Dadi’s Rasoi

You need

• 1 cup besan (gram flour)
• ½ cup ghee
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
• A few chopped almonds or pistachios

Steps

1. Grown-up: warm the ghee in a heavy pan on low heat, add the besan and stir for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and nutty.
2. Grown-up: take it off the heat and let it cool until just warm.
3. Kids: add the sugar, cardamom and nuts and mix well.
4. Kids: take a small lump and press it into a round ladoo between your palms.

You need

• 2 cups desiccated coconut, plus a little for coating
• 1 tin (about 400 g) sweetened condensed milk
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

Steps

1. Grown-up: warm the condensed milk in a pan on low heat and stir in the coconut and cardamom.
2. Grown-up: keep stirring for 5 to 7 minutes until the mix leaves the sides of the pan, then let it cool.
3. Kids: roll small balls and roll each one in the extra coconut.

You need

• 1 litre full-fat milk
• ¼ cup rice, washed and soaked for 20 minutes
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
• A few strands of saffron, almonds and raisins

Steps

1. Kids: wash the rice in a bowl of water until the water is clear.
2. Grown-up: boil the milk in a heavy pan, add the drained rice and simmer on low heat for about 35 minutes, stirring often so it does not stick.
3. Grown-up: when the rice is soft and the milk has thickened, add the sugar and cook 5 more minutes.
4. Kids: sprinkle in cardamom, saffron, almonds and raisins once it is off the heat.

You need

• 1 cup maida (plain flour)
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• ⅓ cup sugar dissolved in ⅓ cup warm milk
• Oil for deep frying

Steps

1. Kids: rub the ghee into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.
2. Kids: add the sweet milk a little at a time and knead a firm dough. Rest it for 15 minutes.
3. Kids: roll it out as thick as a coin and cut criss-cross lines to make diamonds, using a blunt knife or pizza cutter.
4. Grown-up only: fry in batches in oil on medium-low heat until golden, then drain on paper.

You need

• 3 cups thin poha (flattened rice)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ cup peanuts and a handful of roasted chana dal
• 1 sprig curry leaves, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon turmeric, ¾ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Steps

1. Grown-up: dry-roast the poha in a wide pan on low heat for 8 to 10 minutes until crisp, then set aside.
2. Grown-up: heat the oil, add mustard seeds, then peanuts, chana dal and curry leaves until they crackle, then turmeric.
3. Kids: measure the salt and sugar into a small bowl.
4. Grown-up: tip the poha back in with the salt and sugar and toss for 2 minutes. Cool fully before storing.

You need

• 1 cup cashews, ground to a fine powder (pulse in short bursts so it does not turn oily)
• ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• Edible silver leaf (optional; choose one marked vegetarian)

Steps

1. Grown-up: boil the sugar and water until the syrup is slightly sticky, about 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Grown-up: lower the heat, add the cashew powder and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until it forms a soft dough that leaves the pan.
3. Grown-up: cool until warm, add the ghee, and knead it smooth on a greased plate.
4. Kids: roll it out between two sheets of baking paper and cut diamonds.