Diwali Food – Malpua, Rose Sondesh, Potato Tikki

October, November, and December are my favorite months. It starts with Durga Puja and ends with my most utmost favorite Christmas. During this time, I decorate our nest for Diwali, Thanks-giving & Christmas and we both gain weight from the goodies I prepare. No matter how busy I am, every year during Diwali I prepare sweets and share them with our colleagues & neighbors.

This year, we are leaving for India next week! Yes, after 2 long years we are going to India to visit my family at Kolkata. As you can imagine, we are busy shopping and preparing for the upcoming trip.

Like I mentioned in my last posts, when I was growing up, my parents always travelled during Durga Puja so I used to eagerly wait for Kali. The days before Kali Puja, my uncles would take me to a local fireworks store where they let me buy whatever I wanted. After that, we would come home and toast them in the sunlight. I was told that doing so helps to glow them better.

The day of Kali Puja, mom would prepare biryani, chicken curry and sweets. As we sacrifice goat on that day, eating meat is very common in Bengali households. After having a hearty lunch and sleeping for a few hours in the afternoon, we would gather in the terrace to line the candles. After that we would come down and eat sweets and savories. When it was past 7, we would gather again on the terrace, light the candles and burn the crackers. After that, it was a family dinner. That was Kali Puja for us. It was not fancy, but I cherished every moment of those 2 days.

Here, we don’t have the luxury to burn firecrackers whenever we want, so I prepare sweets and savories for the two of us, light candles and decorate my home with a lot of flowers. Diwali is always a very special very intimate celebration for me, which I only like celebrating with my family. This year, I am making Sweet Potato Malpua , Rose Sondesh, Potato Tikki (Vegan and Gluten Free).

I have a lot to shop and pack, so I am wrapping the post with these recipes. Enjoy your Diwali! May this Diwali bring joy, health and wealth to you.

Potato Tikki(Vegan and Gluten Free)

Makes 15

You can get unsweetened shredded coconut from Whole Foods.

8 medium yukon gold potatoes, cubed
Water
1 cup fresh (or frozen) peas
6 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 teaspoon whole cumin
1 pinch asafetida
1 piece (2 inch) ginger, chopped
1 green chile, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chaat masala
1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut*
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons chickpea flour, toasted
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

1. Boil the potatoes with plenty of water until they are fork tender. Strain the liquid and peel the potatoes. Set it aside in a bowl and keep that bowl in the refrigerator. You can boil the potatoes a day in advance and store in refrigerator.
2. In a saucepan, boil peas with enough water. When peas are fork tender strain the liquid and mash the peas.
3. In a non-stick skillet, over medium high heat, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add whole cumin and cook it for a minute or two or until they splutter. Add asafetida, chopped ginger and chiles. Cook it for 2-3 minutes or until the ginger is cooked through. Add mashed peas, salt, ground turmeric, chaat masala and shredded coconut. Adjust the salt and cook it for 3 minutes. Take it aside and add fresh cilantro.
4. Mash the potato with salt and pepper. Add chickpea flour and make a smooth dough of potato. Take a ball of potato and flatten with your finger. Put some peas filling and close the ball. Shape them like a round disc and line them on a plate.
5. In a non-stick skillet, over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add potato patties and fry them for 8-10 minutes or until they are golden brown. Turn it over and fry the other side for 8-10 minutes. Take it aside. Continue to do so until all tikkis (patties) are fried. Serve warm with chutney.

Sweet Potato Malpua

3 sweet medium potato (400 gram), cubed
Water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semolina
1/4 cup rice flour
2 tablespoons khoya, grated (milk solids)
1/4 cup almond and cashew, finely chopped
5 whole green cardamom, crushed
1 tablespoon fennel, crushed
Oil to grease your hands and to deep fry
3 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 teaspoon crushed saffron
5 whole green cardamoms
1 tablespoon crushed pistachio, garnish

