Diwali 2026: 10 Homemade Mithai Recipes That Will Make You Skip Store-Bought Sweets

Navratri is over, which means almost every household has started preparing for Diwali. People are getting festive-ready by cleaning their homes, purchasing new clothes and buying sweets. This year, if you want to move beyond store-bought sweets, we have some great recommendations for homemade mithai to try this Diwali. Trust me, they are worth indulging in!

10 Homemade Mithai Recipes To Try This Diwali

1. Makhana Kheer, Sanjeev Kapoor

Ingredients

• Puffed lotus seeds (makhana)
• Sweet potato 
• Ghee
• Chopped cashew nuts
• Chopped almonds
• Milk
• Green cardamom powder
• Sugar
• Slivered almonds for garnish

Recipe

1. Take a kadai, heat some ghee in it and then add the makhana. Sauté until they turn golden brown and keep aside.
   
2. In the same kadai, sauté the chopped cashews and almonds until golden brown. Keep them aside too.
   
3. Add the grated sweet potato to the kadai and sauté for 5–6 minutes on medium heat. Pour in the milk and cook for 8–10 minutes.
   
4.  After cooking the sweet potato, take the roasted makhana and crush them into small, coarse pieces
   
5. Mix the crushed makhana, fried nuts, green cardamom powder and sugar in the kadai. Stir well until the sugar dissolves.
   
6. That’s it! Now all you have to do is garnish Makhana Kheer with slivered almonds and serve warm.

2. Adhirasam, Aruna Mucherla

Ingredients

• Raw rice 
• Jaggery
• Water
• Cardamom powder
• Dry ginger powder 
• Oil or ghee for deep-frying

Recipe

1. Wash and soak the raw rice for 3 hours, then drain and spread it on a cloth until slightly damp. Grind it into a fine powder, sieve, and keep covered.
2. Melt the jaggery with a little water and strain to remove impurities. Boil the syrup until it forms a soft, loose ball when tested in water.
3. Add cardamom powder and, if you like, dry ginger powder to the syrup. Then mix in the rice flour and prepare a soft dough.
4. Cover the dough and let it rest for 12–24 hours in a cool place.
5. Grease your fingers with ghee, roll small portions of dough into balls, and gently flatten them into discs.
6. Heat oil over medium-low heat and fry the discs until deep golden brown on both sides. Remove and gently press with a slotted spoon to drain excess oil.

Also Read: Exclusive: Sunanda Sharma Shares Aloo Bukhara Chutney Recipe On Sunday Brunch With Kamiya Jani

3. Rabdi Cake, Shivesh Bhatia

 

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A post shared by Shivesh Bhatia (@shivesh17)

Ingredients

• Yoghurt
• Baking soda
• Oil
• Sugar
• Saffron
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Cardamom powder
• Milk
• Condensed milk
• Dry fruits

Recipe

1. Take a bowl and add yoghurt and baking soda. Mix well.
2. Add oil and sugar, and mix until everything is well combined. Then add saffron, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and cardamom powder.
3. Mix everything into a smooth batter and transfer it to a baking tin. Bake at 180°C for about 30–35 minutes.
4. Now, let’s make the rabdi! Heat the milk with saffron and let it simmer for some time.
5. Add condensed milk and dry fruits, and let it cook until the rabdi reaches your desired consistency.
6. Your rabdi is ready! Pour it over the baked cake and enjoy this delicious, rich dessert.

4. Blueberry Kheer, Kunal Kapur

 

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A post shared by Kunal Kapur (@chefkunal)

Ingredients

• Full-fat milk
• Samak ke chawal (barnyard millet)
• Blueberries
• Sugar
• Cardamom powder
• Chopped nuts

Recipe

1. Kunal Kapur started making this sweet by boiling the milk in a thick-bottomed pan.
2.  Add the samak rice and make sure to cook on low heat until it becomes soft and the milk thickens. Keep stirring now and then.
   
3. For perfect sweetness, add sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well until the sugar melts.
   
4. Then add the blueberries to the mixture and cook for a few more minutes.
   
5. Top with chopped nuts and serve warm or cold. Enjoy your yummy blueberry kheer!

5. Sooji Ka Halwa, Kabita Singh

Ingredients

• Milk
• Rawa (sooji)
• Ghee
• Sugar
• Saffron
• Cashews
• Almonds
• Cardamom powder

Recipe

1. Heat ghee in a pan and add the sooji. Roast it on low heat for about 15–20 minutes, stirring continuously. Then add the almonds and cashews.
2. Add the cardamom powder, sugar, milk, and saffron. Mix everything well.
3. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens and the halwa comes together.
4. Add a little more ghee on top and mix well for a rich taste.
5. Your delicious sooji halwa is ready! Serve it hot and enjoy.

