There is just under 30 days left till Diwali and with the fasting period and different temple services during the week and on weekends there is just no time to actually get my head around the fact that it is almost Diwali 2018

Last year, the plan was that we were going to have a big family lunch and then 2 days before Diwali my dad announced that we should make a couple of trays for his friends and work collegues, and then a couple turned into a dozen and I landed up doing speed baking in the heat.

Temperatures in the kitchen were so hot and the temperature on the whole was the hottest we had experienced before. I had to ice the buttercream cupcakes in the fridge, because it was just too hot.

Like last year, my mum has given me the opportunity of planning and preparing the trays and this time I am planning in advance, trying and testing recipes so that there is no room for error.

Last year, because of the time limits, I made things that were familiar to me, more Western than Eastern goodies.

This year, I am trying to make my trays with cultural Indian sweetmeats. Something which I have never done before.

Today I am trying to make Penda… never heard of it before…I have tasted it though… loved it, but never attempted it.

To tell you the truth, I was always under the impression that Indian sweetmeats were complicated things to make and if you didn’t learn how to make it from a young age, you were doomed… but guess what it is not as complicated as everyone makes it sounds.

One thing I will tell you, when the recipe says ghee, use ghee and when the recipe says Klim powder do not and I repeat do not use Cremora powder… stick to the Klim… TRUST ME.

Ingredients:

3 x cups Klim powder.

½ x tsp elatchi powder.

½ x cup dessert cream.

2 x tbsp. condense milk.

1 x tsp rose water.

3 x cups icing sugar.

1 x tsp ghee.

Method:

Mix the klim powder, icing sugar and elatchi powder in a bowl.

Add the dessert cream, condense milk, rose water and ghee into the powder mixture.

Using your hand, knead and bring the mixture together.

When the mixture comes together, break off small pieces, roll into a ball and decorate as you like. I popped my balls into small paper cup holders and placed a small silver ball in the center.

I also took the ball and placed in a fondant mould plunger to get desired shapes, dusted it with silver powder and also placed a small silver ball in the center.

The way you decorate it, is up to you, to more colourful and more funky, the combinations are all up to you.