This is my Diwali Gift to you all...

These are the items i made for Diwali:

• Gulab Jamun ( yes, your guess is right. Its with ready mix )
• Rava Laadu
• Ashoka Halwa
• Ribbon Pakoda
• Oma Podi

Here are the recipes:

No recipe for gulab jamun, as it was made with ready mix.

Rava Laadu

Ingredients:

• Rava - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
• Elaichi - 4
• Cashews
• Raisins
• Cloves - 4
• Ghee - 1/2 cup
  

How to make it:

Roast rava in a dry pan and grind it into a powder. Add powdered sugar and Powdered elaichi and cloves to it. Heat little ghee, fry cashews and raisins and add it to the rava. Melt remaining ghee until it is warm and mix it together with rava and make balls of even size.

Ashoka Halwa

Ingredients:

• Moong dhal - 1 cup
• Sugar - 2 1/2 cups
• Milk - 2 to 3 cups
• Elaichi - 3
• Cashews - few
• Raisins - few
• Saffron - a pinch
• Ghee - 1/4 cup
• Red food colour - a pinch

How to make it:

Wash moong dhal thoroughly in water and pressure cook by adding milk. Mash it until smooth. In a large pan, add the mashed moong dhal and sugar and mix it until it gets hardened. You have to keep on stirring until its done. When it starts sticking to the pan add ghee little by little. Add cardamom and food colour. Stir until it comes together without sticking to the pan. If it sticks to the pan, add more ghee. Add fried cashews and raisins. once done, transfer it to a bowl and add a pinch of saffron.

Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients:

• Besan Flour - 1 cup
• Rice Flour - 3 cups
• Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
• Salt
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Oil - for frying

How to make it:

Slightly roast the flour in a dry pan and let it cool down. Add butter, salt, chilli powder and asafoetida powder to it. Mix it into a soft dough by adding water. Grease murukku mould. (Choose the murukku slide with a slot of the size of a ribbon). Put dough into the mould and squeeze slowly into the hot oil. When it turns brown, take it onto a paper towel and drain off excess oil. Allow it to cool.

Oma Podi

Ingredients:

• Besan Flour - 1 cup
• Rice Flour - 1 cup
• Ajwain seeds - 2 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Salt
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Oil - for frying

How to make it:

Soak ajwain seeds in 1/4 cup of water for 10 minutes and grind it into a paste. Slightly roast the flour in a dry pan and allow it to cool. Add the chilli powder, butter, salt, and ajwain paste to it. Mix it into a soft dough by adding water to it. Grease a murukku mould and this time select the slide with small holes. Add dough into the mould and squeeze it directly into the hot oil. Fry on both sides and until it turns brown and take it to a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

The gift box was made out of paper plates by folding all the four sides and sticking it with a sticky tape and the decorations are made with colour pens, spray paints and stencils.

Have a wonderful celebration! ENJOY!