Extracts originally published on India Food Network
My heart was thudding in my chest. My fingers sweating around the ball of Vasanu mom had just given me. She expected me to have the entire thing before I left for school. As soon as she turned the corner towards the kitchen, I escaped to the bathroom and promptly flushed the Vasanu down the loo. My cheeks flamed with shame at what I had just done but I simply couldn’t stomach one more day of having it.
Even though I prided myself on my honest relationship with mum, I never admitted this to her until she was back in India for my wedding. It was Vasanu season and there she was again coercing me to have some – it was my wedding and I had to keep up my strength, whatever that meant! The image of a mini-me sneakily flushing Vasanu flashed in my mind and there I was, a grown 25-year-old woman confessing a 10-year-old crime. Laughing, mom urged me to give it another go.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I plonked it in my mouth. But, something magical happened as I swallowed this Parsi version of chyawanprash. I kept expecting to hate it but the ghee and dry fruits mixed with the heat of the ginger powder and other crushed herbs slowly melted in my mouth and I found myself smacking my lips in glee. It seems I had finally grown a liking to the Vasanu.
For the uninitiated, Vasanu is a complex winter preparation made of no less than a kilo of ghee, an assortment of dry fruits mixed in with the familiar dry ginger, lotus stem, dill and some rather strange things like magaz, peepremul and addad aata amongst others. Parsi’s look forward to Vasanu season with anticipation and given its endangered status, orders for kilos of Vasanu are given to those who make it weeks in advance.
I learnt how to make Vasanu with mom two years ago soon after I got married because the ones made at home always taste the best. Here’s my grandma’s recipe for how you can make Vasanu at home!
Note: Given the complexity of the dish I highly recommend removing all the ingredients and keeping them in one central location before you begin. Please also read through the recipe and separate out which ingredients go in which step as some require roasting and some don’t. Parsi spice shops like Motilal Masala and Gangar Stores will provide you all the ingredients powdered and pre-weighed if you give them a list of your requirements.
Pit the dates, combine with 1 litre milk and heat it on the stove on slow heat – the milk must not boil over as this will ruin your Vasanu later. When the dates become soft and absorb most of the milk, blend to form a smooth mix.
Simultaneously, boil and skin the almonds and slice finely














To make about 5kg Vasanu you will need:
Dry Fruits:
300gm Almonds
700gm Dates
250gm Cashews
200gm Charoli
100gm Pistachio
1000gm Sugar
300ml Water
Dry Ingredients:
200gm Gundar
150gm Ghau Nu Doodh
200gm Singoda
150gm Addad no Aato
100gm Kammar Kakdi
50gm Gokhru
200gm Magaj
50gm Khas Khas
100gm Khaman
50gm Batrisu
10gm Pipramool
10gm Safed Musli
5gm Panjabi Salan
10gm Kali Musli
5gm Peeper
300 gm Sooth (Sooth makes your Vasanu spicy and heavy. You can reduce it to 250gm if you wish)
10gm Safed Mari
100gm Suva
10gm Elaichi
1 no Jaifal (powdered)
1.25 kg Ghee
1 litre Milk
I bow to thee. Baap re I have so far never mustered the courage to make Vasanu. Me and the Internet are forever grateful to you to post this endangered recipe.
Phew this is lengthy n strenuous … But one day m gonna try this to impress my Memo n Babo 😀
Shweta, the recipe is long I agree but the results are well worth it and it makes a huge batch which will last you and the family the entire winter. This is something that can only be made in winters as that’s the only time the ingredients are available so I hope you’ll give it a go next time.
Can you eat this the entire year or only during winter?
Hi Shiraz,
You could eat this any time of the year if you’d like but the ingredients are very warming and spicy (in a sweet way) and so having Vasanu in summer is not something you may enjoy. Also, most of the dried ingredients that go into the Vasanu are only available at the local Kirana store in winter as they tend to go bad in India’s humid summers.
Awesome! Tried it n turned out to be awesome. Request you to provide the cooking time n quantity of each product. Thanks for the recipe. It was of huge help… Perfect?
Thank you Perzen for sharing this lovely recipe I made it and it became mind-blowing n sooo yammy and distributed to my family members.
My vasanu was a hit this year thanks to your recipie. Enjoyed by all in our family. Thank you.
Is milk good to use in Vasanu?
Would it not spoil the Vasanu ?
I use the milk to soften the dates and get their flavour out. Have been making it this way for years now and not had an issue. Though I do keep my vasanu in the fridge when its above 20degrees room temperature.
Thank you
Made a second batch today
that’s so amazing! glad the recipe is working out for you – it’s certainly one we want to pass on to future generations.
Hello Perzen – have you made Vasanu this winter season as well? Do let us know. Would love to order some.
Can you please tell the stage 3 ingredient 100gm khaman is which Khaman ?. Actually I’m getting Khaman Dhokla. Can u give the other name for it please
The english name for Khaman is desiccated coconut which is dried coconut flakes/powder. Khaman Dhokla is another gujarati dish made using the same ingredient but nothing related to Vasanu.
Hi..Wanted to know if you have made vasanu this season. Would like to order. Thanks
Hi Zenobia, I now live in New Zealand so no, will not be making the vasanu unfortunately.