Hemp-based Diwali recipes

New Delhi, Oct 15

What better way to celebrate Diwali, which is just around the corner, than by cooking something special and delectable for your loved ones? Make delicious and nutritious Diwali sweets with hemp to fill your home with a beautiful aroma during this festival of lights.

Santosh Tamang, Head Chef at The Hemp Factory, shares some delectable and healthful recipes for Diwali sweets:

Hemp Besan Ladoo

Ingredients:

1 Cup Besan/Gram Flour
One fourth Cup of Ghee
Half Cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Hemp Hearts
Half tsp Cardamom Powder
1 tsp Hemp Powder
10 Almonds for Garnishing

Process:

Dry roast the besan on a medium flame for about 10-15mins; keep stirring. Its raw taste should not be there.
Add ghee and mix well.
Cook the besan till the fat separates for about 8-10 minutes and turns off the flame.
Add sugar cardamom powder and hemp powder. Mix well so that there are no lumps.. Let the mixture cool completely. Once the mixture is cool, add hemp hearts.
Grease your hands with ghee and start forming laddoos. Make smooth and round laddoos. Decorate with Almonds.
Serve or store in an airtight container.

Hemp-infused Nankhatai

Ingredients:

1 fourth cup all-purpose flour (175 grams)
2 tablespoons fine Rava (semolina) 25 grams
1 tablespoon Hemp Flour
Half cup powdered sugar (80 grams)
Half cup ghee (115 grams)
Half teaspoon salt
Half teaspoon cardamom powder
2 teaspoons slivered pistachios or nuts of your choice
1 tablespoon Hemp Hearts

Process:

In a bowl, sieve maida (all-purpose flour). Keep it aside.
In a bowl whisk ghee and sugar with a spoon or whisk until creamy, light, and pale.
Add all-purpose flour, Hemp flour, Sooji, salt, and cardamom powder into the ghee-sugar mixture.
Combine everything using a spatula, then use your hands to bring the dough together. Do not knead the dough.
If the dough looks dry, add a teaspoon of ghee and gently work the dough until it comes together.
Rest the dough covered in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Mixing ghee and flour for nankhatai dough
Pinch a lime-sized portion of the dough. Roll it between your palms to form a smooth round shape. Flatten them slightly.
Place it on the baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough.
Place them 1 inch apart since they will expand on baking.
Using a knife, make a criss-cross pattern in the middle. You can also make a little indentation in the centre instead of a criss-cross pattern.
Refrigerate again for another 15 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C.
Bake in a preheated oven for 15 to 16 minutes. It might take a little less or more time for you. Keep an eye out after 13 minutes.
Sprinkle some slivered pistachios and rose petals and Hemp Hearts

Note: The cookies will be soft in the middle but will firm upon cooling.

Double Chocolate Chip Hemp Heart Cookies

Ingredients:

Half cup liquid coconut oil
A quarter cup of almond, soy or rice milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coconut or brown sugar
1 cup Hemp Seeds, divided
1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or vegan)
2 cups gluten-free OR all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Half a teaspoon of kosher salt

Process:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place coconut oil, almond milk, vanilla, coconut sugar, 3/4 cup Hemp Seeds and 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a blender and puree for 30 seconds or until small pieces remain, but the mixture is creamy.
In a separate large bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture and stir until the ingredients are totally combined. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips and Hemp Seeds.
Using a small ice cream scoop or 2-tablespoon measure, place cookies on a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Use the heel of your hand to gently press cookies down and form them into circles.
Bake cookies for 11 minutes for softer cookies and 13-14 minutes for crisper cookies.

--IANS