Custard Halwa

Happy Diwali to all. We don't celebrate it but having brought up in North India, it definitely gets real nostalgic every year when Diwali comes. We have been sharing pics of Diwali sweets over the family whatsapp group for the past couple of days. Everybody is either making it or getting it from the market to refresh the memories of Diwali spend in the small township that I was brought up in. Getting days off from school or work was always the highlight. But nothing can beat the fun having some diwali sweets or snacks and busting crackers with friends in our neighborhood. Ahh well, those days are gone, having left us with some memories to cherish.

That last minute rush to make some goodie for festivals is always there. No matter what the festival is. Well at least in my case it stands true. I go for the last minute rush. Even though I would have made n number of things , I might just add up one more thing to make it even more memorable or interesting. If it stands true in your case too, then this might be the last and right thing to make this Diwali. A halwa that hardly has anything fancy involved but would definitely have its absence been felt if not put up on the menu. So grateful to have found this recipe while I was so badly craving for sweets having gone through so many Diwali posts from fellow bloggers and friends. Made me calm down the cravings so easily :). So go for it, this Diwali. 

Dahi Vada or Indian Savory Donuts in Yogurt Sauce

My love for Dahi vadas get linked back to the Holi celebrations while I was a kid. Our neighbour aunty used to make these during Holi. Apart from all the sweets that she would serve for us, I used to love these. The taste still lingers around my tastebuds.

The perfect time to eat these vadas dipped in the yogurt sauce is summer. Its so refreshing and filling that you just forget to crib about the hot summer. The recipe to the amazingly yum dahi vadas is here.

Rasgulla

Belated Diwali wishes. I love diwali season because of the enthusiasm filled in everyone to decorate their houses with lights. Even the shops are decorated with lights - different types and in different colours. They look amazing. Every weekend and sometimes on weekdays too, we have a walk outside. The streets are pretty busy irrespective of whichever day we choose to go out for the walk. The chaat walas, balloon vendors, vegetable vendors etc. make sure that the street is always lively. My main attraction amongst them is the Halwai/ sweet shop vendors. It would be very unusual if we don't stop by the sweet shops. They even know how to make sure that we stop by, even if we were not intending to.

The other day, we were double minded if we should get some sweets, since we were feeling guilty of having them on a regular basis. And by the time we passed by the sweet shop, the vendor called out, Jalebi garmagaram , meaning Hot Jalebis. Oh god, this is called temptation. We were trying to control ourselves and there we let go our control over those two words that guy called out and fell for it.

Bread Gulab Jamun for a celebration !

Gulab Jamun has always been in my list of favorite sweets. But the effort involved in making it kept me procrastinating the plan of trying it. Sometime back I happened to see a post on Gulab Jamun made with bread and that too an instant one. I had to add it on to my to-make list. 

It would have remained in the to-make list like so many other dishes, if the happy news of Palaharam having featured as one among the Top 16 socially active food blogs, wouldn't have appeared in my mailbox. And there was a cute badge that I got to put up on the blog, which I placed on the right hand side among other recognitions.