Plant-based and vegan dessert ideas for the wedding season

From almond milk based kheer, energy-boosting ladoos made of no-flour, no-sugar and no ghee, to instant modaks recipes that are made without the use of condensed milk or mawa, but the goodness of fresh coconut. Banker turned content creator, author and chef Hina Gujral, of @funfoodandfrolic and supporter of Veganuary India shares some ideas. 

The celebrations are about to begin. We are at the threshold of those weeks and months of festivals that are integral to our culture. It is also the season of hosting friends and family and serving up our favourite traditional recipes. Many of us who tried a vegan diet this January are still going strong. But we probably need a little motivation to stick to a plant-based diet in the season of celebrations. 

Almond milk phirni 

Ingredients: 1-litre almond milk, 1/4 cup brown rice, 4 green cardamoms (elaichi), 1/4 teaspoon saffron (kesar), 1/3 cup brown sugar or jaggery powder, 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Method

Wash and soak brown rice in water for 1 hour. Drain the water, and spread soaked rice on a kitchen towel. Allow the rice to become completely dry. Make a coarse powder of rice, cardamom, and saffron in the blender. Boil almond milk. Let it simmer over low heat, till it is reduced to almost half the original quantity. Add rice powder and stir continuously to avoid any lump formation. Cook till the rice is soft and the texture of the phirni is thick. Once the badam phirni is thick, add jaggery powder and stir to combine. Cook for 2–3 minutes for the jaggery to dissolve. Vegan Badam Phirni is ready! Garnish with almonds.

Energy seeds ladoos

Ingredients: 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon flax seeds, 1/3 cup almonds, 1/3 cup cashew, 1/3 cup pistachio, 1/3 cup walnuts, 1/3 cup desiccated coconut, 1/3 cup cranberry, 1/2 cup Medjool or Omani dates, 1 teaspoon cardamom powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Method: Soak seedless dates in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Dry roast all the nuts and seeds except berries. Add them to a food processor along with coconut, cranberry, spice powders, and soaked dates minus water. Pulse a few times. Bind into bite size laddos. Coat each laddoo in pistachio powder, rose petals, sesame seeds, or melted chocolate.

Coconut and plant-milk modaks

Ingredients: 2 cup coconut, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/3 cup jaggery powder, 1 teaspoon cardamom powder, 1/4 teaspoon saffron (optional), 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon peanuts

Method: Dry roast peanuts and sesame seeds. Blend them to a coarse powder. Heat oil in a pan. Add coconut and fry over low heat. Add milk, jaggery powder, saffron, and fry it nicely. Add peanut powder. Mix it all. Turn off the heat. Grease a modak mold and fill it with the mixture. Press gently. Instant modaks are ready.

Fox nuts panjiri

Ingredients: 1 cup of lotus nuts (fox nuts or makhana), 1/2 cup desiccated coconut, 1/4 cup almonds, 1/4 cup pistachios, 1/4 cup peanuts, 1 tbsp edible or herbal gum (gond), 2 tsp coriander seeds (dhania), 1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain), 2 tsp dry ginger powder (saunth), 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (optional), 1 tbsp powdered sugar, 2 tsp cardamom powder (elaichi powder), 4 tbsp coconut oil. For sugar syrup: 2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water

Method

In a pan dry roast ajwain and coriander seeds till the aroma is released. Grind to a coarse powder in a mixer. Transfer to a bowl. Set aside. Heat one tablespoon of coconut oil. Add gond, and fry till it pops up and expands in size. Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet. Fry together lotus seeds, peanuts, and dry fruits till they are crisp and crunchy. Turn off the heat. Transfer to a plate. Now in a mixer make a coarse powder of roasted lotus seeds, dry fruits, peanuts, and fried gond. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add desiccated coconut, cardamom powder, ginger powder, turmeric powder, powdered sugar, and coriander seeds powder. Combine all together. Panjiri is ready for prasad. To make sugar syrup, heat sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir till the sugar dissolves. Let the sugar syrup simmer over medium heat. We need thick 1 to 2 thread consistency sugar syrup. Grease a large square baking sheet with a teaspoon of ghee. Once sugar syrup is ready, turn off the heat. Add the powdered ingredients mixture in the warm sugar syrup. Stir to combine. Spread the mixture in the baking tray of an inch thickness. Using a spatula or lightly wet fingers even out the surface of the mixture. At this stage, you can keep the tray in the fridge to get set or leave at room temperature as well. I usually keep it in the fridge for 15–20 minutes. Once panjiri is set, using a sharp knife cut into squares.

Indian millet and date pudding 

Ingredients: 1/4 cup Barnyard Millet, 1/4 cup Omani dates, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 tablespoon cashew, 1 tablespoon almonds, 1 tablespoon pistachio, 1 tablespoon raisins, 1 teaspoon chironji, 1 litre coconut milk, 1 teaspoon cardamom powder

Method

Rinse the millet with water 2–3 times. Soak for 2-3 hours. Soak seedless dates in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Blend to a smooth paste. Heat oil. Add millet, sauté for 3–5 minutes. Add milk, cardamom powder, stir to avoid any lump formation and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the milk simmer. Keep on stirring at regular intervals. The whole process of slow cooking the millet in the milk takes about 30–40 minutes on a low flame. Scrape the sides of the pan and add this layer of cream into the kheer. Once the millet is cooked and the kheer is thickened, that is the signal it is ready. Add date paste, mix, and allow the kheer to simmer for 5 minutes. Serve Kheer warm or chilled garnished with saffron and dry fruits.

Lead image credit: Pexels 

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