HOME baker, Akshi Rajbansi, shares her Diwali recipes with Northglen News readers ahead of the festival of lights on Thursday, November 4.

Based in Somerset Park, Rajbansi, who is self-taught, said she has always had a passion for baking.

This Diwali, she intends to spoil her family with some decadent treats that are firm favourites.

“I’m a mom of two girls, Thea and Pavani Govender, who are the centre of my world and the inspiration behind my home-based cakery. My husband, Oben Govender, and the girls love ladoo, burfee and rose milk. These always feature on our menu during Diwali,” she said.

That’s not all the family will do on Diwali morning.

“Each year, my daughters, mom and I apply mendhi (henna) to our hands and the entire family starts the morning with prayer and and an oil-bath, a cleansing ritual where oils are applied to certain parts of the body,” she said.  

RECIPES

Ladoo (three-part recipe)

Ingredients:
500g flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons butter ghee
1 table spoon egg-yellow food colouring

Method: Mix ghee and flour to resemble bread crumbs. Add baking powder and egg-yellow food colouring. Mix with water to form a thick-ish batter (dropping batter). Fry on medium heat, pass batter through a slotted spoon.

Syrup ingredients:
4 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 tablespoons rose water
1 teaspoon egg-yellow food colouring
Pinch of saffron
Method: Boil together until sticky (should be able to spin threads between fingers).

Method: After frying the batter place in the boiling syrup and allow to soak. Remove and place into a new dish.

Final touch
Add:
3 tablespoons coconut
2 tablespoons almonds (nibbed or powdered)
1 teaspoon elachi
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Method: Mix together to form balls and roll into coloured almonds.

Burfee

Ingredients:
500g powdered milk (Klim)
50g butter or ghee
1 tin of tinned cream (Nestle preferred)
¾ cup powdered almonds
1 teaspoon elachi powder

Syrup:
2.5 cup icing sugar
¾ cup water
50g butter or ghee
1 tin Nestle cream

Method: Mix powdered milk, butter (or ghee) and cream together. Put through a food processor to get a crumbly consistency. Mix syrup ingredients together and put to boil. Once boiled, mix with dry ingredients. Put the mixture onto a tray to set and cut into blocks. Once cooled, shape and decorate as desired.

Decorating options:
Top with an edible image and cut into blocks to give you a burfee mosaic. Top with coloured almond for a traditional look. Use a Malaysian cutter or cookie cutter to shape.

Coconut ice

Ingredients
3 cups of icing sugar
3 cups of desiccated coconut
1 tin of condensed milk
Food colouring of choice

Method: Mix food colouring and condensed milk together. Slowly add the coconut and icing sugar in, cup by cup. Mix well and shape as desired or set in a lined and greased casserole then cut.

Decorating options: 100s and 1000s Almonds, chopped and colored Drizzle with chocolate Dehydrated roses Edible foil Leave out to dry.

Recipes from Akshi Rajbani of Kreamy Kreations