Festivals are meant to be savoured, not survived. For Food blogger Aarthi Satheesh, food sits at the heart of every celebration, and she doesn’t believe the season should be about restriction. Her approach is simple: moderation, not deprivation. She enjoys the sweets and festive dishes she loves, and balances them with lighter, home-cooked meals through the rest of the day. Portion size does a lot of the work too. There’s no need to say no to a favourite sweet, because a smaller helping is often enough to satisfy. To her, festive food is about sharing a table with family and making memories, not worrying whether every bite is “healthy.”
Here are the five recipes she recommends for the celebration table, from classic sweets to a main course that brings everyone together.
Five Festive Recipes
1- Badusha
A popular South Indian sweet made with plain flour, butter, yogurt. These bite size Indian sweet is also known as Balushahi. Mini bite size patties is fried till crispy and soaked in sugar syrup to create crispy yet flaky layers.
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Butter | Ghee or Vanaspati soft
- 3 tablespoon Oil
- 3 tablespoon Curd | Yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- Water as needed
- Oil for Deep Frying
- 3 tablespoon Pistachio for sprinkling on top
For Sugar Syrup
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cardamom
Instructions
Take butter or ghee, oil, curd, baking soda in a bowl and mix well. Once it is mixed, add in flour and mix well, to it resembles bread crumbs. Now add in water little by little and mix well to a soft dough. Don’t knead the dough. Allow this dough to rest for 15 mins while you make the sugar syrup.
Take sugar and water in a pan and mix well. Put it on heat and bring it to boil. Cook till it reaches one string consistency. If you take some syrup between your thumb and fore finger and stretch it a string should form. This is the stage. Now add in cardamom powder and keep the syrup warm. Dont boil too much.
Now take the dough and divide it into small balls. Take a ball, flatten it and make a hole in the center. Make all the dough like this.
Now heat oil for deep frying. The oil should never smoke..First test the oil, drop a small dough into the oil, first it should sink , then rises immediately. This is the right consistency. Drop 4 to 5 badusha at a time and immediately decrease the heat to the lowest as possible and cook for 7 to 10 mins till is light golden coloured and cooked. Don’t increase the flame.It should be always on low.
Now drain it and add it to the syrup Let it soak for 2 mins. Drain it and set aside.
Take some chopped pista and sprinkle over the badusha.
Leave the basusha for 2 hours them enjoy.
2- Mysore Pak
A popular South Indian sweet which is a melt in mouth dessert made with ghee, gram flour and sugar.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Gram Flour | Besan
- ¾ cup Oil
- ¾ cup Ghee
- 1 cup Sugar
- ½ cup Water
Instructions
Take gram flour in a bowl. Heat ghee and oil lightly. Remove ½ cup of the mix into a bowl. Add remaining mixture into the gram flour and whisk till smooth.
Take sugar and water in a nonstick pan. Heat it and let the sugar melts. Once it is melted. Bring it to a boil. Cook till one string consistency is reached.
Now add the gram flour mix and mix well. Once it is mixed well, add the remaining ghee and mix well. Cook till the mixture gets thick and smooth. Cook on medium low heat for 5 mins till it gets thick and bubbly.
Now turn off the heat and keep mixing for 1 min. It will get nice and thick. Now pour this in greased mould. Spread evenly.
Now cool this for 30 mins. Un mould, slice and serve.
3- Gulab Jamun
Gulab jamuns are melt in mouth delicious balls of heaven made traditionally with khoya. It can be made with milk powder for easy recipe which makes it perfect for any festive occasion
Ingredients
Gulab Jamun with Khoya
- 1 cup Khoya | Mawa unsweetened
- ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- Oil or Ghee for Deep frying
Gulab Jamun with Milk powder
- 1 cup Milk Powder Dry Milk
- 3 tablespoon All Purpose Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Ghee | Clarified Butter
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon Curd | Unsweetened Yogurt You can use milk too
- Oil or Ghee for Deep frying
Sugar Syrup for Gulab Jamun
- 2 cups Sugar
- 2 cups Water
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom Powder I used 4 cardamom pods
- ⅛ teaspoon Rose Water
- ⅛ teaspoon Saffron
Instructions
Make Sugar Syrup for Gulab Jamun
Take sugar and water in a sauce pan, bring it to boil. Simmer it for 5 to 8 mins till it gets little sticky. Dont need for the syrup to reach 1 string. If you take the syrup between your fingers the syrup should be sticky. Now add in cardamom powder, saffron and rose essence. Mix well. Keep this warm until you make the jamuns.
Gulab Jamun using Khoya
Take khoya in a bowl. Mash it well so it is smooth. Now add in baking soda and mix well. Sprinkle in flour and make into a very soft dough. Add a few spoons of milk if needed. Cover it with a damp cloth and set aside for 20-30 mins. Now knead the dough once and divide into equal portions. Make small balls out of it and set aside.
Heat oil on a very low flame for deep frying. Add in the balls and fry on a low heat for 15 mins or until the jamuns gets nice colour.
Take the fried jamuns and immerse it in the sugar syrup. Let it soak for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Serve it with ice cream or as it is.
Gulab Jamun with Milk Powder
In a sifter, add in flour, milk powder, salt and baking soda. Sieve them together. Now take this in a bowl, add in ghee and curd. Knead it to a soft sticky dough. Add more milk if needed. Let the dough rest for 5 mins. Take small portion of dough and shape it into smooth balls. The balls should be very smooth without any cracks.
