Spending Diwali Away From Family? Try These Festive Recipes for First-Time Cooks

With Diwali around the corner, try out these easy festive goodies that are delicious and healthy too.

Diwali is here! It’s a happy time when friends and family meet, eat and make merry together.

Without doubt, food is a big part of the equation here; after all what’s Diwali without some Diwali goodies?

Here too, as with everything else, homemade wins big time over ready made, specially if we are thinking of health along with taste.

And even if you are not much of a cook who is away from home and tight on time, there are some basic festive goodies (with a twist) big on both taste and health that you can whip up in a jiffy.

So try some of these this Diwali!

Breakfast With A Difference

• Try Bhutta Ki Kees from Indore

This milk and corn-based light breakfast is tastier than most cornflakes, and is actually a weight control/loss option with a lower calorie dent per serving.

To make

1. Ground 200 gm frozen sweet corn kernels (or grate fresh corn cob) in the blender.

2. Heat 1 tbsp ghee and add half tsp each of cumin seeds and mustard seeds, 2 chopped green chillies, half inch grated ginger, half tsp turmeric powder, a pinch of asafoetida and fry for a minute. 

3. Now add the corn and fry in low flame, for about 5 to 6 minutes.

4. Then add 1 tsp sugar, salt to taste and  1/2 cup milk (or coconut milk) and mix well.

5. Boil and then simmer it until the corn cooks and becomes thick.

6. Add some grated fresh or dried coconut, juice of a lemon and some fresh dhaniya.

• Try Date and Oatmeal Ladoos

What’s Diwali without a ladoo, right? Why not try the healthier option this time?

To make

1. Cook 100 gm dates in 100 ml fresh orange juice on low heat, until the mixture becomes like mash and allow it to cool.

2. Mix 100 gm oats, 1 tbsp honey and 1 tbsp pista and add to the cooed dates. Mix well.

3. Line the mixture evenly in a tray lined already with ghee, let it cool it for a bit then roll into ladoos when still warm.

Light But Yummy Lunch

• Try Pongal from Tamil Nadu

This rice and moong dal dish delivers a healthy combination of carbohydrates and proteins and the good fat in the cashews and the tempering adding satiety and crunch.

Pair it with a cup of curd or a glass of buttermilk to add the necessary calcium and boost the protein content.

To make

1. Dry roast 50g of rice and 30g of moong dal (green gram).

2. Add 400ml water, cover and cook till done.

3. Meanwhile, make a tadka (tempering) of cumin seeds, black peppercorns, curry leaves, ginger and garlic, with a few cashew nuts, heated for a minute or so in a teaspoon of ghee.

4. Pour over the rice and dal, season to taste and stir in fresh curry leaves.

Smart Snack

• Try Gujarati Pudla

Try the Gujarati Pudla; it's super healthy, high in protein, and will satisfy your savoury cravings.

To make

1. Mix 1/2 cup channa flour (besan), 1/2 cup grated any seasonal vegetable (peas, lauki, spinach, methi, green peppers…), some ginger, few coriander leaves and 1/2 cup yogurt.

2. Add salt and red chilli powder to taste.

3. Add some water to get the right consistency.

4. Make it on a pan just like an omelette with minimal oil.

5. Enjoy this savoury, soft and thin pancake.

Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye

• Try fruity yogurt

The goodness factor here is that this is a probiotics and energy and nutrients laden meetha.

To make

1. Take small wine glasses.

2. Layer chopped fruits (of choice), plain yogurt and roasted seeds and/or chopped nuts one by one till you reach the top.

3. Drizzle just a bit of honey on top.

4. Chill and enjoy (serve to guests too).

(Kavita is a nutritionist, weight management consultant, and health writer based in Delhi. She is the author of Don’t Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People (Jaico), Ultimate Grandmother Hacks: 50 Kickass Traditional Habits for a Fitter You (Rupa), and Fix it With Foods.)