Healthy Options for All Your Favourite Ganesh Chaturthi Sweets! 5 Recipes That Enable You to Enjoy Traditional Sweets Guilt-Free (2019)!

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice flour (chawal ka atta)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp oil
• oil for greasing
• a pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling

• 1 cup grated jaggery (gur)
• 1 cup grated fresh coconut
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
• 1 ½ tbsp. ghee

Method

• Add grated coconut and jaggery in a non-stick pan and cook over a slow flame till the jaggery melts and the mixture comes together. Add the cardamom powder and mix well.


• Take a separate non-stick pan and boil the water. Add 1 teaspoon oil and a little salt in the boiling water and stir. Reduce the flame, add the rice flour while stirring continuously.


• Mix well so that no lumps remain. Cover with a lid and keep aside for about 5 minutes.


• Add little oil on your palms for greasing and knead the dough while it is still warm; if the dough cools it will get lumpy if it is not kneaded. You could even use a hand blender to knead the dough.


• Next, make size small balls of the dough (2 inches in diameter) using oil. Then roll each of them into a round shape, 3½” in diameter.


• Shape 8 to 10 folds in the rolled dough with 1 cm distance in between. To make a fold pinch the outer line of rolled dough a little bit ahead making 1-2 mm thick fold.


• Put in a spoonful of the filling into the dough.


• Seal the ends tightly. Prepare a steamer by adding water, a teaspoon of oil and heat it till the water comes to a boil. While the water is simmering, place the modaks on a greased steamer plate and steam for 6 to 7 minutes.


• As soon as the modaks are cooked they will turn translucent. Serve hot, drizzled with pure ghee.

Ingredients for the dough

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
• 4 tbsp milk

Ingredients for the filling

• 3/4 cup finely chopped dates (khajur)
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds (til)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp milk

Method for the dough

• Knead a soft dough using the flour, milk and little water.
• Make 4 equal sections in the dough and keep aside.

Instructions for the filling

• Slightly toast the sesame seeds over a medium flame until they are lightly browned. Cool.
• Coarsely grind and mix with the remaining ingredients.
• Make 4 equal portions and keep aside.

Instructions

• Using a rolling pin, roll out one portion of the dough into a small circle.
• Put one portion of the filling mixture in the centre of the circle.
• Mix together all the sides in the centre and seal tightly.
• Roll out again into a bigger circle this time.
• Cook on a non-stick pan until both sides are brown.
• Repeat with the remaining dough and filling to make 3 more puran polis and serve hot.

Ingredients for the outside dough

• Refined flour- 2 cups
• Semolina - 1/4 cup
• Ghee- 4 tablespoons + for brushing
• Milk- 3 tablespoons + 1 cup
• Saffron - a generous pinch

Ingredients for Stuffing

• Split green gram, soaked for ½ hour and boiled- 1 cup
• Ghee- 2 tablespoons
• Assorted nuts, chopped- 2-3 tablespoons
• Raisins- 2 tablespoons
• Green cardamom powder- 1/4 teaspoon
• Nutmeg,grated- 1/4 teaspoon
• Khoya/mawa- 1/4 cup (optional)
• Sugar- 1/2 cup (can use Jaggery too)
• Semolina - 2 tablespoons

Method

• Preheat oven to 160°C. Sieve together refined flour and semolina in a bowl.
• Pour 4 tablespoons ghee and knead into a tight dough using ¼ cup milk.
• For the stuffing, heat ghee in a non-stick pan.
• Next, add assorted nuts and raisins and sauté for 2 minutes.
• Put green gram, mix and sauté for 5-7 minutes.
• Add cardamom powder, grated nutmeg, khoya¸ sugar and semolina.
• Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer into a bowl and set aside to cool.
• Make equal sized small pedas from the dough and roll out pedas into small puris.
• Put a small portion of the prepared stuffing in the centre.
• Put a little milk on the edges, fold over and close to make a crescent shape.
• Tightly seal the edges and make a design on the edges with your fingers.
• Brush baking tray with little ghee and place karanjis on it.
• Brush the prepared karanjis with little ghee and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
• Heat 3 tablespoons milk in a small non-stick pan. Add saffron and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
• Brush karanjis with saffron milk after 12 minutes and bake again for 6-7 minutes. Cool, store in an airtight container.

Ingredients

• 400 gm curd
• 1/4 teaspoon black cardamom
• 50 ml milk
• 250 gm sugar
• 2 pinches saffron
• Almonds and pistachios for garnishing

Instructions

• Put almonds and pistachios over a chopping board and chop them.
• Next, take a muslin cloth and pour curd in it. Tie and hang the cloth until the liquid is drained from it.
• Now put the cardamoms in a grinder and grind them well to form a powder.
• Take a deep bottomed bowl and add curd and sugar in it. Blend them well. Ensure that the consistency of the mixture is smooth.
• Next, add cardamom powder and saffron strands in the mixture and stir it. While stirring continuously, mix warm milk in the bowl. Mix all the ingredients well.
• Garnish the dish with chopped almonds and pistachios and refrigerate for 2-3 hours and serve chilled.

Ingredients

• 2 mashed banana
• 3 tablespoon ghee
• 3/4 cup semolina
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon grated coconut
• 4 tablespoon honey
• 2 pinches powdered green cardamom
• 1 tablespoon cashews
• 1 tablespoon raisins

Instructions

• Dry roast the cashew nuts and then add some raisins in it. Remove and keep them aside.
• Add some ghee and fry the semolina in the same pan until it turns golden.
• In another container boil the water simultaneously.
• Once the semolina is golden, pour the boiled water to it and cook until the water is absorbed.
• Next, add the mashed bananas, honey and, cardamom powder and let it cook for a few minutes.
• Garnish with roasted cashew nuts, raisins and grated coconut. Serve hot.