Chef Vineet Bhatia shares five of his favourite dessert recipes from his latest cookbook – all totally doable at home. What are you waiting for?

In his second cookbook My Sweet Kitchen, Michelinstarred chef Vineet Bhatia dispels the assumption that Indian sweets are only that – sweet. In time for Diwali, here are five innovative takes on the likes of kulfi, barfi and halwa

The stubble has greyed, the lines at the corner of his eyes have become more prominent and the jawline is no longer sharp but chef Vineet Bhatia, the man who has become the unofficial global ambassador of Indian cuisine, shows no signs of slowing down. After about 30 years in the business, two Michelin stars and nine restaurants across the globe, including Indego at Dubai’s Grosvenor House and Ziya in The Oberoi Mumbai, the hotel where he began his culinary journey, chef Vineet is still passionate about refining and redefining the tastes, textures and techniques of the Indian cuisine. And he does it at will. Whether it is the menu at any of his restaurants, which he changes whenever he feels like it, or use – or not – of a cooking technique, he is one chef who refuses to follow a trend. (For example: He thinks molecular gastronomy is so eighties, and has no place in today’s culinary aesthetics.)

Having released his second cookbook, My Sweet Kitchen ,a compilation of some of his favourite Indian dessert recipes that have been the highlight of his menus at his various restaurants, Vineet is now back where he belongs – in the kitchen creating recipes that might be a throwback to his childhood but are executed with the expertise he has acquired over the decades. That work philosophy is evident in his cookbooks, as well.

But why a cookbook completely devoted to desserts, considering sugar has become a kind of a dietary villain and Indian desserts are considered to be lacking in innovation?

‘Somebody once challenged me saying, “You can’t do anything with Indian desserts because they are very sweet and heavy.” I replied, “Of course you can. I’ll make a chocolate samosa.” I had no idea how to make it – but I did. ‘And I’ve been making them since 1993. I like challenges.’ While the chocolate samosa has, over the years, become an iconic dish, considering the mind-boggling versions of it that are found in Indian restaurants across the world, Vineet has proven beyond doubt that Indian food does not lack complexity of flavour and texture.

It is all about finding the balance between what is good and not so good for you, he said recently. For instance, if a little bit of sweet gives you happiness, then why not, he added.

It is this balance that is the focus of the cookbook. Whether it is the harmonious marriage between varying flavours and textures, or the ‘imaginative use of ingredients and techniques’, Vineet wanted to ensure each recipe was entirely achievable for the passionate home cook. ‘I wanted to create recipes merging influences from east and west, playing on sharp versus sweet, warm versus cold and soft versus crisp,’ he said.

While the final course is often under appreciated, through Vineet’s cookbook it turns out to be a celebration. Divided into ingredient–led chapters, such as ‘Milk’, ‘Fruit’ and ‘Chocolate’, recipes include chai panna cotta, peach-pecan filo moneybag and chocolate cumin fondant.

The penultimate chapter, ‘A piece of cake, A slice of tart’, however, is a morsel of nostalgia as it is made of recipes inspired by people and places including Vineet’s beloved hometown of Mumbai.

We’ve selected five recipes from My Sweet Kitchen that will impress family and friends this Diwali. You could make them in full, while some elements could stand alone – the beetroot kulfi, for example. With their multiple (but doable!) steps, they are the perfect way to share sweet moments, both in the kitchen and at the dining table.

‘I wanted to create recipes merging east and west, sharp versus sweet, warm versus cold, soft versus crisp’