Indulge your taste buds this Valentine’s Day

What’s a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner without indulging in some sweet nothings, err, desserts! While chocolates and red velvets are some of our go-to options to finish a lovely dinner, how about you give your desserts a healthy twist? Well, healthy desserts need not be boring, and here, we share with you four yummy, mouth-watering recipes to prove the same. So, go on, whip up a fancy dinner and relish it with your partner.

Ingredients

Full fat milk - 2l

Rice – 120g

Grain sugar - 40g

Rose water - 3-4 drops

Dried rose petals - 10g

Almonds - 100g

Almond slivers - 25g

Method

Soak the rice in water for about 20 minutes.

Heat milk in a heavy bottom pan. After a boil, reduce the heat and simmer till milk is reduced to half the original volume.

Add the soaked rice after draining the water and cook on low heat till rice is cooked well and the mix thickens.

Add chopped almonds and cook for further 15 minutes on low heat till the kheer is thick and creamy. Now, add sugar.

Set aside to cool. Once cool, add rose water and mix. Refrigerate till serving.

Roast some almond slivers in an oven for 180 deg for 5 minutes, until golden brown. Garnish with slivers and dried rose petals before serving.

Ingredients

Milk (full cream) - 4 cups

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Saffron - 1/4 tsp

Almond meal - ½ cup

Dried rose petals - ¼ cup

Method

In a pan, add milk and put it on a low flame. Keep on stirring; do not let the milk burn. The milk will start to thicken.

Once it becomes half the volume, add the almond meal and sugar and mix them well. Strain the mixture.

Add the dried rose petals and saffron strands and mix well. Allow the kulfi mixture to cool, pour it into kulfi moulds or small bowls and freeze them.

Demould the kulfi and serve it garnished with roasted almond flakes.

Ingredients

For carrot

Carrot - ½kg

Full cream milk - ½l

Sugar - ½ cup

Cardamom (powdered) - 4 nos.

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Almonds (blanched) - ¼ cup

For crumble

All-purpose flour - ¾ cup

Butter (unsalted) - ½ cup

Sugar - ½ cup

Ground almonds - ½ cup

Method

In a pan, add milk and carrots together and keep on cooking till the milk reduces to 3/4th.

Add cardamom powder, ghee, and sugar to it. Mix it well.

Add the sliced, blanched almonds and mix well.

For the crumble, rub the flour, butter, sugar and ground almonds together, till it resembles bread crumbs.

Bake the crumble at 180°C till the colour turns golden brown.

Serve the halwa with crumble and roasted almonds.

Ingredients

Almonds (whole) – 400g

White and black sesame – 100g

Sugar – 150g

Rosemary – 10g

Chilli powder – 10g

Sea salt or rocks salt (optional) – 10g

Method

In a pan, dry roast almonds and keep it to cool down so that it becomes crunchy.

In a separate pan, take sugar and let it caramelize. Then add roasted almonds to it. When almonds are coated with syrup, add the chili powder, which will give glaze and binding.

Remove on a clean tray and coat it with white sesame seeds and rock salt (crushed).

Take a piece of charcoal, burn it on fire and keep it on the bowl. Add some rosemary and smoke the almonds which are coated with sesame. Store it in an airtight container.

Tip: You could flavour the smoke with any spice, like cloves, cinnamon or cumin.