Diwali sweets with a vegan twist- Part II

 

Image courtesy - https://www.veganricha.com/vegan-7-cup-burfi-chickpea-flour-coconut-fudge/

In today’s episode, we are going a have a few more Diwali recipes that are featured on Vegan Richa’s web page. So, let us get started on the same:

7 cup burfi

7-cup burfi is a traditional Diwali sweet that is typically made by Indian households to celebrate the occasion in style. You use 7 main ingredients for the sweet to be made. Hence, we call it the ‘7-cup cake’ or the 7-cup burfi. This is a delicious burfi that takes very less of your preparation or what is called your cooking time. The burfis can be kept in air-tight containers for about 5-7 days. Traditional 7-cup burfis use milk, sugar, and ghee as the primary ingredients. We will check on how the recipe can be recreated in the vegan style. 

Ingredients needed:

• ½ a cup of chickpea flour or besan
• 1.5 tbsp of vegan butter or cold-press coconut oil
• ½ a cup of grated coconut shreds
• 3/4th cup of unrefined raw sugar
• A good pinch of salt
• Use 125 ml of almond or soy milk (Preferably almond milk as soy milk can give out a bitter taste)
• ½ a tsp of cardamom powder
• 1-2 tablespoons of vegan butter or oil

Method of preparation

• Take a cooking pan. You can grease it with a little bit of oil on parchment paper. Now, keep the container aside.

• Add chickpea flour and vegan butter or oil to the pan that you have kept aside in step 1. Place the pan over the stove. Stir the ingredients for about  3-5 minutes. 

• Now, keep the pan side. To the stirred-up ingredients, slowly start adding coconut shreds, sugar, and salt. Add almond milk to the mixture. Keep adding the ingredients one by one and give it a gentle mix so that you have a lump-free version of the batter. Place it on the stove.

• Continue to leave it on simmer for about 3-4 minutes. You can stir the ingredients occasionally.

• At this stage, add a big tablespoon of vegan butter. If you are using cold-pressed coconut oil, two tablespoons would suffice. Continue the boil the mix for about 12-18 minutes.

• Again when you are cooking for over 7 minutes or so, you can add some more vegan butter or cold-press oil. Now, you can check if the sugar has completely melted. If the mixture feels too chewy once you dip using a spoon or too, then, you will leave it on the stove for a few more minutes. The consistency must be chewy and fudge-like. This means that the halwa quickly separates from the greasy pan.

• Now, transfer the contents onto a baking pan. You can add cardamom seeds that are powdered into the mix. Allow the mix to cool down for 15-30 minutes. Now, you can cut it into squares or cubes. The burfis can be garnished with almond slivers. However, this particular step is completely optional. 

• The burfis can be stored in air-tight containers for 5 days. You can serve guests during Diwali or after Diwali with cups of coffee or tea!

Vegan gajar halwa

Carrot halwa or what is fondly known as ‘Gajar Halwa’ is another popular dessert that is done by Indian households during the onset of Diwali. Let us check out the ingredients for vegan gajar halwa.

Ingredients Used:

• 1 tablespoon of saffola oil or any other form of neutral oil
• 3 tablespoons of cashews (You can chop them or have them halved)
• 2 tablespoons of raisins
• 2 tablespoons of pistachios that are chopped
• 2.5 cups of carrots either grated/ shredded
• 350 ml of almond milk (You can buy a store-bought brand if you want to save up your preparation time)
• 1/4th cup of almond meal (Here, we talk about coarsely ground almonds)
• 1/4th cup of ground raw sugar
• 1 tbsp of vegan butter or sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoons of Emkay Vegan ghee
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/4th tsp of cardamom powder or saffron strands

Method of preparation

• You can add vegan butter or cold-press sunflower oil over a skillet. Here, you can place the pan over medium heat. Add cashews, raisins and pistachios one by one. Allow the dry fruits to be roasted until they turn golden brown. Raisins in fact puff up. 

• You can now add grated carrots to the pan. You can add almond milk and the almond meal put together. Mix the portions well. Now, using a low to medium flame, allow the mixture to remain on the stove for about 15 minutes. 

• Add sugar, salt, cardamom, and vegan butter. Now, again cook for another 20-30 minutes. The moisture must fully be absorbed into the grated carrots. Keep stirring ocassionally.

• Adjust the taste or color accordingly. Add two huge tablespoons of Emkay vegan ghee. Post adding ghee, allow the mixture to stay on lower flame for 5 more minutes. See if the carrot halwa separates the pan.

• Serve hot or cold. While serving, you can garnish it with slivered almonds or pistachios. 

Coconut ladoos

You can make coconut ladoos in a hassle-free manner. Using shredded coconut flakes, this is a Diwali sweet that can be spun off in a jiffy. So, let us get started with the recipe:

Ingredients needed:

• 2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut
• Take 4-5 seeds from a pounded cardamom
• 1/3rd cup of full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tsp of coconut oil
• 2/3rd cup of raw sugar or jaggery
• A pinch of salt and
• Take 2 tablespoons of coconut flour

Method of Preparation:

• Grind two cups of shredded coconut by using a blender. You can pulse it to form powdery coconut flakes.

• You can blend in a few more shorter cycles until the coconut shreds are ground up completely. Now, you can pound the cardamom seeds. You can do so using a pestle and mortar. Now, you can add the cardamom powder into the coconut flake powder.

• You can heat the coconut milk for about 4-5 minutes. You can use a smaller pan for heating the milk. Add sugar, salt and oil to the mix. Once it turns bubbling hot, simmer it. The coconut milk must turn half-thread. 

• Immediately, you must add 1.5 cups of shredded coconut to the milk mixture. See if the portion looks too wet. Then, you can add two more tablespoons of shredded coconut. Make sure that you don’t add more than 4 tablespoons of shredded coconut. Else, the ladoos can turn dry. 

• Allow it to cool down for 5 minutes. You can then start rolling them into ladoos. 

• Serve guests fresh!

Conclusion

We have seen some of the delectable version of popular Diwali sweets and the recipes on how you can conveniently turn them vegan. Adopt a compassionate lifestyle and make the planet habitable for all. Happy Diwali 2022. 

About Vvegano:

We are an online vegan store based out of India. We have personalized lifestyle products catering to people belonging to the present millennium.  You get nut butters, mock meats, plant-based sweets, dairy-free alternatives, groceries and wellness care products from our store. Do check out some of our outstanding collections right here:

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