Karva Chauth preparations are in full swing! (Karva Chauth: Karva Chauth origins and meaning) Each married woman has her own set of rituals to prepare, but for me, it means carefully taking out my ritual plates and karva (or pot), getting the accoutrements for the pooja ready, making sweets at home, and of course, a series of beauty rituals 🙂 which culminate in getting my mehendi or henna done, the day before the festival. The festival this year falls on Saturday, so I am rushing, rushing to get everything prepared for the big day!
As with all Indian festivals, sweets play a major role. This year for sweets, I decided to make seviyan or sweet vermicelli pudding and gulab jamuns or fried doughnuts soaked in sweet syrup. Growing up, both sweets were favorites, and I could not resist an opportunity to indulge, particularly if they were homemade. Veg Recipes of India has a quick and easy recipe for seviyan that comes together in 20 minutes flat, and my favorite, gulab jamuns: Manjula Auntie recipe for this delicacy is the best ever! With her recipe, I finally got these right after five years of epic fails.
Seviyan Recipe: Seviyan
*The only recommendation I would make is to reduce the vermicelli to 1/2 cup (3/4 at the most). The vermicelli plumps up quite a bit after being submerged in milk. Reducing the amount of vermicelli won’t completely dry out your dish.
Gulab Jamun Recipe: Gulab Jamuns
*This recipe is absolutely PERFECT in every way.
