Teej is a vibrant festival celebrated in northern India to welcome the monsoon season. It honors the goddess Parvati and her union with Lord Shiva, with women wearing vibrant attire, applying henna, and observing fasting and communal rituals. During Teej, women often observe a day-long fast, sometimes without water, praying for their husbands’ well-being and a joyful married life.

The celebrations include traditional sweets and savory dishes, creating a joyful and communal atmosphere. To make the festival even more special, here are some

healthy dessert recipes

you can try at home easily:
Grilled Almond Burfee (Sugar Free)
Ingredients: Khoya (pindi), Sugarfree, and Almonds roasted and crushed.
Recipe: Grate the khoya and set aside. Heat a pan and add the khoya, then add 40g of sugar-free sweetener and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in roasted and crushed almonds. Immediately transfer to individual serving dishes, sprinkle the remaining sugar-free sweetener on top, and place the dishes in a hot oven at 200°C with heat only from the top to allow the sugar to caramelize. Remove and serve immediately.

Almond and Carrot Halwa Crumble
Ingredients: Carrot, Full cream milk, Sugar free, Cardamom (powdered), Ghee, Almonds (blanched)
Recipe: In a pan, add milk and carrots together and cook until the milk reduces to three-quarters. Add cardamom powder, ghee, and sugar, and mix well. Add sliced, blanched almonds and mix thoroughly. For the crumble, rub flour, butter, sugar, and ground almonds together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Bake the crumble at 180°C until golden brown. Serve the gajar halwa with the crumble and roasted almonds.

Seb Aur Badaam Ka Shorba
Ingredients: Almond (peeled), Ginger, White pepper powder, Honey, Jeera, Cream, Refined oil, Shahijeera, Saunf, Cinnamon, Salt, Veg stock, green apple.
Recipe: Blanch the almonds, make a puree, and set aside. In a pan, heat a little oil, add ginger and green apple dices with a little water, and bring to a boil. Cool it down and make a puree. In a separate saucepan, heat a little refined oil, add shahijeera, saunf, and cinnamon, and sauté well. Add the almond puree and cook for a while, then add the apple puree. Next, add a good vegetable stock and cook for 20 minutes, then add honey, pepper, and jeera powder. Check the seasoning and finish with cream and toasted almond flakes with skin.
Almond and Amaranth Ladoos
Ingredients: Popped amaranth seeds, Jaggery melted, Almond slivers (unpeeled)
Recipe: In a bowl, combine popped amaranth seeds, almond slivers, and melted jaggery. Mix thoroughly, then shape the mixture into small, firm balls.
By Rohini Patil, MBBS and Nutritionist
(Images courtesy: Canva)