During Diwali, these sweet treats are typically first offered to the deities during prayer time and then shared by the family and friends. They are also often gifted to family, friends and neighbours.
From nutty blocks of kaju katli and cakes of milky kalakand burfi to peda cookies and golden deep-fried laddoos, Indian restaurants in Singapore are pulling out all the stops to create beautiful boxes of mithai for gifting.
If you’re up for making your own mithai this Diwali, Sovani has also shared a basic recipe for kaju barfi, a popular cardamom-scented sweet made with sugar, cashew nuts and milk.
Watch this video to see how it’s done:
100ml milk
100g cashew nuts, ground finely
30g sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
For garnishing:
Edible silver foil
Edible flowers
Colourful sprinkles
1. Pour the milk into a heated pan and add the sugar and cardamom powder.
2. Add a few heaped tablespoons of the ground cashew nuts and begin stirring. The consistency should thicken into a paste.
3. Continue adding the ground cashew nuts and stirring till the mixture turns into a sticky dough.
4. Shape into balls and let them cool to room temperature. The dough will harden a little bit more as it cools.
5. Flatten the dough balls and cut out into desired shapes with cookie cutters.
6. Decorate with garnishes and edible silver.
7. The mithai will set at room temperature and are ready to be eaten right away. Refrigerate to store.