The country marks its 76th year of independence on 15th August, and the best way to celebrate it is by making some tricolour sweets that represent the three colours of our national flag. While we've all been taught the significance of these three hues, let's jog our memories once again. The colours were never meant to have any communal meaning, but instead reflect the ideal characteristics of the country. Saffron stands for strength, courage, and sacrifice. White stands for truth and purity, while green represents faith, fertility, and growth. Right between the white band of the Tiranga is the Dharma Chakra, which stands for growth and movement. Here are some fun and easy tricolor dessert recipes that you can make with your children, while also teaching them the glorious story behind India’s journey to independence.
Tricolor Pedas
Ingredients:
- 200 ml condensed milk
- 125 gm milk powder
- 57 gm butter
- Green and orange food colouring
Instructions:
- Melt the butter in a microwave safe dish. Do it in intervals of 30 seconds until it goes from solid to liquid.
- Add the condensed milk to the warm butter along with the milk powder and mix well. Use a whisk to ensure there are no lumps.
- Now divide this batter into three - one for white, one for orange or saffron, and one for green.
- Add the green and orange food colouring, then roll out small balls of each colour, and meld them together.
- Press some chopped nuts into the prepared pedas, and enjoy.
Tiranga Kulfi
Ingredients:
- ½ tsp saffron
- 4 cardamom pods, smash to extract seeds and powder them
- 200 ml condensed milk
- 200 ml evaporated milk
- 120 ml heavy cream
- 60 g blanched and peeled almonds
- 30 g blanched and peeled pistachios
- 60 g powdered sugar
- 120 g mango pulp
Instructions:
- In a dry pan, toast the saffron for a couple of seconds, then crush it into a powder in a mortar and pestle.
- Take the blanched and peeled pistachios, then grind them into a fine powder in your mixer. Set aside.
- Next, blend condensed milk, evaporated milk, cream, almonds, sugar and the powdered cardamom seeds until smooth. You can powder the almonds first, and then add the rest of the ingredients.
- Divide this kulfi base into three bowls.
- First prepare the saffron layer by blending mango and saffron powder along with the kulfi base. Pour this into your kulfi mould and freeze.
- After the first layer has solidified, add the white layer and put the moulds back in the freezer.
- In the meantime, prepare the final, green layer by mixing in the pistachios with the leftover kulfi base. If you want a deep green hue, feel free to add a few drops of food colouring.
- Pour this final layer and freeze. If you want to make kulfi sticks, you can pop a popsicle stick each into the mould before freezing.
Tiranga Kheer
Ingredients:
Green layer:
- 180 gm green peas
- 25 to 30 g blanched, peeled and slivered pistachios
- 1 tsp ghee
- 180 ml reduced milk
- 50 gm caster sugar
- ¼ tsp green cardamom powder
White layer:
- 20 gm basmati rice, soaked overnight
- 480 ml reduced milk
- 30 gm caster sugar
- ¼ tsp green cardamom powder
Orange layer:
- 300 gm grated carrots
- 74 gm dried apricots, soaked
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 120 ml reduced milk
- A pinch of saffron soaked in water
- 50 gm caster sugar
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
Instructions:
- You can prepare the milk in advance by bringing it to a boil, then cooking it down to half its original volume. You need about 780 to 800 ml of reduced milk for this entire recipe.
- First start working on the green layer by sauteing the peas in ghee until they’re soft. This should take about 5-10 minutes. Let them cool, then blend into a paste.
- Add the pea paste back into the pan along with sugar and the reduced milk. Cook it till you get a pudding-like texture. Then add the sliced pistachios, and create the first layer with it in a serving dish. Refrigerate.
- For the white layer, pour the milk in a saucepan and bring it to a boil, then add rice and mix well. Then cook the soaked rice down until it is soft and plump.
- Then add the sugar, and mix well until completely dissolved. Finally, add the cardamom powder. Then spoon the rice kheer over the green layer, and once again refrigerate.
- For the orange layer, saute the grated carrots in ghee until soft, then add the milk, and sugar. Keep the carrot and milk mixture on heat until the vegetable absorbs all of the liquid, then add the cardamom powder.
- Spoon it over the two layers, and refrigerate.
- Garnish with some sliced almonds and pistachios before serving.