Dessert Recipes for Raksha Bandhan© Escobar, Baale Resorts

Delicious Non-Traditional Desserts To Make This Raksha Bandhan

Salva Mubarak
Senior Features Writer

The best thing about festivals, aside from the opportunity to dress up and get together with your loved ones, is the food. More specifically, the sweets! Indian festivals are not complete without a healthy abundance of desserts and the upcoming Raksha Bandhan festival is no different.

You may also like

But if you’re someone who wants to skip the usual desserts this time and try something new, we’ve got you covered. These delicious desserts will delight your siblings and make this Raksha Bandhan a memorable one. Here are a few of our favourite non-traditional desserts to try this Raksha Bandhan…

Dessert Recipes To Try This Raksha Bandhan

Chocolate Rasmalai by Chef Kush Koli, Head Chef, SAGA, Gurugram

Chocolate Rasmalai Recipe©SAGA

Ingredients

(For the Rasmalai)

  • 2 litre Milk
  • 2 tbsp chopped Pistachios
  • 2 tbsp Vinegar
  • 2 litre boiling Water
  • 2 tbsp chopped Almonds
  • ½ tsp green Cardamom powder
  • 3 cup Sugar
  • ½ tsp Saffron

(For the Chocolate Sauce)

  • ½ cup Cream
  • 1 cup Chocolate
  • (For the Chocolate Disk)
  • 250 gm Chocolate

Method

(To make the Rasmalai)

  1. Take a saucepan and boil milk at a high flame. Once the milk starts boiling, turn off the flame.
  2. Mix 1 tbsps of water with vinegar and add to the hot milk.
  3. Once the milk starts crumbling, drain out the excess and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
  4. Rub the resultant mixture till it has a soft smooth texture and make a dough out of it.
  5. Make balls with the dough, and repeat the process till the dough is finished. Cover with a wet cloth.
  6. Prepare the sugar syrup in a kadhai over medium flame by adding sugar in it along with 1 ½ litre of hot water.
  7. When the sugar syrup is ready, add the dough balls and boil for five minutes. They will double in size and this is when you can turn off your flame.

(To make the saffron milk)

  1. Take a degchi and boil the milk in it.
  2. Once the milk starts boiling, add saffron and chopped pistachios and almonds.
  3. Allow milk to attain a slightly thick consistency for about five to seven minutes.
  4. Then, add one cup sugar in it and mix well, once the milk is reduced to half, turn off the flame.

(To make the chocolate sauce)

  1. Melt the chocolate and mix with the cream.

(To make the chocolate disc)

  1. Melt some chocolate and spread it over a plastic lining sheet.
  2. Once it’s cooled down, cut a disk shape out of the chocolate.

(To put everything together)

  1. Mix the sugar syrup with ice cubes, and add the rasmalai in the hot-cold sugar syrup.
  2. Keep them for two minutes and squeeze out the excess water and add the rasmalai in saffron milk.
  3. Let the rasmalai soak for three to four hours to absorb the milk.
  4. Once that’s done, put the rasmalai on a desired platter.
  5. Keep the chocolate disk on top of it and pour the chocolate sauce on the saffron milk.
  6. Serve cold and enjoy!
You may also like

Saffron & Cardamom Panna Cotta by Anje Britz, F&B Head of Baale Resort, Goa

Saffron and Rose Panna Cotta Recipe©Baale Resort

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Heavy Cream
  • A pinch of Saffron threads
  • 4-5 crushed Cardamom pods
  • ½ cup Sugar
  • 2 ½ tsp Gelatin
  • ¼ cup Water

Method

  1. In a saucepan, heat a cup of heavy cream and a cup of milk over medium heat.
  2. Add a pinch of saffron threads and 4-5 crushed cardamom pods to the mixture.
  3. Stir in 1/2 cup of sugar until it dissolves completely.
  4. In a separate bowl, sprinkle 2 1/2 teaspoons of gelatin over 1/4 cup of cold water and let it bloom for five minutes.
  5. Once the gelatin has bloomed, add it to the warm cream mixture and stir until it is fully dissolved.
  6. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes.
  7. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps or solids.
  8. Pour the mixture into individual serving glasses and refrigerate for at least four hours, or until the panna cotta is set.
  9. Serve chilled and garnish with a sprinkle of crushed pistachios or saffron strands, if desired.
You may also like

Hazelnut and Blueberry Chocolate Bar by Chef Vijay Kumar, Commis I, Araiya Palampur

Hazelnut and Blueberry Chocolate Bar Recipe©Araiya Palamput

Ingredients

  • 200 gm dark compound Chocolate (50% Cocoa Mass)
  • 200 gm white Chocolate (10% Cocoa Butter)
  • 100 gm chopped Hazelnuts
  • 3 ml Blueberry essence

Method

  1. Chop the dark chocolate and white chocolate separately and keep in different bowls.
  2. Melt the chopped chocolates separately. The ideal temperature to temper chocolate should be 35- 36 degrees Celsius. It can be accomplished in a double boiler or micro-oven (on a medium setting).
  3. Keep stirring the chocolate every 15 seconds. This is the key to tempering the best chocolate to the melting stage. Add the blueberry essence to both the bowls.
  4. Once the chocolates have melted properly, pour them in a 50:50 ratio into a chocolate bar mould. Add in the chopped hazelnuts here too.
  5. The chocolate bar can be set in the freezer with a dehumidifier application to avoid moisture.
  6. Once the chocolate has set, it should take about 20 minutes, the bar is ready to be served.