1. In a sauce pan, over medium heat, boil the sweet potato until they are fork tender. Strain and peel them off. Wish a potato masher, mash them well. Add all purpose flour, semolina, rice flour, grated khoya (milk solids), chopped nuts, crushed cardamom and fennel. With hands mix them well.
2. Now grease your hands with oil and shape them like flat bread. Take it aside.
3. On a non-stick wok, over high heat, heat  vegetable oil. When the oil is smoking hot, reduce the temperature to medium-low and release the malpua into them. Fry them for 5-6 minutes or until both sides are golden brown. Your malpua should slightly puff. Take them aside on a container lined with paper towel. Continue to do so or until all malpua-s are fried.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the sugar syrup. In a saucepan, over high heat, heat sugar and water. When it starts to boil, reduce the temperature to medium and add crushed saffron and cardamom. Continue to boil for 8 to 10 minutes or until they are slightly sticky.
5. After malpua are sligtly cooled dunk them in sugar syrup. Let it sit in sugar syrup for 6 to 8 hours. Take it out of the sugar syrup and serve with garnished pistachio on top. You can use the sugar syrup for other desserts. Malpua don’t need to refrigerated upto 3 days.

Rose Sondesh

Makes 24

You can buy dry rose petals from Amazon – link.

400 gram sugar
400 gram water
1/2 cup dried rose petals*
1 gallon (4 litres) milk
4 1/2 lemons
4 tablespoons vinegar
4 tablespoons water
4 cups water or more
1 tablespoon ghee to grease hands
1 tablespoon chopped pistachio, for garnish

1. In a saucepan, over high heat, heat sugar, water. When it starts to boil, reduce the temperature to medium-low and add rose petals. Boil it for 45 minutes to an hour or until it forms thick sugar syrup. It should be quite sticky when you try them with your finger.
2. Add juice of 1/2 lemon and strain the rose petals. Your rose syrup should be ready to use. This can be prepared a day in advance.
3. In a non-stick soup pot, over a medium-high heat, heat milk. Keep stirring, otherwise the milk will stick to the bottom. When it starts to boil (make sure it is a rolling boil), set it aside. Cut 4 lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl. Add one tablespoon of water and vinegar.
4. Add lemon-vinegar solution to the milk. It will start coagulating within 3 to 4 seconds. Hold a strainer over a mixing bowl and line it with a cheesecloth. Carefully pour the milk curds into the strainer, letting the whey collect in the bowl. Set the whey aside. (You can save the milk whey for making paneer in the future)
5. Wash the paneer under running tap water (washing it not only helps to get rid of the acidity, but also helps cool it down). Gather the four corners of the cheesecloth in your hand and gently squeeze to remove the excess whey (you do not need to hang the paneer to it cool down as long as you squeeze it well enough).
6. Set it aside in a big mixing bowl. Transfer the paneer dough to the food processor. Add the 3/4 of rose syrup and mix it until smooth. Work it until smooth and take it aside in another bowl. Check the sweetness and add more of the syrup if required. Don’t forget to mix it well, if you add more syrup.
7. In a non-stick pan, over low heat, heat the paneer – rose syrup dough. Cook it for 12 minutes (using a timer). Take it aside and continue to stir the paneer dough to cool it down. Grease your hands with ghee; then, when they are cool enough to handle, shape them like balls with palm of your hand. At this stage it will be pillow-y soft. Let it sit in refrigerator for 6 hours to overnight. Garnish with pistachio and serve it chilled.

If you’re not happy with these two desserts, you have more to choose from. A collection of super simple, homemade, organic and delicious Bengali sweets…

1. Strawberry Sondesh
2. Pineapple Sondesh
3. Homemade yogurt (sweet) and fruits
4. Mango Yogurt – Aam Doi (no oven method)
5. Dudh Puli – Sweet Coconut Dumplings in thick milk cream
6. Jaggery Rasgulla
7. Gulab Jamuns
8. Kacha Golla – Sweet soft cheese balls
9. Ras-malai – Cheese Balls in milk syrup
10. Carrot Halwa
11. Rasgulla
12. Mishti Doi (Sweet Yogurt)
13. Sweet Eggless Stuffed Crepes
14. Steamed Sondesh
15. Sondesh
16. Rasmalai
17. Chocolate Sondesh
18. Gurer Payesh (Bengali rice pudding)
19. Sweet coconut dumplings

P.S: I am taking a month (Nov) long vacation from recipe posts.

I will be eating mom’s food and photographing Kolkata. Stay connected at Instagram if you care to see. After I am back, I will post the photo story at Facebook. Once we are back to states, we will be off to NY to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family at NY.