Indians love eating, and sweets form an important item of their menu, particularly during festivals. The Indian sweets are not for the faint hearted, or for the calorie watchers. They are really sweet and delicious. Indians celebrate their festivals in a grand way. Feasts are prepared and friends and relatives are invited to their homes. Sweets: Kheer Modak Panchamruta Badaam Burfi Cobri Sakraii Mysore Pak Laddu Obbat Khuskhus payasa Seven in one barfi Carrot halwa Bread Gujjhias Rice Preparations: Pulav Spinach Rice Mango Rice Lemon Rice Wheat Preparations: Chapattis Puris   Sabzis (Side dishes): Potato Sabzi Kadai Paneer   Chutneys: Mango Chutney Coconut chutney Onion chutney   Crisps: Kodabale Murukku Sev Mixture Nippat Muchore Sweets: Kheer: 1 cup cooked, partially mashed rice. 1 litre milk. sugar to taste (1 cup sugar) a few strands of saffron a pinch of cardamom powder. 10-12 cashew nuts 20-25 raisins.  Boil milk well, for about 1/2 an hour. Milk can be replaced with condensed milk. (If condensed milk is used sugar can be left out as the milk itself contains sugar.) Add the cooked rice. Boil for about 10 minutes. Add the sugar and cardamom powder. Dissolve saffron in a little hot milk and add to the above and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Garnish with cashew nuts (fried in a little bit of ghee or unsalted butter till brown.) and raisins. Instead of rice you can use 1 cup of cooked vermicelli.   Modak 1kg. powdered sugar 100 gms. almonds 100 gms. pistachios 200 gms. sugar a pinch of cardamom powder 1 kg. khoya (Cream)  Modak is a popular sweet, mainly prepared on the first day of Ganesha Chaturthi that lasts for 10 days. On all these ten days, a special sweet is prepared and offered to Lord Ganesha and then distributed as "prasad" to all the members of the family and friends. Add the powdered sugar and cardamom powder to the khoya. Khoya is sweet or fresh cream heated with constant stirring to a near solid state. Mix together and knead to make soft dough. Separately make a mixture of pistachios and almonds (cut into small bits) and 200 gms of sugar. Lightly grease the palms, take out a small ball of the prepared dough. Make a hollow in the middle of the ball and place about a teaspoonful of the almond and pistachios mixture. Carefully pull up the sides and gather them at the top, giving it a conical shape, or the shape of a fig.   Panchamruta: 6 ripe bananas. 1/2 a cup of grated fresh coconut 2 tbsp honey sufficient sugar. a pinch of cardamom powder.  Panchamruta is a preparation that is used in all temples as prasad. The word literally means five amrutas or five auspicious eatables. It is a mixture of fruits and sugar. You can call it a type of fruit salad. Cut bananas into thin slices. Add all the other ingredients. Mix lightly and it is ready to eat.   Badaam Burfi: Almond powder - 200 gms Sugar powder - 500 gms Ghee - 1 cup Saffron - a few strands Cardamom powder - 1 tsp Cooking soda - 1 pinch Milk - 1 cup Grease and keep aside a 2 inch deep, 10 by 10 inch cake tin to pour out the badaam burfi mixture. Take a little ghee in a thick-bottomed large frying pan. Heat it. Add the almond powder and sugar powder. Add the milk carefully, taking care that no lumps are formed. If lumps are formed then take the pan away from the flame and stir well till all the lumps dissolve. Let the mixture boil on a low flame. Take care that this paste does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Add some ghee from time to time. Add saffron and cardamom powder. Stir continuously. After some time the paste becomes very thick and foamy and starts leaving the sides of the pan. Add a pinch of soda and stir continuously for another minute and quickly pour into the cake tin. Shake it till the paste spreads uniformly. Wait till it cools a little. Make horizontal and vertical cuts with a sharp knife so that you get diamond shaped pieces. Once it cools completely, remove the pieces carefully. If the pieces stick to the tin, heat the bottom of the tin lightly for a few seconds.   Cobri Sakraii: Cobri (Copra or desiccated coconut) - 100 gms Sugar powder - 100 gms Cardamom powder - 1 tsp Cashew nuts (cut into small pieces) - 25 gms Almonds (cut into small pieces) - 25 gms Raisins - 25 Cobri sakraii is a very popular prasad offered in temples. It is very easy to prepare and children love it. Mix all the ingredients well.   Mysore Pak: 1 cup - bengal gram flour (besan) 2 cups - sugar 2 cups - ghee soda - 1 pinch Take a wide and deep pan. Add a little ghee and heat it. Add the sugar and a little water (1/4 cup) and heat to get a 2-string consistency. (If you dip a spoon in the sugar syrup and lift it, the syrup should fall down in 2 strings.) Put the gram flour stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. Meanwhile keep aside a greased cake tin. Add the rest of the ghee. After heating for around 10 minutes you see that the paste starts frothing and starts leaving the sides of the pan. Add the soda and stir briskly for another 2-3 minutes and quickly pour into the tin. Cut into pieces.   