Easy Dry Parshad For Religious Occasions (Grain Free, Oil Free, Naturally Sweetened)

In my effort to eat healthier I created this recipe of dry parshad. Actually, this doesn’t even deserve to be called a recipe – it’s more of an idea on how to make some type of parshad without sugar, oil and flour. Parshad, for those who don’t know, is a devotional food that is offered to God during religious worship and in the end distributed among all people present in the Gurudwara or at home.

The parshad offered in the Gurudwaras is called karah parshad. It is made with equal amounts of ghee, sugar and wheat flour. There are some recipes you just can’t mess around with because the end result doesn’t come out as good. Karah parshad is one of these recipes. Although, I have converted the original recipe to gluten free in the past and love it so much, I can not make this without sugar, ghee or oil. This ritual of offering karah parshad after a religious service has been going on for years, no one dares to change it with something else even if people are intolerant to certain foods or suffering from ailments. However, as I get older the more I realize that I can’t eat high calorie foods as much as I used to.

So, given my nature of doing things differently and creatively, I came up with this recipe of dry parshad when I invited a few friends at my home for sukhmani sahib path.  They are also not very keen on eating sugary or oily stuff hence the parshad was well received.

Made with just 4 ingredients the recipe is so simple and yet remarkable. It is suitable for all people, especially those who want to eat a diet low on carbs, fat and sugar. The best part- it is free of all top 9 allergens and uses natural ingredients. This can also be a healthy snack option to keep at the office or home.

Nut free Parshad with foxnuts and medjool dates (air dried for 3 days)

So, here’s what you do:

Buy good quality ingredients. I used the ingredients which are often used in sweet pudding that is offered to the God during festivals or religious occasions. The sweetness in the parshad comes from dates. The dates for this recipe should have to be dry, not too dry but with less moisture to prevent from sticking and to have a more even distribution. I won’t recommend medjool dates, however if that’s the one you like then let them air dry for 2-3 days after removing the pits. I used almonds in my original recipe but people with tree nut allergies can substitute almonds with phool makahans, also called foxnuts. They are light, crunchy and are seeds of lotus. I haven’t given you the exact amounts of ingredients as it’s really up to you to add more or less according to your taste.

Karah parshad is generally  received by cupping both hands and eaten with hand. I was worried that this dry parshad would be hard to eat with hand and drop here and there so I improvised foil spoons for convenience.

Bringing this parshad to CookBlogShare hosted by Monika @ EverydayHealthyRecipes.