Sweets galore for festival of lights

Thirupathi Laddoo, Horlicks Mysorepak, wheat halwa, dates halwa - these are a few of the names that may not roll off the tongue for those uninitiated to the delights of Indian festival cuisine ... but they provide mouth-watering moments of pure bliss for those familiar with these sensational sweet dishes.

The Sangeetha Restaurant in Gudaibiya is planning to entice customers to celebrate the Indian festival of lights - Diwali that falls on October 17 - with an array of delights and hope to enlighten new customers to a taste of the continent.

Pastry chef Shankar Lingam is all set to prepare between 25 and 30 different varieties of sweet delights as the island's Indian community rush to bring home the goodies alongside good wishes for the year.

He has been a member of the Sangeetha Restaurant for the past six years, two of which were with the group in Chennai, India.

Having had to leave school at the age of 13 while back home in India, he joined a hotel in search of work.

After learning the ropes in various fields, from 1996 he got the opportunity to master his culinary skills alongside traditional cooks and chefs and polished his sweet-making skills.

His talents took him to Sri Lanka for two years before he was snapped up by the Sangeetha Group of Hotels which today also boasts 26 branches in Chennai, seven in the UAE as well as one each in Kuala Lumpur and London.

Ever since it's opening on the island five years ago, Sangeetha has become a household name for many who like to begin a weekend with fresh, steaming mini-tiffin - a collection of typical South Indian breakfast dishes served with steaming filter coffee or chai.

Chef Shankar is also a master at preparing a host of vegetarian main meals as well as savouries including pakodas made of cashews, onions and peanuts, alongside an extensive selection of tea-time delicacies.

Here he shares one of the restaurant's favourite recipes with GulfWeekly readers.

Horlicks Mysorepak

Ingredients:

Ghee (clarified butter) 3kg

Chickpea flour 1/2kg

Fine-milled wheat flour 50gm

Cashew 1/4kg

Horlicks 1/4kg

Cardamom 5gm

Sugar 3kg

Procedure:

Grind the cashew slightly - not fine. Mix 150gm of Horlicks with the flour.

Separately, make sugar syrup by adding 3kg sugar with 1ltr water.

After 15 minutes, add the syrup into the mixed flour and stir until it becomes thick.

After another 15 minutes add cashew powder and mix well.

In 10 minutes, add 100gm of Horlicks to this mixture and the cardamom.

As you stir the mixture, add ghee little by little. Pour it on a tray and allow it to cool.

Cut into cubes before serving.