Deepavali in Malaysia is celebrated by the Hindus with prayers, family reunion, cultural activities and of course, colourful sweets or “mithai”.
The sweets come in all shapes and colours; most are rich in sugar, milk and coconut. These sweets are normally served before dinner.
In fact, there is an Indian saying, “People will eat half of their foods and keep some space for desserts.”
1 Murukku (not pictured)
Murukku in Tamil means twist. This crunchy dough made from rice flour and urad dhal flour, ghee, water, cumin and salt, is one of the most popular Deepavali delicacies. According to Rita Seetha Devi, “Hindus believe murukku when fried in deep oil helps prevent ill luck in the family.”
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3 Adhirasam
Adhirasam is believed to be a Tamil, Karnataka and Telegu dessert. It is shaped like the typical Western doughnut but it is made of rice flour, jaggery, butter and pepper. This sweet is often made as an offering to the Hindu Gods.
4 Palkova
When I first saw palkova or milk kova, I thought it was a big butter cookie. Apparently, palkova is made of cow milk and lots of sugar and tastes fudgy.
5 Mysore Pak
This is a sweet syrup dessert made from ghee, sugar, gram, flour and cardamom. It was first prepared by the head chef of the Mysore Palace to the Maharajah. He loved it. So do I!
6 Jalebi
This sweet dessert is made by deep-frying flour battered in pretzel or circular motion. Before served, it is soaked in sugar and syrup. Jalebi is served in many ways across South Asia and the Middle East.
7 Coconut Candy
Coconut candy comes in all kinds of colour although the one I took was pink. Made from condensed milk, this sweet candy with grated coconuts added on its surface makes the candy
8 Halwa
Halwa is a sugary and sticky sweet. It was wrapped in
9 Barfi
Coated with a thin layer of
Text and photos by Francis Yip
