Basant Panchami 2023 recipes: 6 mouth-watering sweet delicacies to enjoy on Saraswati Puja

Basant Panchami, the Hindu festival that marks the beginning of preparation of spring season is here. The festival falls on the fifth day of the Hindu unisolar calendar month of Magha and is celebrated 40 days before Holi. Also known as Saraswati Puja, many people worship Saraswati Maa, the goddess of knowledge, language, music, and all creative energy and power. On this day, people wear yellow clothes and also add saffron, haldi or any sort of yellow colour to their traditional dishes as it’s Maa Saraswati’s favourite colour. Goddess Saraswati’s idols are dressed in yellow clothing and accessories and yellow flowers like marigold and mustard are offered to her. (Also read: Basant Panchami 2023: Shubh muhurat, puja vidhi, rituals, samagri and all you want to know)

Some of the traditional recipes are prepared on Vasant Panchami are saffron rice, kulfi, yellow dal, pua, besan ladooo, meetha chawal, boondi among many other delicacies

Here are 6 Basant Panchami recipes you can prepare at home to celebrate the festival.

1. Fruit & Mint Custard

(Recipe by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa)

Ingredients

Strawberries – 4

Kiwi – 4

Apricot – 4

Yellow berry – 4

Mango custard powder – 15 gm

Milk – 150 ml

Sugar – ¼ cup

Cashew nuts (chopped) – 1 tsp

Few drops of vanilla extract

Mint leaf (chopped) – 5

Almond (sliced) – 1 tsp

Milk/chocolate bar to garnish

Method

• Take strawberries, apricot, kiwis, yellow berry or fruit of your choice and cut into small cubes or slit them into two halves

• Mix custard powder and sugar in little milk.

• Boil the remaining milk for 10 minutes. Pour the boiled milk into the above mixture.

• Add chopped fruits, chopped mint leaf and add vanilla extract.

• Garnish with chopped almond and cashews and add milk. Add a chocolate bar as per your liking.

• Keep it in a freezer (for better taste) or let it cool down for some time at room temperature and enjoy!

2. Apricot and Gooseberry Gujiya

(Recipe by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa)

Ingredients

For gujiya

Maida (All purpose flour) – 300gm

Oil/ghee (melted) – 100 gm

For the Filling:

Khoya – 150 gm

Cardamom Powder – ½ gm

Chopped almond – 20 gm

Apricot (chopped) – 20 gm

Gooseberry (chopped) – 15 gm

Raisins (Kishmish) – 10 gm

Dried coconut (shredded) – 50 gm

Sugar – 100 gm

Method

• Sieve the flour. Mix six tablespoons of oil with the maida. Mix well so that the mixture takes the form of breadcrumbs and binds to a certain extent.

• Now add some water and knead lightly. Keep adding water as required and knead into soft but tight dough. Set aside and cover with a damp cloth.

• Mash the khoya and fry it in a kadhai/deep pan till light brown. Add sugar and cardamom powder into the khoya and mix well. Add apricot, gooseberry, almonds, Cashews, coconut and raisins. Fry for 2 minutes and remove from the heat. Allow it to cool.

• Divide the dough into small balls and roll each ball into a small round of 4 ” diameter.

• Fill half the round with khoya mixture, fold it and seal the round, twisting the edges inwards. Take care that the filling does not ooze out.

• Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

• Take out from oven and dip in sugar syrup. Serve hot or cold, garnish as per liking with apricot and gooseberries.

3. Fruit Truffle

(Recipe by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa)

Ingredients

Kiwi – 1

Orange – 1

Whipping cream – 100gm

Fresh cream – 100gm

White chocolate – 100gm

Method

• Pour cream in a pan and stir continuously. Add white chocolate and stir well till it melts. Keep it aside at room temperature.

• Take whipping cream in a bowl and combine with the chocolate and cream mixture. Make sure it has mousse consistency.

• In a glass, add kiwi, layer it and spread a dollop of mousse. Level it well. Now add diced orange on top and garnish with almond flakes. Tricolour truffle is ready to serve.

4. Laddoo

(Recipe by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa)

Ingredients

Kabuli/chickpea flour – 1 cup

Khoya (crumbled) – 1 cup

Sugar – ½ cup

Ghee – ½ cup

Raisins – 10

Cashew nuts – 5

Pistachios – 5

Almonds (blanched) – 5

Cardamom powder – ¼ teaspoon

Milk (optional) – 1 teaspoon

Method

• Powder sugar and keep it aside.

• Heat ghee in a pan or kadhai or a thick bottomed deep pan. Add chickpea flour and stir for 3 – 4 minutes or until it turns light brown and becomes aromatic. Transfer it to another plate and keep aside. (It will be in liquid form but no problem. When you add khoya and sugar it will harden)

• In another kadai, dry roast crumbled khoya until it becomes light brown in colour. Stir it constantly so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. (This will take around 5-6 minutes)

• Remove the pan from heat. Add fried flour.

• Next add raisins, pistachios and almonds. Mix all the ingredients well and leave it aside for cooling.

• Drizzle milk and mix once more (This step is optional. Add milk only if you find it difficult to make balls)

• When the mixture is warm and manageable, then shape into round balls.

• Decorate with coconut. Let the laddoos cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.

5. Mewa Chikki

(Recipe by Chef Vikash Anand, Sous Chef, The Ashok Hotel)

Prep time – 30 minutes, serves 4

Ingredients

Sugar -240 gm

Water -240 ml

Makhana – 50 gm

Raisins – 25 gm

Cashews (split in half) – 25 gm

Almond (shredded) – 25 gm

Dry coconut powder – 25gm

Method

1. Cook sugar and water together on high flame, till sugar is completely dissolved.

2. Get one string consistency from this sugar syrup, and control the heat in between.

3. Add all the remaining ingredients together and mix well.

4. Greece a tray or ceramic plate and pour this mix on it.

5. Garnish with some dry fruits and coconut powder.

6. Let it cool for 1 hour in room temperature.

7. Remove from plate using a thin slicer.

8. Cut using a sharp knife and serve.

6. Millet Laddu

(Recipe by Chef Vikash Anand, Sous Chef, The Ashok Hotel)

Prep time- 40 minutes, serves – 20-25 pieces

Ingredients

1. Besan (thick): 200 gm

2. Raggi flour: 100 gm

3. Bajra flour: 100 gm

4. Desi ghee: 350 gm

5. Boora: 300 gm

6. Cardamom powder: 5 gm

7. Pista: 10 gm

8. Cashew nut: 10 gm

9. Mix millet: 100gm

Method

1. Take an iron kadhai, place it over medium flame and add ghee till it melts.

2. First add besan and cook for 5 minutes, till you achieve sandy texture, add ragi flour and Bajra flour thereafter and again cook for 15 minutes till brown colour is achieved.

3. Now add boora and nuts, mix well.

4. Bring the mixture to slightly lower temperature and then start making laddu balls.

5. Roll the laddoo in multi-millet grain and serve.

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