Healthy dessert recipe: Adadiya Pak

Whether it is Diwali, Dassera, Holi, Ganpati, Onam, Lohri or any other festival, have you noticed how Indians make specific festive recipes for specific festivals? Each of these festivals is celebrated at different times of the year, during different seasons. The desserts, savoury food and even prasad items are made with in-season ingredients that help your body deal with the change in temperatures and build up immunity. For instance, the til in the til gul ladoos made during Makar Sankranti helps create heat in your body to keep it warm during the cold month of January. During Holi, no revelry is complete without thandai, an Indian cold drink made with almonds, fennel seeds, saffron, milk and other cooling ingredients that can help your body cool down in summer. Here is healthy low cal recipe of Thandai.

One such popular traditional dessert that is made every year in Gujarati households at the onset of and during winter is the Adadiya Pak. The hero of the dish is urad dal or black gram,  along with ghee and jaggery, all of which produce heat in the body. Adadiya Pak is generally prepared during Dassera or Diwali.

Read: Try these healthy, vegan desserts without maida and sugar.

Here is an easy recipe of Adadiya Pak by Maharaj Jodharam Choudhary of the restaurant Khandani Rajdhani.

Ingredients

2 cups coarsely ground black urad dal flour (Adadiya Flour)
2 cups ghee
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup jaggery
1-3/4 cups khoya, crumbled
2 tablespoon Goond – shallow fried in ghee and crushed
1/4 cup raisins, chopped
1/3 cup cashew nut, chopped
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
2 tablespoons pistachios, chopped
2 tablespoons cardamom powder

Method

1) Finely slice almonds and pistachios for garnishing.
2) Sieve the flour in a broad flat dish. Combine the flour along with the ghee and warm milk. Cover it and keep it in a warm place for at least 3 hours. Gently crumble the mixture and then sieve it.
3) Heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the Adadiya ladoo crumb mixture and saute on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
4) Stir in the crumbled khoya and continue to saute on low heat. Gradually, add a little ghee and keep stirring the mixture until you get a roasted aroma.
5) Add in the chopped nuts, raisins and continue to keep stirring. You will notice that that ghee begins to leave the sides of the pan. Add the crushed Goond and sauté on low or medium flame till it turns golden brown.
6) Finally add the almonds, pistachios. Stir all ingredients until well combined and turn off the heat. After about a minute, stir in the jaggery syrup to the above ladoo mixture. Spread the mixture into a flat dish and allow it to cool completely. Cut into squares. Garnish with finely sliced badam and pistachios.

You must try these healthy ingredient swaps for desserts.

Image: Chef’s own

Published: September 25, 2017 2:03 pm