While we all might be a little reluctant to travel these days, that doesn’t mean our taste buds have to stay at home too. With a few easy-to-find ingredients, these straight-forward desserts will allow you to explore the tastes of South Asia without a plane ticket or hotel accommodations.
Move over, cookies and brownies. These dessert recipes will have you happily exploring new flavours and adding some excitement to meal times.
Crispy and Sweet Jalebi
If you’re a fan of donuts, you’ll love Jalebi. These sweet spirals, fried in hot oil and soaked in a sugary syrup, are a popular street food and are often served at weddings and festivals and in sweet shops in the Indian subcontinent. Whip up your batter by mixing all-purpose flour and corn flour with National Turmeric Powder, water, yogurt and lemon juice and then add the mixture to a squeeze bottle. Heat up your oil in a pot over medium heat. Once the oil is heated up, squeeze the bottle of batter gently and move in a circular motion over the oil, starting from the centre and moving outward, to create spirals. When the Jalebi is crisp, remove from the oil and soak in warm sugar syrup.
Soft and Creamy Pandan Custard Cake
If you like vanilla and custard, this recipe is for you. Pandan, a long green leaf grown in South East Asia, is very similar to vanilla but also has a subtle coconut-like flavour. Pair this flavourful leaf with vanilla custard to take your cake to the next level. All you need to do is essentially blend your pandan leaves with a little water in a blender and then run the mixture through a sieve to remove the pulp. Then combine it with National Vanilla Custard Powder, flour, eggs, milk and sugar. Cook in the oven until the edges are crispy and the inside of the cake is soft and luscious. There you have it: everything you love about custard in delicious cake form.
Rich and Creamy Sheer Khurma
You’ve had vermicelli in your stir fry but have you ever thought to try it in your dessert? While it might seem strange to the uninitiated, these rice noodles are the secret starchy star of Sheer Khurma, a rich and creamy dessert traditionally served during Eid, a Muslim festival marking the end of a month of fasting from dawn to sunset, as well as spiritual reflection and prayer. Making Sheer Khurma is simple: boil milk at medium heat and then add National Sheer Khurma mix and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Top this delectable pudding with nuts, dates and sugar and serve either warm or cold.
Feeling inspired? Whether you have a sweet tooth or just want to try something new, these South Asian-inspired desserts aren’t hard to make but they will add a little culinary adventure to your dinner table.
