Mithai for Diwali, festivals and guests, ready in 45 minutes or less. (59 recipes)
Kaju katli is one of the best-loved Indian sweets: finely ground cashews bound with a sugar and milk syrup, rolled thin, scattered with nuts and cut into diamonds. It's smooth, dense and delicately sweet with saffron and cardamom. Makes about 40 diamonds; perfect for Diwali boxes and gifts.
Kesar mani is a rich, crumbly Gujarati sweet of gram flour roasted in ghee with popped edible gum, then mixed with milk powder, coconut, ground nuts, cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. It's nutty, fragrant and warming, a favourite in the winter months. Makes 25–30 pieces.
An easy baked sweet of grated mawa (khoya) and fresh coconut mixed with warm milk, nuts, saffron, cardamom and nutmeg, baked until set and fragrant. It's soft, rich and milky, somewhere between a halwa and a pudding. Serve it hot, decorated with nuts and cardamom.
Marble squares are a soft barfi of roasted mawa (khoya), toasted thin vermicelli, coconut and crushed nuts, sweetened with castor sugar and flavoured with cardamom and saffron. They're chewy, nutty and fragrant. Makes about 35 squares; serve them at festivals or with tea.
Coconut pinwheels are a pretty no-cook sweet: a soft dough of desiccated coconut, milk powder and icing sugar is split, half coloured, rolled together into a swirl and sliced. They're sweet, coconutty and great fun for children to help make. Makes about 60 slices, perfect for party platters.
These pendas (pedas) take minutes in the microwave: milk powder, cream, sugar and ground almonds cook together into a soft fudge flavoured with cardamom and saffron, then are shaped into rounds. They're milky, nutty and melt in the mouth. Makes about 35 — press them into small moulds for pretty shapes.
Sukhdi (gol papdi) is one of the simplest Gujarati sweets: wheat flour roasted in ghee until pink and fragrant, then mixed with jaggery and aniseed and set in a tray. It's soft, crumbly and caramel-sweet, with a gentle liquorice note from the aniseed. Makes about 25 squares and keeps well for travelling.
Sweet bundi are tiny pearls of gram flour batter, fried until just set and tossed in warm saffron and cardamom syrup with flaked nuts. They're soft, juicy and bright orange. Serve as a festive sweet or offering, or spoon over rabdi or ice cream.
A modern layered barfi: a chewy base of dates, coconut, cornflakes, chocolate cereal and pistachio, a creamy top of condensed milk, cashews and almonds, and a marbled dark and white chocolate finish. It's rich, crunchy and silky all at once. Makes 35–40 rectangles; great for parties and gift boxes.
A quick carrot halwa made in the microwave: grated carrots cooked tender in ghee, milk and sugar, then enriched with fresh mawa (khoya) and plenty of almonds, cashews and pistachios. It's soft, sweet and fragrant with cardamom. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.
A quick no-cook barfi made from crushed wheat biscuit cereal and tea biscuits bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, with coconut, nuts, nutmeg and saffron. It's chewy, sweet and easy enough for children to help with. Makes 40 pieces.
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