Eid al-Adha: Three delicious sweet desserts to enjoy during the festivities

Eid al-Adha is a festival celebrated among the Muslim community all over the world in remembrance of the sacrifice that Prophet Ibrahim made due to his strong faith in Allah.

If you and your loved ones will be celebrating Eid al-Adha, then you can recreate these delicious traditional desserts to be enjoyed amongst yourselves throughout the festivities, or gifted to your closest friends and family.

Scrumptious Kahk

Ingredients

For the khak

• 1kg all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, plus extra for coating
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds (optional, but highly recommend)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon kahk essence
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 600g ghee or clarified butter, at room temperature
• 160g milk, at room temperature

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.
2. In the bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, sesame seeds (if using), baking powder, instant yeast (if using), salt, kahk essence and vanilla extract until well combined.
3. Add the ghee (or clarified butter) and mix until well blended and the dry ingredients are evenly coated. Continue mixing until the dough turns creamy and paste-like; 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Gradually pour in the milk. Continue mixing until a cohesive dough comes together. Do not over mix. To test if the dough is mixed enough, roll an apricot-size piece of dough between your hands, then gently press on it. The dough shouldn’t crack. If it cracks, knead the dough for a few more seconds, then repeat the test.
5. Using a measuring tablespoon, scoop out tablespoons of dough and place on a baking sheet. 
6. Roll each dough into a ball, then (if filling) press the center with your thumb to make an indentation for the filling to sit in. Add in the filling of your choice, then gather the dough up over the filling to completely cover it. Make sure that no filling is peaking out. Roll the filled dough into a smooth ball without any cracks.
7. Arrange the dough balls onto a silicon mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving an inch of space between each one.
8. For fun and to be able to distinguish between the different kahk fillings, give them some designs. Press lightly on the dough with a kahk stamper or decorate with kahk shaping tweezers, if available. If not, make a cross hatch design using the twines of a fork, or simply press down with your hand and leave plain. 
9. Bake until blonde on top and the bottom takes on a light golden brown colour; about 18 to 22 minutes. Be careful not to overbake.
10. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar, otherwise the sugar will melt on the kahk and make a wet surface.
11. Using a small sieve, dust the kahk with a generous amount of powdered sugar or roll into a bowl full of sugar.
12. Serve or store in a container. Kahk will keep well at room temperature for weeks and weeks.

This recipe was found on cleobuttera.com

Gulab jamun

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups white sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 drops rose water (optional)
• 1 pinch saffron (optional)
• ½ cup instant dry milk powder
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

1. Combine water, sugar, cardamom, rose water and saffron in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until consistency is syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Mix milk powder, flour and baking soda in a bowl until well combined. Slowly mix in butter and yogurt until dough comes together. Let gulab dough rest for 5 minutes. Shape into smooth balls the size of pennies.
3. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 175 degrees C. Test the temperature of the oil by dropping in a small piece of dough. When it sits at the bottom of the pan for 1 minute before coming to the surface, the oil is ready.
4. Fry 4 gulab balls at a time, stirring carefully, until dark golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes. Drain on a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with remaining gulab.
5. Bring syrup back up to a boil and drop in fried gulab. Remove from heat and let them soak in the syrup, covered, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Once done, serve and enjoy with the rest of your Eid al-Adha treats.

This recipe was found on allrecipes.com

Shahi tukra

Ingredients

For the sweet fried bread

• 6 white bread triangle slices
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons ghee/butter for frying

For thick milk

• 1/2 liter milk
• 2 pieces cardamoms
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1/4 teaspoon yellow food color
• 1/4 cup condensed milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

For garnishing

• 2 tablespoons pistachios, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron

Instructions

For the sweet fried bread

1. In a bowl beat eggs, milk, vanilla essence and sugar together. Dip in your triangle shaped Bread slices in the egg mixture.
2. In a pan add butter/ghee then fry your soaked bread slices on both sides until golden brown. Set it aside.

For the thick milk

1. In a pot, put milk for boiling with some sugar and cardamom.
2. Once its get boiled leave it on a low for half an hour or until it gets golden in colour or looks thickened and reduced to half of its quantity.
3. Pour the hot thickened milk mixture over the fried bread and let them soak it at room temperature. Once your breads all get soaked in milk mixture/rabri, then keep them to refrigerate for couple of hours.
4. An hour before serving, in a small bowl add some thick cream, vanilla essence along with the remaining un-soaked cold milk/rabdi from the dish and beat them together. Pour this thick cream mixture over the fried bread, make sure to cover all the dish.

For garnishing

1. Then garnish your dish with chopped pistachios and almonds with some sprinkle of saffron. Let it cool again for an hour, then serve chilled and enjoy with the rest of your Eid al-Adha treats.

This recipe was found on cravingzone.com