Whenever I have to prepare an Indian sweet dish for a festival, party or potluck, I inevitably break into a cold sweat. To call myself an amateur at making Indian sweets would be an understatement. So far, my Indian sweet-making repertoire has been limited to a few simple kheers, coconut burfi as well as gulab jamun and rasmalai (the latter two made using the instant mix by the way 😝).
For someone like me, who really enjoys cooking, reflecting on why no efforts were made to learn arrives at a simple conclusion - I have never been fond of Indian sweets. Actually, come to think of it, I am not that much of a "dessert person" to begin with. Probably the only few Indian sweets that I wholeheartedly relish are shrikhand, rasmalai, pootharekulu, kaju or badam burfi, peanut laddu/chikki and gond ke laddu (antina unde).
So, one day, a week before Ganesh Chaturthi, I was on the phone with my MIL, lamenting about my lack of interest (and skill) in sweet-making with regard to festival preparations and she suggested that I try making badam puri. Not wanting to sound like an idiot, I racked my brain trying to remember what badam puris look and taste like. After a few too many "ummmms" and "errrrrrrs", she must have sensed my confusion and proceeded to walk me through how she makes them. That is when a faint memory of tasting them and even liking them (much to my relief!) resurfaced. As is the case with most seasoned home cooks, she never uses a recipe because she can easily gauge the proportions and (unsurprisingly) they always turn out great. She convinced me that they are very easy to make and that it doesn't take too much skill. I figured this ought to be an achievable task so I began hunting for a recipe on the internet.
So, one day, a week before Ganesh Chaturthi, I was on the phone with my MIL, lamenting about my lack of interest (and skill) in sweet-making with regard to festival preparations and she suggested that I try making badam puri. Not wanting to sound like an idiot, I racked my brain trying to remember what badam puris look and taste like. After a few too many "ummmms" and "errrrrrrs", she must have sensed my confusion and proceeded to walk me through how she makes them. That is when a faint memory of tasting them and even liking them (much to my relief!) resurfaced. As is the case with most seasoned home cooks, she never uses a recipe because she can easily gauge the proportions and (unsurprisingly) they always turn out great. She convinced me that they are very easy to make and that it doesn't take too much skill. I figured this ought to be an achievable task so I began hunting for a recipe on the internet.
One of the very first recipes that I came across was from a nice blog called Sum's cuisine. Looking at the recipe and pictures, I instinctively felt that this would turn out well and I was right. Although this sweet dish is called badam puri, it is not mandatory that it should have any 'badam' (almond) in it but I recommend that you garnish it with almond slivers to enhance the taste and texture.
Here is the adapted recipe from the above-mentioned link. I modified it slightly according to my preferences and convenience. If you are intimidated by trying to prepare Indian sweets (like me), you should try this recipe. Given my culinary history, if I could do it then anyone can!
Here is the adapted recipe from the above-mentioned link. I modified it slightly according to my preferences and convenience. If you are intimidated by trying to prepare Indian sweets (like me), you should try this recipe. Given my culinary history, if I could do it then anyone can!