Laddu: Fine wheat rava (coarse powder) - 1 cup Sugar powder - 1 1/4 cup Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup (Fried golden and cut) Raisins - around 20 Copra (grated) - 1 handful Ghee - 3 tbsp Milk - 1/2 cup (hot) Saffron - a few strands (dissolved in the hot milk) Cardamom - 1 tsp Roast rava in a little ghee in a thick, wide bottomed pan till you get a good smell. Add all the other ingredients except milk and roast for another 2 minutes. Carefully adding milk, a little at a time make balls with your hands and press firmly.   Obbat: For the covering: Rava (fine) - 1 cup Maida - 1/5 cup Dalda or butter - 1 tbsp A pinch of salt. For the filling: Cobri sakraii (as explained earlier.) Make stiff dough with the flour. Knead it well. Make small balls. Roll out into 4-inch rounds. Place on a round some of the filling. Wet edges with water and stick another round on it. You can use a sharp round lid as a cutter to get a round shape. Cook on a hot tawa (flat pan) on a low flame till fully cooked.   Khuskhus payasa: 1 tbsp khus khus(poppy seeds) 1/2 of a big coconut (grated) 1 tbsp of rice(raw) (2 inch by 2 inch) jaggery 1 small cube Sugar as needed 1 tsp of cardamom powder 10-12 strands of saffron Soak khus khus and rice in a little water for about 2 hours. Grind to fine paste, adding coconut gratings towards the end. Add water as needed. In a deep pan or vessel melt the jaggery in a little water and bring to boil. Strain to remove any dirt if present. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Add the ground paste. Add water or milk to get a liquid consistency and boil for another 10 minutes. Add sugar if needed to get the desired sweetness. Add saffron and cardamom powder.   Seven in one barfi: 1 cup of gram flour(besan) 1 cup of ghee(melted) 2 & 1/2 cups of sugar 1 & 1/2 cups of milk 1 cup of coconut gratings 1 pinch of cooking soda 10-12 strands of saffron 1 tsp of cardamom powder Roast the flour in a dry, thick, flat-bottomed pan for about 5-7 minutes till you get a good smell. Add 1/2 the quantity of ghee and add the rest of the ingredients except the soda and stir on a medium flame till you see the contents forming a foaming mass. Add the rest of the ghee and stir till you see the mass leaving the sides of the pan, add the soda and pour into a greased flat plate or biscuit tray. Cool for some time and cut into diamond shaped barfis.   Carrot Halwa: 1 kg of carrots (grated) 1/2 liter of milk For each cup of carrot grating add 1/2 cup sugar A few strands of saffron dissolved in a little milk 1 tsp of cardamom powder 10-20 pieces of cashew nuts 20 pieces of raisins 2tsp of ghee Fry the carrot gratings in a deep, flat bottomed pan(pressure pan) for 5 minutes. Add the milk. Cover and cook for 10 - 15 minutes, till it becomes dry. Add the sugar, cardamom and saffron. Stir and cook for another 10 minutes. Add more sugar if required. Garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins.   Bread Gujjhias: 8 slice bread cut round shape- with kitchen scissor khoya 50 grams grated almonds 2 tbp chopped cashewnuts 2 tbp chopped raisins 2 tbp magaz(kharbooja or melon seeds) 2 tbp castor sugar 4 tbp milk 1/2 cup oil for deep frying sugar 1 cup cardamom 1 tsp powdered Prepare syrup by dissolving sugar in water and bringing to boil. Mix khoya dry fruits,castor sugar and cardamom. Heat oil in karahi(flat, shallow bottomed vessel). Soak bread sides with milk,fill with khoya filling, cover with 2nd slice and press into round shape and deep fry till golden brown. Make all bread gujhias alike. Dip all gujhias in syrup for one minute only and it is ready to serve. Rice Preparations: Vegetable Pulav: Basmati Rice - 250 gms Peas (Shelled) - 30 gms French Beans (Cut into small pieces) - 30 gms Onions (Cut into small pieces) - 2 Capsicum (Cut into small pieces) - 1 big Ginger (Grated) - 2" Cinnamon - 2 pieces Cardamom - 2-3 pods Cloves - 3 pieces Grated Coconut - 100 gms Coriander Leaves (Cut small) - 1 small bunch. You can use dried leaves instead. Green chilies (Cut small) - 3-4 (optional) Fry ginger, chilies, and spices and then add the capsicum pieces. Fry well. Add the onion pieces. When they turn golden brown, add coconut gratings and the rest of the vegetables and cook till tender. Wash the rice and keep aside in a sieve to drain. Fry the rice in one tablespoonful of butter or oil for about 5 minutes. Add double the volume of water and cook. The rice must not become soggy or sticky. Mix the vegetables and rice with sufficient salt. Garnish with coriander leaves and onion rings.   Spinach Rice: Spinach - 4 bunches Basmati rice- 250 gms Onions - 2 (cut small) Ginger - 1 inch piece (grated) Cheese - 200 gms (grated) Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoonful Coriander leaves - 1 bunch (small) cut small Wash and drain the rice. Fry the ginger and fenugreek seeds in 2 tablespoonfuls of butter. In the same pan put the rice in and sauté it for five minutes. Add sufficient water and cook till tender. Add salt to taste. Cut the spinach and cook in a very small amount of water till tender. Add it to the rice. Put the preparation in an ovenproof dish coated with butter. Garnish with grated cheese. Keep it in the oven for 15 minutes at 170 degrees centigrade. Garnish with coriander leaves