Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten day celebration in many households and it means offering a different sweet dish as naivedyam/ prasad as part of the daily prayers. I’m sure that like every year, you are looking for ideas to make something different this year too. Here is a compilation of all the sweet dishes I have made through the last year and a half as naivedya for festivals or for special occasions. Many of these are traditional recipes. Considering the current situation where everyone is over-worked with little or no-helping hand at home, I have included quite a few quick and easy ones for the busy bees too. Do click a picture of whichever sweet dish you choose to make out of this exhaustive list. I would love❤️ to see your creation.

1. Roasted Chana Modak

Roasted chana/ bengal gram (putani in Kannada) modak are a diversion from the traditional steamed rice flour modaks. They are super quick & easy to make and involves no-cooking. While these modaks can be shaped with our hands; the modak moulds available nowadays make it so easy to shape them into same size and patterned modaks… one piece at a time, making them presentable and pleasing to serve too. This is an easy recipe and does not require too many ingredients…Check Recipe

2. Bajra Kheer/ Sajje Payasa

This festive season add something healthy to your line-up of sweets and include this healthy and nutritious Bajra Kheer in the mix. Bajra is a wonderful replacement for rice in many dishes. It’s complex carb nature makes it a desirable choice for those looking for satiating meals and to curb binge eating between meals. This Bajra Kheer is an excellent way to enjoy bajra in its whole form in this dessert…Check Recipe

3. Popped Jowar Flour Laddu/ Aralu Hittina Unde

This is a lesser known sweet preparation from North Karnataka, made of sorghum/jowar/jola – Aralu Hittina Unde… or in simple terms ‘laddus made of popped sorghum’. Jowar is boiled, dried, popped (just like popcorn) and powdered to form feather-light granular powder (aralu hittu) that is almost like tiny balls the size of amaranth seeds. The very process of making this aralu hittu is very cumbersome but thankfully for our generation, now it is available ready to use… Check Recipe

4. Beetroot Kheer

Vegetables have long been used in making desserts, be it the classic Carrot Halwa or the wedding lunch special Kashi Halwa. I was too excited to try another vegetable going the dessert way. Beetroot has a unique earthy flavour and the final result was indeed an intense yet pretty pink kheer, the strong taste mellowed upon cooking and somewhat resembled the flavour of carrots…Check Recipe

5. Roasted Chana Barfi/ Putani Hittina Kardantu

Roasted Chana Barfi or Putani Hittina Kardantu (Kannada) is a sweet dish from North Karnataka. Roasted chana/ putani is powdered and mixed in a one-string sugar syrup and set in a pan. It is then garnished with finely chopped cashew nuts, poppy seeds and grated dry coconut. It is then cut into desired shape and left to harden for a little while. It is one of the easiest desserts to make with minimal ingredients…Check Recipe

6. Sweet Potato Kheer/ Genasina Payasa

Shakarkand Kheer is amongst India’s favourite kheers. Sweet potatoes are naturally rich in dietary fiber with mild sweetness. Upon cooking, the sweet potatoes gently thicken the milk and add a distinct flavour to it. This Genasina Payasa (Kannada) is probably the only payasa/sweet that I make where I don’t add any dryfruits or nuts! This is my mom’s recipe and I have so many fond childhood memories of my mom making this kheer… Check my mom’s Recipe

7. Lauki Barfi : instant no-mawa recipe

I accidentally tumbled into Karwachauth – the fasting festival… all thanks to our lovey dovey Bollywood movies! Of all days, moon chooses to play hide-n-seek on Karwachauth! I made these Lauki Barfis (bottlegourd squares) to break my fast on a sweet note after moon spotting… Check Recipe 

8. Mango Shrikhand

Mango Shrikhand/ Aamrakhand is a delicious blend of mangoes, hung curd, powdered sugar, nuts and spices. It is quite popular in Maharashtra and is often made during special occasions and festivals as naivedya. This sweet treat is any mango lover’s delight and a must during mango season. It can also be made year-long if you have frozen aamras/ mango pulp. A perfect combination with pooris… Check Recipe

9. Ragi/ Finger Millet Laddu

Ragi is amongst one of the healthiest cereals available. Ragi Laddus are healthy, guilt-free, refined sugar-free and gluten-free. Combined with goodness of nuts and seeds, these laddus are just the perfect healthy indulgence you are looking for this festive season… Check Recipe

10. Rice Kheer

Rice kheer is known by many names: annada payasa, halu payasa, parmannam, chawal ki kheer, kheeri, payas, payesh, payoxh, rasiya and many more. Regionally, one may find many variations to this popular Indian dessert, each one a little bit different than the other. Some make it very thick others not so. While sugar is widely used to make rice kheer, jaggery is also used extensively in many parts of India. Annada payasa maybe served as dessert at the end of a meal or as in many auspicious occasions a traditional meal begins with this sweet preparation… Check Recipe

