Diwali Recipe: Gulabjamun

Gulabjamuns are deep fried dumplings which are dipped in sugar syrup. These can be served both hot and cold. Some like to eat them with the syrup and some completely dry. Either way the wonderful, juicy taste of Gulabjamuns makes them a must have at every Diwali festival.

This Diwali 2011 you can also make this juicy sweet Diwali recipe at home. We have listed here three different recipes of Gulabjamuns:

1. 1.     Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup Khoya (Mawa)
• ¼ cup Chenna (soft cottage cheese made from cow’s milk)
• ¼ tablespoon soda bicarbonate
• 3 tablespoon refined flour (maida)
• ¼ tablespoon green cardamom powder
• 2 cups sugar
• Ghee (Clarified butter) for frying

Method

• Great Khoya and Chenna together in a deep bowl.
• Mix together soda bicarbonate, refined flour and green cardamom powder.
• Add a little water to make a soft dough.
• Divided the mixture into 16 balls. Make sure that the balls are even and there are no cracks visible.
• Heat Ghee in a frying pan.
• While the ghee is heating up, prepare the sugar syrup by boiling 2 cups of sugar in 2 cups of water, till the mixture thickens.
• Add the balls to ghee and fry at low heat, till golden brown in color.
• Drain and soak in the sugar syrup for about half hour before serving.

1. 2.     Ingredients

• 1 cup Milk powder (cow’s milk)
• ½ cup all-purpose flour.
• ½-teaspoon baking soda.
• 2 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• Ghee (clarified butter) for frying
• 1 tablespoon green cardamom powder

Method

• Shift together milk power, flour and baking soda.
• Add a little water and knead to make soft and even dough.
• Divide the dough in 10-15 balls ( the number of balls will depend on the size you want). Make sure that there are no cracks on the surface.
• Prepare sugar syrup by boiling 2 cup sugar with one cup water. Add the cardamom powder to the syrup. Remove from heat and cool.
• Fry the balls in Ghee at a low heat so that the balls are cooked till inside. Remove when golden brown in color.
• Drain and stew the balls in sugar syrup for at least half an hour and your Gulabjamuns are ready.

To serve:

• You can serve then chilled or heat in the microwave before serving.
• Garnish with grated dry fruits and saffron strands before serving.

 

Variations

• You can stuff raisins, nuts and even candy sugar in the center of the balls to add a different taste  to the traditional Gulabjaumuns.
• Roll the stewed Gulabjamuns in grated coconut. Chill before serving.

How To Make Your Diwali Preparation Easy

Diwali 2011 is not only a festival of lights but also a festival of hopes and a time to have new starts. People from all over the world look forward to celebrating this festival and each one of them has special hopes and wishes for the time. Indian businesspersons celebrate their New Year on Diwali celebrations day. It is considered to be a good day for investing, shopping and of course acquiring wealth.

It is said that if you spend on Diwali day you attract more money to your pocket the whole yearlong. The shops and streets are decked in their best finery and lined with goods related to Diwali to welcome the customers. Preparations actually began about a month before the festival starts.

There are lots of things involved in Diwali preparations and missing out on even one of them will give a feeling of incomplete celebrations. The easiest way to make the preparations simpler is to make a list of things, which you will or you might need. If you are not very sure about the things you need there is always the elders and the internet to guide you.

The list will help you understand the things you need and you can also make it in sequence in which you will need them. For example you can buy firecrackers in advance (even two weeks) but you cannot buy or prepare sweets in advance as they can become spoiled and stale.

Your list should include the things you will need to perform the evening prayers, firecrackers, lights such as diya, lantern, lamps, electric strings etc., sweets, clothes, powder colors for rangoli, flowers for decorations and anything else you need for decoration.

Before you raid the markets, do an inventory of your house. You might have some firecrackers left from the last cricket win you celebrated or some electric string of lights, which you can use. Remember that for the puja, you cannot reuse anything that has been used previously. Everything has to be fresh for the puja.

Take the list with you when you shopping and keep marking the items that you have bought. You can also right down the recipes of sweets or dishes you want to prepare to pick up the items. This way you will stick to your budget and refrain from overspending. To shop for the right things is an important part of Diwali celebrations. When you are done with the shopping don’t forget to keep the list at a safe place to refer again next year.