Now heat oil or ghee for deep frying. Drop the jamuns in and fry till golden. The oil should be on low, when you drop a jamun ball in, the ball should first sink to the bottom then slowly rise to the top. Strain this and add to syrup.
Strain this and drop into hot syrup (you can reheat the syrup till it is hot and then drop the jamun in). Cover and let them soak for 2 hours. Serve.
Serving Suggestions
Serve hot Gulab Jamun as a dessert with scoop of vanilla ice cream at a party or as a sweet after a meal.
4- Chicken Dum Biryani
Hyderabadi Style Chicken Dum biryani is a classic mughlai | hyderabadi preparation which is loved by all.
Ingredients
- 1 kg Basmati Rice
- 1.5 kg Chicken
- ¾ cup Vegetable Oil
- 3 large Onions sliced thinly
- a pinch Saffron
- ¼ cup Warm Milk
- ¼ cup Coriander leaves finely chopped
- ¼ cup Mint Leaves finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon Ghee
- 50 grams Cashews
- 50 grams Golden Raisins | Sultanas
- ½ teaspoon Kewra Essence (optional)
- ½ teaspoon Rose Essence (optional)
- Salt to taste
For Marination
- 2 tablespoon Chilli Powder
- 3 tablespoon Coriander Powder
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup Coriander leaves chopped finely
- ½ cup Mint Leaves chopped finely
- 1½ cup Plain Yogurt | Curd
- 4 Green Chillies
- 3 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
Special Garam Masala Powder (recipe below)
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
For Special Garam Masala Powder
- 10 piece Cloves
- 10 pods Cardamom
- 3 Bay Leaf
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon Cumin Seeds
- 4 Black Stone Flower | Kal Paasi
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 tablespoon Fennel Seeds
Instructions
Powder the special garam masala powder ingredients. Set aside.
Start by marinating the chicken with all the ingredients given. Let it marinate for 2 hours but overnight is great.
Wash rice at least 3 to 4 times and soak basmati rice for at least 30 mins.
Heat oil in a big pot which you are going to assemble the biryani. Add in onions and fry till golden, drain and set aside. Reserve the fried oil..
Soak saffron in some warm milk, heat ghee in a sauce pan and fry cashews and sultanas till golden. Set aside for garnishing
Bring lots of water with salt to a boil. Once it boils, add in the drained rice and cook it for 5 to 7 mins till it is 50 to 60 percent done. When you taste it, it should have a bite.
Now in the pot which you are going to assemble the biryani. Add the onion fried oil. Add the marinated chicken and mix well in the oil.
Now layer the rice over it, top with fried onions, chopped herbs, saffron milk, fried nuts along with the ghee, kewra and rose essence. Cover the entire pot with foil and cover with a plate. Place a weight over it and let it cook on a very very low flame for 30 to 35 mins.
Switch off the flame and leave the biryani to rest for 10 mins before removing the weight and gently fluff the rice using the back of a ladle.
Serve hot with raita.
5- Semiya Payasam
Semiya payasam is a popular South Indian sweet which is also known as vermicelli kheer, seviyan kheer.
Ingredients
- ½ cup Vermicelli
- 3 tablespoon Sago | Sabudana (javarisi)
- 2 cups Water
- 1 litre Milk
- ½ cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk (milkmaid)
- 3 tablespoon Ghee
- 4 tablespoon Cashews
- 4 tablespoon Kishmish (golden raisins)
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
Instructions
Heat ghee in a frying pan. Add in cashews and fry till light golden. Once cashews get golden, add in kishmish (golden raisins) and fry for few seconds. Now both cashews and raisins is golden brown. Remove them to a bowl and set aside.
Now in the same ghee, add in vermicelli and sago. I used roasted vermicelli, so roasted only for couple of minutes. If you are using un roasted then roast till golden brown in colour. Remove this and set aside.
Meanwhile bring 1 litre milk to a full boil. The milk has to stay hot when you add it to the payasam.
In another pot, take 2 cups water and ½ cup milk. Bring it to a full boil. Once milk and water starts to boil.
Add in roasted vermicelli and sago mixture in. Mix it really well and continue cooking till sago and vermicelli gets cooked. Keep stirring in between to prevent semiya sticking to the bottom of the pan.
After 15 to 20 minutes of cooking on a low flame. Semiya and sago is completely cooked. Sago will look translucent in colour and semiya will be soft if you press them with your fingers.
Now add in sugar to taste. The amount of sugar totally depends to your taste. You can add more or less as per taste. Mix sugar into the cooked semiya. Once sugar is mixed into the semiya it will start to melt and gets thick. I like to cook sugar with semiya for at least 2 minutes.
Now pour in your hot milk into the semiya sugar mixture. You have to use hot milk at this stage. If you add cold milk or room temperature milk into the hot semiya and sugar mixture, it may curdle. Once milk is added, mix well and cook together for 3 to 5 minutes.
Now pour in milkmaid or sweetened condensed milk. this adds richness and gives you restaurant and wedding style taste to your payasam. if you want to skip, you can.
Now for flavourings add in ground cardamom powder. You can use a pinch of saffron at this point too. Add in fried cashews and raisins and mix.
Semiya payasam is ready to serve. Payasam tends to get thicker as it cools, you can adjust the consistency with some hot milk.
For me, festive food is about enjoying it with family and making memories not worrying about whether every bite i