Ganesh Chaturthi 2023: Chef Binod K Shares 2 Dessert Recipes
Image Credit: Avocado Kheer

With great devotion and enthusiasm, Ganesh Chaturthi is widely celebrated all over the country. During this festival, Hindus welcome Lord Ganesha to their homes with lots of rituals and devotion. It is a ten-day festival that is observed in the Shukla Paksha of the Bhadrapada month of the Hindu calendar. This year, it started on September 19 and will end on September 28.

Every region celebrates this festival with different rituals, but one similarity across the country is that we get to enjoy a lot of delicious delicacies. Modak, motichoor laddoo, puran poli, payasam, satori, and pulihora are some popular dishes of Ganesh Chaturthi. As it is a ten-day festival, we eat a lot of calorie-dense desserts during this time, which may not be good for diet-conscious people. 

So, as a solution to your dilemma, we present to you two guilt-free desserts for Ganesh Chaturthi shared by Chef Binod Kumar, Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai, Vashi:

Raw Turmeric, Dry Nuts, And Wheat Laddoo


Ingredients                                            

  • 100 g fresh raw turmeric
  • 250 g wheat flour
  • 160 ml ghee
  • 20 g almonds
  • 20 g cashew nuts
  • 20 g walnuts
  • 20 g pistachios
  • 50 g melon seeds
  • 120 g jaggery
  • 90 g of water
  • 20 g raisins
  • 90 g of desiccated coconut
  • 10 g black pepper powder
  • cashew nuts for garnish        

Method 

  • Heat ghee in a pan and add grated raw turmeric. Cook until it reduces to 1/4th and the raw smell of turmeric goes off. 
  • Heat a pan and dry roast the wheat flour until golden, then mix with turmeric paste. 
  • Heat ghee in another pan and fry almonds, cashew nuts, walnuts, and pistachios one by one, setting aside. 
  • Dry roast melon seeds. In a pan, melt jaggery in 1 tbsp. water to make jaggery syrup. 
  • Grind the roasted dry fruits into a coarse powder. Grind the fox nuts separately and mix them into the dry fruit mixture. 
  • Add the powder and raisins to the jaggery syrup and mix properly. Add the cooked, raw turmeric mixture and mix well.  
  • Once the mixture cools slightly, add desiccated coconut, roasted melon seeds, and black pepper powder and mix well. Make a round, smooth laddoo and garnish with cashew nuts.

Avocado Kheer 

Ingredients  

  • 50 g avocado pulp
  • 60 g grated coconut
  • 60 g raw rice powder
  • 40 g jaggery
  • 1/4 cup boiled milk
  • 80 ml of water
  • 20 ml ghee
  • 5 g cardamom powder
  • 10 g whole cashew nuts, broken
  • 10 g raisins
  • gold or silver work to garnish

Method 

  • Soak jaggery in warm water and crush it well. Then heat it up until it is slightly thick. Strain it and keep it aside. 
  • Rinse the rice well and soak it in water for at least 30 minutes. Set it aside. In a mixer, grind rice and coconut together with a little water to a coarse paste.
  • Boil water, keep on low flame, add the coconut rice paste, and let it cook on medium flame for 10 minutes.
  • Once the rice gets soft and the mixture is porridge-like, add jaggery syrup. Stir well and cook for 3 minutes.
  • Add well-ripped avocado pulp and cardamom powder and stir well. Meanwhile, in a tadka pan, fry cashews and raisins. 
  • First, add cashews. Once it starts to brown, add the raisins, let it bubble up, and then switch it off. Switch and let the payasam cool down for 10 minutes.
  • Then add milk and stir well. Add the ghee-fried cashews and raisins and give it a quick stir. Enjoy.