Banoffee Pie by Chef Sidharth Sharma, Nush Mush, Gurugram

Banoffee Pie Bowl Recipe©Nush Mush

Ingredients

  • 2 Bananas
  • 20 g grated Chocolate

(For the base)

  • 100 g digestive Biscuits
  • 25 g Butter

(For the Dulce de Leche)

  • 200 g cooked, Condensed Milk

(For the Creme)

  • 200 g Bakery Cream
  • 40 g Icing Sugar

Method

  1. To prepare the base, blitz the digestive biscuits, honey, and butter for a few seconds or until fine and crumbly.
  2. For the dulce de leche, immerse condensed milk in water and cook (on a low simmer) for 3 to 3.5 hours.
  3. To make the creme for the pie, take cold bakery cream and add icing sugar to it. Whisk until fluffy, but be careful to not overmix it.
  4. Gently press the crumbly base to the pie dish for the crust.
  5. Take a piping bag and fill it with dulce de leche. Pipe a layer of it on top of the crust.
  6. Place sliced (round) bananas on top of the dulce de leche layer.
  7. Finally, layer it with the creme.
  8. Top it with grated chocolate. Refrigerate before serving.

Chocolate Extasy by Chef Alok Das, Escobar, Mumbai

Chocolate Extacy Recipe©Escobar

Ingredients

  • 3 Eggs (55g/2 oz each)
  • 125g/4.5 oz dark cooking Chocolate, bittersweet/70% cocoa
  • 10g/0.3 oz unsalted Butter
  • 1/2 cup Cream, full fat
  • 3 tbsp Caster Sugar (superfine white sugar)

Method

  1. Separate eggs and yolks while eggs are cold. Place whites in a large bowl and yolks in a small bowl. Leave whites while you prepare other ingredients. Whisk the yolks until uniform.
  2. Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a microwave-proof bowl with the butter. Melt in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring in between, until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly while you proceed with other steps.
  3. Beat cream until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-whip.
  4. Add sugar to the egg whites and beat until firm peaks are formed.
  5. Fold egg yolks into cream using a rubber spatula, not more than eight folds are required. Some streaks are fine.
  6. The chocolate should still be runny but warm (min 35C/95F; ideal 40C/104F). If too cool or thick, microwave in a burst of five seconds at a time until runny.
  7. Pour the chocolate into the cream and yolk mixture and fold gently. Some streaks here are fine.
  8. Add 1/4 of beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold through until incorporated, but be careful to not do more than 10 folds.
  9. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg whites. Fold through until incorporated and no more white lumps remain—aim for 12 folds max, but ensure there are no obvious egg white patches.
  10. Divide the mixture between four small glasses or pots. Refrigerate for at least six hours, preferably overnight.
  11. To serve, garnish with red currants and a tiny sprig of mint for colour.

Churros by Chef Ashish Singh, Corporate Chef, Dhansoo Café, Gurugram

Churros Recipe©Dhansoo Cafe

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (250ml) Water
  • 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted Butter, diced into small cubes
  • 1 tbsp (13g) granulated Sugar
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 cup (141g) all-purpose Flour (scoop and level to measure)
  • 1 large Egg
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • Vegetable oil, for frying

For coating

  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated Sugar
  • 3/4 tsp ground Cinnamon

Method

  1. For the coating, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish, and set aside.
  2. Heat about 1 ½ inches of vegetable oil in a large pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oil is heating, prepare the batter. Reduce burner temperature as needed once oil reaches 360 degrees to maintain that temperature.
  3. Add water, butter, sugar and salt to a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  4. Add flour to the mix and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook and stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the mixture comes together and is of a smooth consistency.
  5. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl, and let cool for five minutes.
  6. Add vanilla and egg to flour mixture then blend immediately with an electric mixer. Blend until the mixture comes together and is smooth (it will separate at first but keep mixing it will come together).
  7. Transfer to a 16-inch piping bag and carefully pipe the mixture into the preheated oil.
  8. Let it fry until golden brown, it should take about two minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to dry briefly then transfer to cinnamon sugar mixture and roll to coat.
  9. Serve warm churros with ice cream or Nutella.