this sugar syrup in another pan. Gently drop the chenna balls in boiling syrup and cook until they puff up, taking 10-15 minutes. Let them cool in the syrup before you serve.

Coconut Barfi
Coconut Barfi is a very simple yet delectable sweet made with fresh coconut, sugar, and milk. To prepare this, you need to cook grated coconut in a few ghee. Add condensed milk and sugar, and stir constantly till the mixture thickens and starts going from the sides of the pan. Add cardamom powder for added flavor. Pour the mixture onto a greased tray and spread it out. Once it cools, cut it into squares or diamonds and have it as a sweet.

Mysore Pak
Mysore Pak is a sweet, rich and buttery South Indian sweet made from gram flour, ghee and sugar. Start by roasting the gram flour in ghee till fragrant. In another pan make a sugar syrup using water and bring it to one-string consistency. Then slowly add the roasted gram flour mixture to the syrup stirring continuously so there are no lumps; keep adding more ghee while stirring. Pour it out onto a greased plate as it begins to leave the sides of the pan, let it set. Cut into squares, and there it is-the delicious, crumbly goodness of Mysore Pak.

This Diwali, bring the festive spirit alive by preparing these six traditional sweets at home. Everything, from syrup-soaked Gulab Jamun to the rich and decadent Kaju Katli, has got a unique flavor attached to it and tradition. The excitement of so many sweets being prepared and ready will always be there, but these give that personal touch to your celebrations, making Diwali 2024 all the more special.