Last updated on November 13th, 2024 at 01:30 pm
Welcoming the New Year with delicious food is a tradition that is enjoyed by people all around the world. There are many different ways to celebrate, but one of the most common is to enjoy a meal with loved ones. And what meal is complete without a little something sweet?
No matter what your taste, there is sure to be a sweet treat that you and your loved ones will enjoy. So, make sure to include some sweets this New Year and enjoy a delicious start to the new year!
1. Rasgulla
Rasgulla, also called rasagola, rosogola or rosogolla, is a dessert popular in Bengal, a region in the Indian subcontinent. It is made from chhena and semolina dough ball-shaped dumplings, cooked in light sugar syrup made of sugar. The dumplings are done when the syrup permeates them.
Small balls are formed from the cheese mixture to prepare rasgulla. The balls are then boiled in sugar syrup. You can also prepare it using a pressure cooker or an oven. Only use organic and edible rose water, not rose perfume or synthetic flavors, when serving to enhance the flavor and taste.
2. Gajar ka halwa
Gajar ka halwa, also known as gajorer halua, gajrela, gajar pak, and carrot halwa, is a carrot-based sweet dessert pudding made by placing grated carrots in a pot containing a specific amount of water, milk, sugar, cardamom and then cooking while stirring regularly.
A garnish of almonds and pistachios is often served with it. First, the nuts and other items are sautéed in ghee, a type of clarified butter from the Indian subcontinent. The dessert is mainly eaten during the festivals of Diwali, Holi, Eid al-Fitr, and Raksha Bandhan in India. In winter, it is served hot.
3. Besan laddu
A popular Indian sweet dish, Besan laddu is made of besan (chickpea flour or gram flour), sugar, and ghee. The besan is roasted in ghee until it has a golden brown appearance and gives off a nutty fragrance. Sugar is added to it afterward. Pistachio pieces can also be included in the mixture. This mixture is then used to make sweet balls. It has a long expiration date. It is often served at festivals and religious occasions in India.
4. Ras malai
Ras malai, rasamalai, and rossomalai are desserts originating from the eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent. The dessert is called ras malai in Hindi, rossomalai in Bengali, and rasa malai in Odia. It is popular in South Asia.
Ras malai is made of flattened balls of chhena soaked in malai (clotted cream) flavored with cardamom. A bit of vinegar or lime juice is added to the milk to split it. The whey is discarded and the milk solids are drained.
The milk solids are then cooled and kneaded into a dough. Small balls are made from the dough and cooked in hot water with rose water. The balls are then cooked in milk with saffron, pistachios, and kheer filling.
5. Custard
Custard is a variety of culinary preparations consisting of sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. The consistency of custard may vary from a thin pouring sauce (crème anglaise) to the thick pastry cream (crème pâtissière) used in different recipes.
Typically, custards used in custard desserts or dessert sauces include sugar and vanilla; however, savory custards are also found, e.g. in quiche.
Custard can be cooked in a double boiler (bain-marie), or heated very gently in a saucepan on a stove, though it can also be steamed, baked in the oven with or without a water bath, or even cooked in a cooker. If the temperature increases by 3-6 degrees Celsius, it will overcook the custard and make it curdle.
A custard is fully cooked when it reaches 80°C, and it begins to set at 70°C. A water bath retards heat transfer and makes it easier to remove the custard from the oven before it curdles. Adding a small amount of cornflour to the egg-sugar mixture stabilizes the resulting custard, allowing it to be cooked in a single pan or in a double boiler. You can use a sous-vide water bath to precisely control the temperature.
6. Kaju katli
Kaju katli, which is also known as Kaju barfi, is an Indian dessert that is similar to barfi. Kaju refers to cashew; barfi is a dessert that is often made by thickening milk with sugar and other ingredients (such as dry fruits and mild spices). The ingredients in Kesar Kaju katli include saffron.
The dish is prepared with cashew nuts soaked in water for a respective period of time (usually overnight), which are then ground to a paste. The sugar solution is boiled down until a single thread forms when two fingers are dipped into it and pulled apart, and then it is added to the ground cashews. Dried fruits, ghee, and saffron (Kesar) may also be added.
The paste is then spread in a shallow, flat-bottomed dish, flattened, and cut into bite-sized diamond-shaped pieces. Edible silver foil is usually used to decorate the pieces. Depending on the ingredients used for the paste and the proportions of each, the finished sweet is usually white or yellow.
7. Barfi
There are many dense milk-based sweets from the Indian subcontinent, including barfi, barfee, borfi, and burfi. The name for snow comes from the Hindustani (originally Persian) word barf. Common types of barfi include besan barfi, Kaju barfi, Pista barfi, and sing barfi. Barfi is made with milk powder and sugar as the main ingredients. A vessel is used to cook the ingredients until the mixture solidifies. A shallow pan is then used to cool the mixture. It is finally cut into squares, diamonds, or circular shapes and served.
Barfi is often flavored with fruits such as mango or coconut, in addition to nuts, and spices such as cardamom or rose water. It comes in many colors and textures. A thin layer of edible metallic leaf known as vark is sometimes coated on barfi. It can be served at both informal and formal events.
