Diwali 2016: Diabetic-friendly healthy and delicious sweet recipes for your sweet tooth

Diwali celebrations are incomplete without indulging your sweet tooth in traditional Indian sweets. Nothing adds life  to festivities as boxes and boxes of rasgullas, kaju barfis, gulab jamuns do. But then, there are the prying eyes of your loved ones eyeing you cautiously every time you head towards a sweet because you are diabetic. Don’t worry. This Diwali, indulge in some delicious low-calorie sweets. Here are six amazing sweets recipes by Tara Murali, Chief Nutritionist at Diabetacare. Try them out today! Enjoy the goodness of wheet and flax seeds rolled into one.

Broken Wheat & Flax Seeds Ladoo
Calories per serving: 156.48

Ingredients:
Broken wheat: ½ cup
Whole-wheat flour: ½ cup
Flax seeds: 3 tablespoon
Ghee: 5 teaspoon
Grated jaggery: 1/4 cup
Finely chopped nuts like almonds and pista: 3 teaspoon
Cardamom powder: ¼ teaspoon
Nutmeg powder: ¼ teaspoon

Method:
1. Clean, wash and soak broken wheat for 4-5 hours
2. Roast flax seeds on a low heat for 5-6 minutes or till you hear crackling sound. Let it cool and then grind it in to coarse powder
3. Dry roast whole-wheat flour without any ghee on a low heat for 8-10 minutes or till golden brown Keep it aside.
4. Use a sieve to drain all the water from the broken wheat
5. Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan (keep 2 teaspoon aside to use later). Now add the broken wheat, roast them on a very low flame
6. Keep stirring and let all the moisture dry up, and roast till the wheat turns light brown colour (It can take up to 20-25 minutes). Once done, transfer it into another bowl
7. Now in another pan heat 2 teaspoon ghee and add grated jaggery
8. Let jaggery melt, keep on a low flame till it attains a syrupy consistency with froth on top. Turn off the flame
9. Mix the syrup, flax seed powder and roasted broken wheat together (be careful with the hot syrup). Then add chopped nuts, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder
10. Now add ¾ of roasted whole-wheat flour, mix well with a wooden spoon
11. Take a spoonful of mixture and use your palms to roll them into balls (size of small lemon). Add more flour if it is too wet.
12. Repeat the same with the remaining mixture
13. Let it rest. Once it is cool, store in air tight container

This creamy, thickened and flavoured milk is just what you need to try thid Diwali.

Apple Basundi
Calories per serving: 151.50

Ingredients:
Toned milk: 500 ml
Saffron (kesar) strands soaked in 2 tablespoon of warm milk: 7-8 strands
Cardamom (elaichi) powder: ¼ teaspoon
Freshly grated apple: 1 cup
Chia seeds (soaked in 2 tablespoons of milk): 1 teaspoon
Sugar substitute: 4 sachets (1 gm each)
Lime juice: 1/2tsp
Sliver Almonds and pistachio: 2 pieces each

Method:
1. Bring the milk to a boil in a broad-bottomed non-stick pan
1. Reduce the flame and cook on a low flame for approximately 1 hour (till the volume is reduced to half ), while stirring occasionally
2. Add 3 sachets of sugar substitute and cook on a slow flame for approximately 25 minutes (or till the milk thickens like rabdi), stirring continuously
3. Add the cardamom powder and cook on a low flame for another 20 minutes.Switch off the flame and let it cool
4. Heat a small non-stick pan. Add the grated apple, 1 sachet of sugar substitute and 1 tablespoon of water. Mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from flame and when cool,add it to the milk mixture with soaked chia seeds
5. Serve chilled, garnished with slivers of almonds and pistachio

Ever thought lauki/bottlegourd would make for an amazing dessert dish?