Firecrackers And Diwali

Diwali is a festival of sweets, lights, firecrackers, joy and spirit. Although it’s primarily a Hindu festival, Diwali is celebrated all over the world. It is a festival, which brings everyone together in the festive spirit. Temples, markets, homes, and business places are decorated with lights and colours.

The new moon of the Hindu calendar brings the New Year with it. People dress up in new clothes, clean their homes, prepare sweets and worship the gods in order to welcome the new start.  Diwali is a five-day festival and celebrates the victory of good over evil.

Diwali and firecrackers go hand in hand. The celebrations are not complete without the sound and light of firecrackers in the sky. Whether it is the kids, youngsters or the older people, everybody enjoys the show of firecrackers. This very much adds to the appeal of the festival.

The History

The history of firecrackers dates back to the 7^th century in China. Many countries welcome the New Year with firecracker displays. Diwali is also associated with firecrackers and lights. People pay their attainment of to the gods of prosperity and wealth by illuminating their homes and brightly lighting the sky with beautiful firework displays.

There are two reasons behind the use of firecrackers on Diwali day:

Traditional: The sound and the fumes of the firecrackers scare the evil away and the light covers the darkness and brings joy to everybody.

Scientific: Diwali comes in the month of October- November, which is after the rains, and the dry weather starts in India. The fumes from the firecrackers drive the mosquitoes and other insects away, thus cleaning the environment.

Types:

Firecrackers come in many different varieties form the visual ones to the noisy ones or a combination of the two - you can select whatever your heart desires. Shops are quick to offer attractive displays of firecrackers as soon as the festival approaches. According to tradition firecrackers are burst on three days of the Diwali festival: Choti (small Diwali), Diwali and the day after i.e. on Govardhan puja.

Some of the common varieties of firecrackers include: sparkly sparkles, twinkling flower pots (they come in various sizes from small to very big), furious rockets, chakris or ground flywheels that give out lovely colors, bombs, snake tablets, stone bombs and many more.

The delightful combination of all of the above makes for a joyous Diwali whilst the festival becomes a delight for people of all ages.

Ingredients Of Diwali Celebrations

The Hindu calendar is filled with many festivals and each of these festivals has a special meaning. Some are celebrated by a particular religion, some by a region and some by a state. However there is one festival i.e. the festival of Diwali, which brings the whole world together in the Diwali celebration of joy and peace everywhere. Diwali is a festival of sweets and lights. It is celebrated by people of all ages all over the world.

Here are some important ingredients for the Diwali celebrations, which should help you prepare for Diwali 2011.

Lights: Diwali or Deepavali is essentially the festival of lights. It is believed that the light ‘shoos’ away the darkness and brings hope and joy to the world. Therefore, the festival cannot be complete without lights. Bright coloured strings of lights are used to decorate the houses, streets, offices etc. Traditional earthenware decorative diyas (a small cup-shaped oil lamp made of baked clay) are used to light up every corner of the house and drive away the darkness. Apart from these candles and lanterns, lamps are also used. The basic idea is to light up the dwelling as much as possible to attract the gods of wealth to your house.

Sweets: No festival is ever complete without sweets. It is a tradition to exchange sweets with your loved ones on this day. The exchange and distribution of sweets is to celebrate the death of darkness (evil). Nobody who comes knocking on the door can leave without eating sweets. Diwali sweets include Gulab Jamun, Cashew barfi (Indian fudge), Ghujia (sweet roll), Coconut fudge, Rasagulla (Indian cheese dipped in sweet syrup). The most popular sweet is the Ghujia.

New clothes and jewelry:  Wearing new clothes are considered to be a good omen on this day. People from all walks of life wear new clothes for the evening prayers on the day of Diwali. Buying new jewelry is also considered as an invitation to the gods of wealth.  It is customary to dress up in your best clothes to celebrate Diwali. The new (fresh) clothes mark the celebration of a new season and new beginnings.

Firecrackers: The part of Diwali that attracts the children the most is the firecrackers. Different kinds of firecrackers such as mini bombs, sparklers, coloured matches, flowerpots, rockets, ground wheels (chakra) etc.  The whole sky is lit up with the lights and sounds of firecrackers, which are enjoyed, by both the old and the young.  The lighting of firecrackers produces fumes, which burn the evil away.