Healthy
Deepavali Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup Almond Flour or meal
• ¼ cup coconut sugar or date sugar
• A pinch of Saffron
• 1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
• 2 tbsp Water

Method

1. Mix all ingredients above. Make a stiff dough.
2. Roll into balls, then flatten.
3. Broil on the middle rack for 2–3 minutes, watching closely, until golden. Rotate the pan for even color.
4. Flip and broil the other side for 1–2 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup water, plus a few tbsp more if carrots are very dry
• 5 cups grated carrots
• 1/2-1 cup finely chopped dates
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 cup raisins
• a generous pinch of saffron
• 2 tbsp sliced almonds or pistachios, for garnish

Method

Instant Pot method

1. Layer the water, grated carrots, dates, almond meal, cardamom, raisins and saffron in the Instant Pot in the order listed. Do not mix.
2. Close the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Pressure cook on High for 4 minutes.
3. Quick-release the pressure and open the lid.
4. Mix well and transfer to a serving dish.
5. Garnish with sliced almonds or pistachios.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp Brown Rice
• ¼ cup Grated Coconut
• 3 cups Water
• 1 cup Dates
• ¼ tsp Cardamom Powder
• 2 tbsp Cashew pieces dry roasted
• 1 tbsp Raisins optional

Method

1. Dry roast the poppy seeds and rice in a pan or kadai over medium heat until aromatic. Do not allow the poppy seeds to brown. Turn off the heat.
2. Add the dates to the hot pan and cover for a few minutes so they soften.
3. Add the grated coconut to the hot pan and allow everything to cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Grind the roasted poppy seeds, rice, dates, and coconut into a fine paste, adding about 1/2 cup water while grinding. Transfer the mixture to a pot and bring it to a gentle boil.
5. Add more water as needed to reach a payasam/kheer consistency.
6. Stir in the cardamom and dry-roasted cashews.
7. Add raisins if desired.
8. The pudding should have a light, drinkable consistency, rather than being thick.
9. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 large red / Indian / Japanese sweet potatoes
• 4–5 dates, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 2 tbsp dry-roasted cashew pieces
• 2 tbsp dry-roasted almond slivers
• Optional: ¼–½ tsp cardamom powder

Method

1. Roast the sweet potatoes until fully cooked and fork-tender, then peel and mash with a fork.
2. Mix the chopped dates into the mashed sweet potatoes.
3. Top with raisins, roasted cashews, and almond slivers.
4. Add optional cardamom if desired.
5. Offer as prasad or enjoy warm — a wholesome, naturally sweet treat!

Ingredients

• 2 cups roasted protein powder (Amma’s homemade blend, or roasted chana sattu)
• 1 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1 cup roasted peanuts with skin
• 1 cup frozen grated coconut
• 2 cups dates (or 2 cups jaggery)

Method

1. Dry roast the sesame seeds, peanuts and coconut separately until fragrant (do not roast the dates, jaggery or protein powder).
2. Coarsely powder the sesame and peanuts. Blend the dates with the coconut into a sticky paste.
3. Combine all ingredients and pulse again.
4. Add a few tbsp of water or plant-based milk to help form laddus.
5. Roll in powdered desiccated coconut, if desired.

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry roasted raagi powder
• 1 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1 cup roasted peanuts with skin
• 1 cup frozen grated coconut
• 2 cups dates (or 2 cups jaggery)

Method

1. Dry roast the sesame seeds, peanuts and coconut separately (the ragi powder is already roasted; do not roast the dates or jaggery).
2. Coarsely powder the sesame and peanuts. Blend the dates with the coconut into a sticky paste.
3. Mix all ingredients and add a few tbsp of water or plant-based milk to form laddus.
4. Roll in powdered desiccated coconut, if desired.

