Diwali Holidays with Children

How to spend this Diwali holidays with your children?

Simple things that you can do with your child this Diwali.

Coconut Ladoo

 Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups desiccated coconut powder (unsweetened)
2. ⅔ cup regular sugar or organic unrefined cane sugar
3. ½ cup water
4. ½ teaspoon cardamom powder or 3 to 4 green cardamoms

Preparation:

1. Mix the sugar with the water and dissolve it. If there are impurities than strain the sugar solution. The sugar can be adjusted as per your sweet likings. For a less sweet taste you can use ½ cup sugar and for a sweeter taste use ¾ cup sugars.
2. Keep the sugar solution on fire and on a low flame cook the solution.
3. The solution will start to thicken and continue to cook till you get the one thread consistency in the sugar solution.
4. Switch off the flame and add the desiccated coconut powder and cardamom powder to the sugar solution.
5. Quickly stir and make small balls from the mixture.

Puffed Rice Snack

 Ingredients:

1.  2 cups puffed rice (murmura, muri)
2. ¼ cup finely chopped onions
3. ¼ cup finely chopped cucumber
4. ¼ cup finely chopped tomato
5. ½ cup chopped boiled potatoes or 1 medium potato, boiled
6. 1 to 2 green chilies - finely chopped
7. ¼ cup roasted peanuts
8. 2 to 3 tablespoons sev
9. 1 teaspoon lemon juice or add as required
10. ½ teaspoon coriander powder
11. ½ teaspoon cumin powder
12. ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder or white pepper powder
13. ½ teaspoon red chili powder
14. ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
15. 1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder)
16. ½ teaspoon black salt
17. ½ teaspoon rock salt or regular salt or add as per taste

 Preparation:

1. First finely chop veggies like onion, tomato, boiled potato and cucumber, ginger and green chilies. you can even mince the onions and ginger.
2. Keep them aside.
3. Heat a kadai and keep flame to a low or medium-low. add 2 cups of puffed rice (murmura).
4. Stirring often roast for 2 to 3 minutes or more till they become crisp and crunchy.
5. Check a few puffed rice and they should be crunchy and not soft or chewy.
6. Switch off the flame and keep the pan down. One by one add all the spice powders from the above list of "spice powders". Also add black salt and rock salt or regular salt as per taste.
7. The heat from the pan will roast the spice powders and make them aromatic. if the puffed rice you are using are already crisp and crunchy then just roast them for some seconds or a minute. Keep the pan down and then add the spice powders.
8. Mix puffed rice with the spice powders. let this puffed rice cool at room temperature before you begin with the next step.
9. Add ¼ cup roasted peanuts.
10. Next add the finely chopped onions, tomatoes, potatoes, green chilies and ginger.
11. Drizzle 1 teaspoon mustard oil all over.
12. Next drizzle 1 teaspoon lemon juice all over.
13. Gently mix again.
14. Add sev. Instead of sev you can also add chana chur (savory mixture like chiwda).
15. Add coriander leaves. Mix quickly. Check taste and add more salt, lemon juice or any of the spice powders if you want.
16. Serve straight away.

Craft for Diwali:

Things Needed:

1. A print out of Diya
2. Color Pencils
3. Scissors
4. Gold cord or thread

 Instructions:

1. Take a print of any Diya from Google
2. Let your child color the diyas with their favourite colors.
3. Make a hole at the top of the flame and tie on some gold cord to hang.
4. You can use this diyas to decorate your house.