Also Read: Chef Kunal Kapur’s Vrat-Special Green Apple & Coriander Chutney Recipe Is Perfect For Navratri

6. Rava Ladoo, Uma Raghuram

 

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A post shared by Chef Uma Raghuraman (@masterchefmom)

 

Ingredients

• Rava (semolina)
• Powdered sugar
• Cashews
• Ghee

Recipe

1. Take a kadai, dry roast the rava and grind it well.
   
2.  Next, take the powdered sugar and cashews and keep them aside.
   
3. In another pan, heat the ghee.
   
4. Add the hot ghee to the rava mixture.
   
5. Slowly shape the mixture into ladoos. And that’s it! The ladoos are ready in just a few minutes.

7. Kaju Katli, Eshaan Nagpal

Ingredients

• Cashew 
• Powdered sugar
• Green cardamom powder
• Water
• Ghee

Recipe

1. For 30 minutes, soak the broken cashews in hot water.
   
2. Drain the water and turn the cashews into a thick paste. If needed, you can add cold water too.
3. Transfer the paste to a vessel, add powdered sugar and mix well until the sugar almost melts. Then, add green cardamom powder.
   
4. Cook the mixture on a low flame, stirring continuously until it thickens.
   
5. Turn off the flame and keep stirring for a while to let the mixture cool slightly.
   
6. Take a wooden board or chakla and grease it with ghee. Take a small portion of the mixture and knead it gently.
   
7. Roll it out into a thin sheet and brush it with a little water. If you want,  add silver or gold leaf.
   
8. Cut the sheet into diamond-shaped pieces, and there you go. Your homemade kaju katli is ready!

8. Biscoff Kalakand, Shreya Jain

Ingredients

• Biscoff cookies
• Butter
• Condensed milk
• Milk powder
• Fresh paneer
• Cardamom powder

Recipe

1. Move over traditional sweets and start making Biscoff Kalakand by grinding Biscoff cookies.
2.  Take a baking container, add the ground Biscoff cookies and pour in some butter. 
3. Mix both well and press the mixture evenly into the container. Your first layer is ready!
4. In a pan, mix condensed milk and milk powder over low heat.
5. Add some freshly crushed paneer and cook for about 3–4 minutes.
6. Add some cardamom powder and stir for another 5–6 minutes.
   
7. Pour the kalakand mixture over the Biscoff layer and refrigerate overnight.

Also Read: Soha Ali Khan Shares Refreshing Cucumber Boats Recipe To Beat Mumbai Heat; Here’s How To Make It

9. Jalebi, Neha Deepak Shah 

Ingredients

• Maida 
• Eno
• Water
• Dahi 
• Ghee
• Sugar
• Water
• Lime juice
• Saffron
• Cardamom powder

Recipe

1. Add the maida and Eno to a blender, along with the ghee. Blend until the mixture looks crumbly.
2. Now, add water and dahi, then blend everything into a smooth batter.
3. Transfer the batter to a piping bag or squeeze bottle so you can easily make the jalebi shapes.
   
4. To prepare the sugar syrup, boil the sugar and water together. Add a few drops of lime juice and let it simmer.
   
5. You can also add saffron and cardamom powder for extra flavour.
   
6. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Pipe the batter into the oil in round, spiral shapes.
   
7. Let the jalebis fry until they turn golden and crispy on both sides.
8. Immediately dip the hot jalebis into warm sugar syrup so they soak up all that sweetness.

10. Fruit Custard, Amrita Raichand 

Ingredients

• Cardamom powder
• Red grapes
• Apple
• Banana
• Saffton
• Makhana 
• Milk
• Almonds
• Cashews
• Pomegranate 

Recipe

1. First, soak the makhana in milk. Then, peel the almonds and grind them with saffron, cardamom powder and the soaked makhana.
   
2. Cut the fruits and pour the ground mixture over them.
   
3. For the final touch, top the custard with pomegranate.
   
4. Transfer it to a glass and serve chilled!

Which of these sweets are you excited to prepare this Diwali?

Also Read: What Is Black Milk? Adah Sharma Shares A Unique Recipe To Try At Home

Cover Image Courtesy: Canva Pro/ Ibrar Hussain

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