The festival of Janmashtami is just around the corner and preparations are at full swing to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna- the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu. This year, Kirshna Janmashtami falls on August 30th. Hindus around the world celebrate this day in their own unique ways, with offering sattvic bhog being a common ritual among all. Krishna devotees prepare a wide variety of delectable offerings for their beloved God, which includes different kind of mithais, khichdi, poori, sabzi and many more.
If you are planning to prepare some sweet delicacies for Krishna ji, we have this special recipe for you. It's the famous parwal ki mithai from Bihar! This sweet-treat, made with pointed gourd, not only changes your perception about the vegetable, but also makes you fall in love with it.
Other than the parwal, the highlights of this dish are the rich mawa and dry fruits, which are stuffed in the vegetable and dunked in warm chasni to enhance the flavour. Let's find out the recipe!
Also Read: Janmashtami 2020: 5 Easy Sweets You Can Prepare For The Festive Bhog
How To Make Parwal Ki Mithai | Parwal Ki Mithai Recipe:
Ingredients:
Pointed gourd: 10-12
Sugar- 2 cups
Water- to make the syrup and boil the vegetable
Mawa- 1-1.5 cups
Almonds and pistachio- half cup (chopped)
Raisin- a little less than half cup (chopped)
Cardamom powder- 1 teaspoon
Milk powder- 2-3 tablespoon
Powdered sugar- half cup (adjust as per taste)
Grated coconut- 4 tablespoon (optional)
Edible silver leaf (optional)
Ghee- 1 tablespoon
Method:
Step 1. Clean and de-skin the pointed gourds.
Step 2. Heat water in a saucepan and add the pointed gourds to it. Let it boil for 4-5 minutes. Do not over boil them.
Step 3. Strain the water and carefully slit the pointed gourds in the centre (vertically). Do not cut it into two pieces. Now, scrape out the seeds and make space at the centre for stuffing. Keep them aside.
Step 4. Heat water and sugar in a pan and stir continuously to prepare sugar syrup (chasni). Do not turn the consistency of the chasni thick.
Step 5. Now dip the parwal in the syrup and let it soak till you prepare the filling (atleast for 30 minutes).
Step 6. Heat ghee in a pan and roast mawa, grated coconut and the dry fruits and nuts. Mix powdered sugar, cardamom powder and milk powder to it and bind the whole thing to form a soft filling. Switch off the flame and cool it down.
Step 7. Take out the soaked pointed gourds and set them aside to drain out the excess syrup.
Step 8. Now fill them with generous amount of mawa-filling and wrap with silver leaf.
The delectable parwal ki mithai is now all ready to be offered to Krishna ji.
Here's wishing you all a Happy Janmashtami 2020!