11. Makhana/ Fox Nut Laddus

Makhana Laddus are the perfect guilt-free dessert to make during the long festive season when you are making sweets everyday for bhog. Makhanas, also known as fox nuts/ phool makhanas/ lotus seeds are gaining popularity in recent times because of their wide range of benefits. Low in calories, fat & sodium – perfect in-between-meal snack, make you feel full, so further cravings for binge eating are reduced… Check Recipe

12. Kesar Pista Badam Shrikhand

Shrikhand, a popular sweet dish from Maharashtra is traditionally made of hung curd flavoured with sugar and green cardamom. Many versions have evolved in the recent times that are flavoured with fruits or nuts or a combination of both. Kesar Pista Badam Shrikhand here is flavoured with goodness of saffron, almonds and pistachios. Saffron lends a beautiful flavour and a brilliant golden yellow colour… Check Recipe

13. Marie Biscuit Laddus – quick, no-cooking recipe

Marie Biscuit Laddus… Yeah, you read that right! These yummy bites of happiness are made of your everyday Marie biscuits. It’s a quick & easy to make, no-cooking laddu recipes. These are perfect for those who are always on the run and want to still make some traditional looking sweet for the festival season that’s just around the corner. This requires very little time, effort and ingredients too… Check Recipe

14. Basundi

Basundi is a milk based dessert that finds its origin in the Western states of India – Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is made by boiling full fat milk on low heat, stirring occasionally, scraping the cream formed and mixing into the milk until the milk is reduced to half its original volume… Check Recipe

15. Oreo Laddus : quick, no-cooking recipe

If you have been busy at work or haven’t had the time to make any elaborate preparations to celebrate the festival…here are quick & easy to make Oreo laddus to celebrate the occasion. I would have usually preferred to make something more traditional sweet for the occasion, but the current circumstances around me demanded something quick. These laddus use minimal ingredients and were super quick to make… Check Recipe

16. Gulkand Shrikhand

Gulkand Shrikhand is a modern day take on this traditional shrikhand recipe. It incorporates the freshness of homegrown roses into this delectable dessert that is usually prepared during festivals or special occasions. You may also use store-bought gulkand… Check Recipe

17. Oats and Chia Seeds Laddu

Oats & Chia Seeds Laddus for the festive season that’s just around the corner. If you are on a refined sugar-free diet and still looking for something sweet to satiate your cravings; these laddus are a perfect fit. Loaded with goodness of oats, raw chia seeds and almonds these laddus are healthy & too delicious! These laddus perfectly fit the bill for being refined sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, quick, no-cooking recipe… Check Recipe

18. Pumpkin Halwa / Kumbalkai Halwa

Pumpkin/ kaddu (Hindi)/ Kumbalkai (Kannada) is commonly used in making sambar or curries. This sweet treat is a delicious way of using this nutrition-packed vegetable in dessert form. You may use any variety of pumpkin to make this Pumpkin Halwa– the orange-skinned or the mottled green-skinned one. Grated pumpkin is grated, mixed with sugar and a little ghee and cooked… Check Recipe

19. Putani Hittina Laddu /Roasted Chana or Bengal Gram Laddu

My sister and I have so many memories together and one of those happens to be making these super duper delicious, quick & easy, no-cook Putani Hittina Laddus whenever we craved for something sweet. Roasted Chana Dal is also called as daria dal, roasted split gram, puffed gram, phutana, pappulu / putanalu pappulu (Telugu), putani / hurigadale (Kannada). I’m confident this will be the quickest you ever made a laddu that can be served as bhog during festivals. If we girls could make them when we were little, so can you!… Check Recipe

20. Mango Sheera | Mango Kesari | Mango-Semolina Pudding

Mango Kesari is a South Indian delicacy and it is all the more special because mangoes are a seasonal fruit and you want to make the most of it while they are available fresh. If the mango season is just about over and you have managed to freeze some aamras, you may use that too… Check Recipe

21. Poornam Boorelu – an Andhra special

Poornam boorelu is a delicacy from Andhra cuisine which is made during special occasions such as weddings or as naivedya/ offerings during festivals. It is made by deep-frying a sweet bengal gram (chana dal) stuffing enclosed in a crisp coating of batter made of faintly salted black gram (urad dal) and rice. The crunch of cashew nuts and poppy seeds in the soft melt-in-mouth sweet chana dal stuffing is a welcome surprise element… Check Recipe

22. Gajar Ka Halwa

Gajar Ka Halwa” is a winter speciality and my absolute favourite forever!It is known by many names such as gajorer halua, gajrela, gajar pak and carrot halwa. The term ‘carrot halwa’ is used invariably for the halwa made with the red local variety of carrots as well as the hybrid orange carrots. The red desi gajars have higher sugar content making them perfect for making gajar ka halwa…. Check Recipe

