Guyanese Parsad

Guyanese parsad is a smooth, buttery dessert made with parched flour, ghee, milk, sugar, and spices. Serve this Guyanese treat alongside fruit for holidays and celebrations.

Guyanese Parsad

Guyanese parsad is connected to all of my memories of my grandmother Evelyn. She was a Hindu and made sweets for every Hindu holiday and all of her poojahs or jhandis. I have fond memories of her preparing parsad on the fireside.

The parsad at poojahs (ceremonial worship) came in a brown paper bag that was always stained by the grease from the ghee. I have a very distinct memory of the contents of this greasy brown paper bag. There was parsad, half of a small banana, a piece of watermelon, some pomegranate seeds, and other sweets. I can still taste that banana and watermelon with little bits of parsad stuck to it.

Now I can take that nostalgia and share this parsad dessert with you!

Why You’ll Love This Guyanese Parsad Recipe

• A Labor of Love: This takes some elbow grease in the form of constant stirring but the recipe is incredibly easy to follow.
• Tasty: It’s made with toasted flour, spiced milk, and raisins for sweetness.
• Great for Gatherings: Parsad is meant to be shared. It’s served at weddings, during holidays (like Diwali), birthdays, and other special occasions.

What is parsad?

For most Guyanese people, parsad is simply a dish of flour cooked in ghee or butter. For most Indians, Prasad is an offering made to a deity or God. And what I am making here with the flour and ghee is called halwa, more specifically maida (all purpose flour) halwa. Some Hindus in Guyana also call this dish Mohanbhog as it is very similar to Bengali Mohan Bhog.

Ingredients for Guyanese Parsad

This easy parsad recipe is made with flour, milk, sugar, ghee, spices, vanilla extract, raisins.

• All purpose flour: Sifted.
• Whole milk: The liquid base of this recipe.
• Granulated sugar: may also use brown sugar or Demerara sugar
• Ghee: You may also use butter.
• Cinnamon sticks: You can substitute this with 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
• Cardamom pods: Added for depth of flavor.
• Vanilla extract: For vanilla flavor.
• Raisins: Rinsed.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Guyanese Parsad

I love good food but don’t like complicated steps so to make my parsad I follow these simple steps.

Start by adding milk, spices, sugar, and raisins to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. While the milk is heating up parch the flour

How to Parch Flour for Parsad

Add flour to melted ghee or butter and mix until combined. Stir continuously until the mixture is loose.

Continue to cook it until the mixture is slightly brown and the texture begins to change. Cook, stirring constantly to prevent burning until mixture is brown and looks fluffy and a bit grainy but be careful not to burn the flour.

Combine Milk and Flour

Then add the hot milk to the parched flour and mix together. It is that easy (a bit messy, but still easy)!

Substitutions & Variations

• More Add-Ins. For more flavor, add maraschino cherries and chopped nuts.
• Browned: If you prefer a darker prasad, parch the flour for longer until you reach your desired color.
• Sweetness: Instead of milk and sugar, you can use sweetened condensed milk. You can also use a combination of both sugar and condensed milk if you prefer.
• Gluten Free Parsad: If you have a gluten intolerance, check out my gluten free recipe for parsad.

Equipment

• Saucepans: You need a large saucepan to toast the flour and cook the parsad in and a smaller one to cook the spiced milk.

Tips for the Best Guyanese Parsad

• Parch the flour. If you don’t toast the flour, the parsad will be very pale and even worse, have a bitter taste from the flour.
• Don’t walk away from the pot. You need to consistently stir so it doesn’t burn.
• Remember to remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods.

Frequently Asked Questions