Authentic Indian sweets have a way of taking us back to our childhood when we used to devour them and wait for the next time to be rewarded with more. From laddoo to barfi, sandesh to rasmalai, all of them bring back the nostalgia of simpler days. The neighbourhood halwai was a person to be reckoned with for free sweets here and there.
For Indians, sweets are not just limited to festivals and celebrations but are essentialeateries after every meal. There is a mithai for every festival, wedding, auspicious occasion or passing your exam, for the temple or just late-night snacking. It is an essential part of the Indian culture and upbringing, and it can be very difficult to overcome the cravings sometimes.
Here are three of the most easy-to-make and exotic Indian sweets that you can try at home to put an end to your cravings:
- Kalakand
Kalakand is one of the easiest and yummiest Indian sweets and can be made instantly at home. Unlike other sweets, it takes less effort and ingredients to prepare. The kalakand recipeconsists of 6 main ingredients- milk, lemon juice, sugar, cardamom powder, ghee and pistachios- and an optional ingredient- fresh paneer. With considerably fewer ingredients, quick cooking time, and limited effort, kalakand is the perfect mithai to make at home. It is a festive delicacy, but we Indians don’t necessarily need festivals to indulge in our favourite sweets.
- Besanhalwa
Another easy-to-make sweet dish at home is Besankahalwa. For those cold winter evenings, piping hot besanhalwa was our comforter. It has 5 main ingredients- milk, ghee, gram flour (besan), sugar, and cardamom powder. For added flavour, one can use almonds, pistachios, saffron strands, etc. for garnishing. It is the perfect dessert after a meal and takes less than 30 mins to cook. Besanhalwa is usually preferred during winter as it is enjoyed the most when it is hot.
- Kheer
With 3 main ingredients, kheer is one of the most loved and instant sweet dishes in Indian households. It uses milk, rice, and sugar/jaggery as basic ingredients to which you can add a variation with almonds, saffron strands, pistachios, and other dry fruits. There are many types of kheer as well, such as kaddukheer, barley kheer, vermicelli kheer, soya kheer, etc. Kheer can be served both cold and warm, depending upon the season and taste preference, which makes it the best sweet dish for both summers and winters.
In these tough times, many of us try to avoid outside food, especially sweets. It can be challenging to conquer the urge to binge on sweets, and most of the dishes are not very easy to make at home or require too many ingredients, too much time or effort. It can look slightly difficult at first, but the above-mentioned dishes are some iconic Indian sweets that you can make at home using less time, effort, and ingredients.