23. Kashi Halwa/ ash gourd halwa

Kashi halwa is an Indian dessert from the Udupi region of Karnataka and it is often part of festive meals & wedding breakfast menu. As a child, in the rare occasion that I would take break from school to attend family weddings; this would be one of those delicacies that I would look forward to in breakfast having no idea what it was made of… all that mattered at the time was it tasted totally delicious! The crazily sweet-toothed me could hardly wait for a second serving of kashi/ kushmanda halwa!… Check Recipe

24. Hoornada Kadabu

These delicious bites are a North Karnataka speciality called Hoornada Kadabu in which a sweet filling made of bengal gram/chana dal and dry fruits is enclosed in a half moon shaped shell and deep fried… Check Recipe

25. Seviyan Kheer/ Shavige Payasa

Seviyan kheer is very popular in all Indian households and is known by different names regionally. In South India this kheer also happens to be special as it is made as naivedya/offering during festivals and special prayers and is also the first dish served on plantain leaf wedding meals. It requires minimal ingredients but the key here is the perfect proportion of vermicelli, milk and sugar… Check Recipe

26. Jowar Laddus

It is festival season and that means gorging on all those sweets. Now you can indulge in all the sweet treats throughout the festival season while still keeping them healthy. Laddus in the frame are made with jowar/sorghum flour mixed with goodness of nuts and seeds. These Jowar Laddus are refined sugar-free and are made with organic jaggery…Check Recipe

27. Instant Kalakand

Here is a quick and easy method to make Kalakand for that instant gratification. With this easy recipe it pretty much becomes an anytime dessert. With the festival season in full swing, you can make it quickly leaving you enough time for rest of the preparations for the festival and plenty of fun-filled family time. Instant Kalakand tastes equally delicious, so much that one can’t believe it is not made through the laborious process!…Check Recipe

28. Sago Pudding/ Sabudana Kheer/ Sabakki Payasa

Observing day long fast is a major tradition associated with Mahashivaratri festival. Rituals of fast vary with each family. Most commonly, all food grains are abstained from and all meals are fruit, vegetables, millets or milk based. Sabudana Kheer happens to be one such dish. Sabudana is gently cooked in milk and flavoured… Check Recipe

29. Foxtail Millet Kheer

Foxtail millet is one of the most ancient millets used in India. It is
☑️ Low in GI – so perfect for diabetics
☑️ Gluten-free – perfect for celiacs
☑️ Calcium rich
☑️ Antioxidant rich
☑️ Improves digestion
☑️ Boosts immunity
☑️ Detoxifies body
☑️ Increases metabolism
☑️ Aids in weight loss
☑️ Improves heart health
With all these health benefits it is one of the best millets to be included in your diet. Often healthy food is looked at not being tasty but this dish will certainly change your perspective!… Leave a comment if you’d like to try this healthy Foxtail Millet Kheer. I’d be happy to share the recipe.

30. Mango Kheer

Mango Kheer has to be on your list of mango-based desserts to try during the season. Your regular rice kheer gets a makeover with a generous addition of mango pulp. If you managed to freeze any mango pulp during the season, you can relish it beyond the season too. All you need to do is once the kheer is ready, turn off heat and then stir-in the mango pulp. Best to use non-fibrous variety or strain using a soup strainer to remove fibers if any.

31. Kesar Rice Kheer

Just when I was getting ready to hit the publish button on this post, I realised that there were many more desserts on my Instagram page that did not make it to the blog simply because they were too easy to make and were simple variations of classic recipes. This is one amongst those. To make this Kesar Rice Kheer, just add cooked rice to boiling milk along with kesar/saffron and sugar. Continue cooking further on med-low heat until the milk reduced to 2/3rd and turns thick & creamy. Two pinches of saffron strands for one and half litre milk turned the kheer into this vibrant golden-yellow delicacy! Further flavoured it with some green cardamom powder and garnished with almond slivers.

32. Rava Laddu

Rava laddu/ Ravè unde is a traditional sweet from Karnataka. It is most commonly made during festivals. A variation of these laddus is quite popular in Maharashtra too.This is one of the simplest and quickest sweets to make for festivals. This is my mom’s recipe and she’s been making these laddus with the same proportion for fifty years now. This recipe has served me faithfully for two decades now. Between mom and me, the recipe has been tried and tested for seventy years now! Check Recipe

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33. Bajra Poha Laddu

Millet are a healthier alternative to processed grains. I made these laddus to satiate our neverending sweet cravings. Making them with nutritious bajra flakes somehow makes it a little guilt-free! Also, these laddus are gluten-free and refined sugar-free! What more could one ask of a laddu?!… Check Recipe

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Tried any of these recipes? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out. Click a picture, send a DM or share on Instagram and tag @theredplatechronicles , I would love to see your creation. See more of my work on the instagram hashtag #trpc and follow me on

Have a great day!
Love
M❤️

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