Lauki Kheer
Calories per serving: 167

Ingredients:
Grated Bottle Gourd (Doodhi/Lauki): 1 cup
Skimmed milk: 150ml
Jaggery: 2 teaspoon or natural sweetener (sucralose)
Cardamom Powder (Elaichi Powder): ¼ teaspoon
Chia seeds: 1 teaspoon

Method:
1. Mix the milk and grated bottle gourd in a deep non-stick pan
2. Cook on a medium flame for 10 to 12 minutes or till the gourd is fully cooked, while stirring occasionally
3. Add jaggery to this mixture, and cook on medium flame for 2 minutes
4. Add cardamom powder and chia seeds and stir well
5. Keep the pan aside until it cools off completely and then refrigerate it for at least 1 hour
6. Lauki Kheer is ready to be served

Enjoy the goodness of grain and you bite itno these delicious balls of happiness.

Multigrain Ladoo
Calories per serving: 225.60

Ingredients
Multigrain flour (ragi, jowar, bajra, wheat, sesame seeds) (mixed in equal amounts to make 2 cups): 2 cups
Jaggery: ¼ cup
Desi Ghee (clarified butter): 1 tablespoon
Cardamom – Finely powdered: 2-3
Roasted almonds: 5-6
Roasted flax seeds: 1 teaspoon (optional)

Method:
1. Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan and fry the multigrain flour lightly on a medium flame till golden brown. Set aside to cool
2. Melt jaggery with 1/4 cup water in a pan; filter and remove impurities. You can skip this step if your jaggery is free of impurities
3. Rinse the pan. Pour the filtered mix back to the pan and add cardamom powder. Boil till it reaches a thick consistency. To check if the consistency is right: add water in a small bowl & pour half teaspoon of syrup in the water. Leave it undisturbed for 30 seconds. Try to make a ball with the dropped mixture. If you can make a soft ball, then the syrup is ready
4. Switch off the flame. Mix the flour and syrup. Make sure there are no lumps. Add nuts and mix well
5. Grease your hands with ghee and make the balls. You have to make the balls while the mixture is still warm otherwise rolling the mix will be very difficult
6. Let the balls (ladoos) rest till cool. Store in air tight container

Quinoa, blueberries, almonds, honey — enjoy a bowl full of health and guilt-free indulgence, this Diwali.

Quinoa Phirnee
Calories per serving: 205.19

Ingredients
Quinoa: 1 cup
Hot water: 1 cup
Sugar substitute/Stevia: ¾ cup
Cardamom powder: 1 teaspoon
Skimmed milk: 2 cup
Condensed milk or mawa/khoya: ½ tablespoon
Ghee: ½ tablespoon
Saffron strands: ¼ teaspoon
Sliver Almonds and pistachio: 2 pieces each
Blueberries: 5-6 pieces

Method:
1. Heat ghee in a saucepan
2. Once the ghee becomes warm, add quinoa to it. Roast the quinoa till it becomes light brown. Add 1 cup hot water and bring it to boil
3. Once the water is reduced to half, add 2 cups of hot milk to it and then add saffron strands to it
4. Let the quinoa and milk mixture come to boil. Reduce the flame and let it simmer for 7-8 minutes till perfectly cooked
5. Add sugar substitute and cardamom powder. Stir well and cook
6. Add condensed milk. Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the flame
7. Serve hot or cold. Garnish it with nuts and blueberries

Feel the date-jowar balls explode with taste as you pop them into your mouth.

Jowar Dates Ladoo
Calories per serving: 107.53

Ingredients
Jowar Flour: ½ cup
Dates – seeds removed and chopped: 10-12
Chopped nuts (Almonds and walnuts) – optional: 2-3 tablespoon
Water: ½ cup
Ghee-2 teaspoon
Flax seeds: ½ teaspoon (optional)

Method:
1. Dry roast jowar flour in a pan or kadhai for 5-8 minutes or till golden brown. Make sure it does not burn. Remove from the flame and keep aside
2. Add chopped dates and water in a pan. Stir well on low-medium flame. Once the water is absorbed and dates becomes mushy, add roasted jowar flour and chopped nuts
3. Stir well for 2 minutes on low flame. Remove from the heat and keep aside. Don’t let it come at room temp otherwise will not be able to make ladoos
4. Grease your palm with ghee and start making round shaped balls (ladoos)
5. Store in air tight container
Nutritive value per serving:
Energy (Kcal) – 107.53; Carbohydrates (gms) – 31.44; Protein (gms) – 8.40; Fats (gms) – 2.42