The festive season has arrived! As we embrace the joyous occasion of Janmashtami, a festival deeply rooted in our culture, it’s the perfect time to welcome friends and family with traditional treats. This Janmashtami, enhance your celebrations with a delectable array of vegan sweets.
1- Janmashtmi Panjri
Panjiri is a North Indian sweet mixture. It is healthy, nutritious, and has a savory taste. This is a traditional panjiri recipe from my Kumaoni family made with dry fruits, edible gum (gond), and spices.
Ingredients
- 200 gram (1 Cup) lotus nuts (foxnuts or makhana)
- 100 gram (½ Cup) desiccated coconut
- ¼Cupalmonds
- ¼Cuppistachio
- ¼Cuppeanuts
- 1 tablespoon edible or herbal gum (gond)
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds (dhaniya)
- 1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
- 2 teaspoon dry ginger powder (saunth)
- ½teaspoon turmeric powder (optional)
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
- 4 tablespoon coconut oil
- Ingredients for the sugar syrup
- 2 Cup sugar
- ½Cupwater
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 coconut oil. Add gond/gum, fry till it pops up and expands in size.
- Heat remaining oil in the same skillet. Fry together lotus seeds, peanuts, dry fruits till they are crisp and crunchy. Turn off the heat. Transfer to a plate.
- Now in mixer make a coarse powder of roasted lotus seeds, dry fruits, peanuts, fried gond. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add desiccated coconut, cardamom powder, ginger powder, turmeric powder, powdered sugar, 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.
2- Vegan Millet Kheer
Here’s a quick and gluten-free Millet Kheer recipe, made without refined sugar or jaggery, perfect for Janmashtami. Enjoy this divine and wholesome dessert as part of your festive celebrations!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 Cup Barnyard Millet
- 1/4 Cup Omani dates
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon cashew
- 1 tablespoon almond
- 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.