Ingredients

• ½ cup rajgira (amaranth) flour
• 3–4 green cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed; discard the pods
• ½ cup freshly grated coconut
• 8–10 soft, dark dates, pitted, plus more as needed for binding and sweetness
• 10–12 almonds, chopped
• 1 tbsp peanut butter, optional

Method

1. Dry-roast the rajgira flour over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until aromatic, lightly golden and cooked through. Add crushed cardamom toward the end.
2. Let cool; because flour is used, grinding is unnecessary.
3. Mix in freshly grated coconut.
4. Mash or process the dates into a paste. Knead into the flour mixture until a dough holds together; add more dates as needed.
5. Mix in chopped almonds and optional peanut butter.
6. Divide into 12–15 portions and shape into laddus.

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan)
• 1/2 cup oatmeal flour
• 1/4 cup coconut powder
• 4 dry red chillies
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tbsp carom seeds
• 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
• 1 tbsp chopped curry leaves
• 1 cup boiling water, plus more if needed
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Dry-roast chillies, cumin, carom seeds, sesame seeds and curry leaves until aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add hing and roast 30 seconds longer; transfer to blender.
2. Dry-roast coconut powder until golden; add to blender.
3. Dry-roast chickpea flour for 4–5 minutes; add to blender.
4. Dry-roast brown rice flour for 4–5 minutes; add to blender.
5. Dry-roast oatmeal flour for 4–5 minutes; add to blender.
6. Grind the roasted ingredients into fine powder.
7. Transfer to a heatproof bowl, add salt and mix.
8. Add about 1 cup boiling water and stir; once cool enough to handle, knead into smooth dough. Add water as necessary.
9. Preheat air fryer to 360°F.
10. Roll a 1-inch dough ball into a rope about 5 inches long; join ends to form a ring.
11. Air-fry the rings, checking every 5 minutes, until crisp and golden, approximately 20 minutes depending on device.
12. Cool completely before storing.

Ingredients

• 2 boxes unsweetened Rice Krispies (check the label for added sugar)
• 1 cup raw peanuts
• 1 cup roasted black chickpeas, salted
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup sunflower seeds, raw or roasted
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds, raw or roasted
• ½ cup raisins
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp salt, or to taste
• ¼ cup cumin seeds
• ¼ cup fennel seeds
• ¼ cup coriander seeds
• ¼ cup hemp seeds
• ¼ cup dried, crushed curry leaves
• Optional: roasted green chilies or jalapeños
• Optional: ½–1 packet baked potato chips (check ingredients for added oil)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread rice cereal on baking trays and bake 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until toasted. Watch to avoid burning.
2. Dry-roast peanuts and cashews separately over low to medium heat until fragrant; do not add oil.
3. Dry-roast sunflower and pumpkin seeds if raw; gently toast cumin, fennel, coriander and hemp seeds as needed.
4. Dry-roast fresh curry leaves until crisp and crush; roast optional thin chili slices until dry.
5. In a large bowl combine the toasted cereal, peanuts, cashews, chickpeas, seeds, raisins and curry leaves.
6. Sprinkle with chili powder and salt; toss well. Start with half the cumin, fennel and coriander, taste, then add more. Adjust seasoning as desired.
7. Fold in optional roasted chilies and broken chips; cool completely and store airtight.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup roasted urad flour, or coarsely powdered roasted urad dal
• 1/4 cup roasted gram dal (roasted chickpeas)
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
• 10–12 red chillies, adjust to taste
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp flax meal
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
• about ¾ cup boiling water
• Unrefined salt to taste

Method

1. Mix rice flour and salt. Pour in the boiling water, stir, cover and rest 5 minutes.
2. Coarsely grind the peanuts, roasted gram dal, urad dal and red chillies. Add the ground mixture, sesame, flax meal, peanut butter and coconut to the rested rice flour dough; knead to a soft dough.
3. Form small lime-sized balls (about 1 inch).
4. Flatten with a roti press or rolling pin; prick with a fork to prevent puffing and breakage.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F.
6. Arrange crackers on parchment-lined tray.
7. Bake for 12 minutes, watching after 10 minutes. They need not brown.
8. When edges lift and dry, flip and bake another 2–4 minutes.
9. Cool completely before serving.